The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), an extremely influential scientific society of engineers, has just elected their 18th member who is a professor at NC State.

Rodolphe Barrangou, Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Scholar in probiotics research and professor of food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences, is among 86 new members and 18 foreign members to be accepted to the NAE this year. He joined NC State faculty in 2013 and has received numerous accolades in his time at the university.

A specialist in beneficial bacteria in foods, Barrangou has done pioneering research on CRISPR technology, which is a tool for editing genomes.

CRISPR has potential for editing DNA sequences and modifying genetic functions, with possible uses in treating genetic diseases and engineering foods.

Barrangou has shown that CRISPR systems can defend against bacterial attackers, and is currently editor-in-chief of The CRISPR Journal, a scientific publication focused on the technology and its uses. Barrangou has also been involved with writing over 150 peer-reviewed publications.

NAE has over 2,000 members and seeks to honor those that make significant contributions to engineering literature or research in new fields of technology.