The National Academy of Engineering recently elected an N.C. State professor as part of a 2014 class composed of 67 new members and 11 foreign associates.

Ruben Carbonell, the director of the Biomanufacturing Training Education center and distinguished professor of chemical engineering, is the 18th N.C. State professor, and the 12th current professor, to be inducted into the academy.

Carbonell said that before coming to N.C. State in 1984, he taught for 10 years at the University of California at Davis. However, Carbonell said the environment at his previous institution did not compete with the connections made between N.C. State graduate students and Research Triangle Park.

“N.C. State has made all the difference in my career,” Carbonell said. 

Frances Ligler, a professor in the biomedical engineering program and a member of the NAE since 2005, said that while she has only been at N.C. State for six months, she chose to work with N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill because of the collaborative opportunities between the two universities, the world-class faculty members, proximity to family and the emphasis placed on mentoring and program development.

“I want to help develop research programs and work on my own papers while working with faculty and students,” Ligler said. “And I can do that here. I love it here.” 

Ligler said she works in creating sensors for drugs of abuse, infectious diseases, environmental pollutants, biological warfare agents and explosives. These sensors are important to first responders as they can easily be carried into the field to check a spot for contamination, used to monitor the air from the ground and on clinical samples at the point of care in developing countries. 

Though there is no monetary compensation for becoming a member of the NAE, Joseph DeSimone, an N.C. State professor of chemical and bimolecular engineering and an NAE member since 2005, said members are expected to advise the government and address potential scientific needs.

“It’s a service really, but it’s also a massive recognition and a real privilege to be a part of,” DeSimone said.

Carbonell said he will work with NAE studies that are likely to affect public policies about important issues related to the role of science, engineering and technology for the benefit of mankind. 

“There’s no money award, but it’s an honor to be asked your opinion,” Carbonell said. 

Carbonell said his position within the University will not change because of the recognition, but the contacts that he has available outside of the school will help him get involved in new activities and programs.

“The NAE offers so many opportunities to work within biomedical engineering that it becomes essential to carefully choose what to get involved in,” Ligler said.

According to Carbonell, recipients may not apply and must be nominated by current NAE members who look for engineers that have made significant contributions in research and education, and members are generally very active in the field. 

According to Carbonell, his work in three different areas contributed to his election into the academy including a multiphase reactor design, high-pressure thin film coatings and novel separation processes. 

DeSimone said his work has been in polymer science, adhesives and plastics, and he is currently working on developing environmentally friendly polymers jointly at N.C. State and UNC-CH. 

“In order to solve the problems of today you need all three, science, engineering and medicine,” DeSimone said. “It’s really important to play a bridging role between them.”

Carbonell currently works on the development of novel processes by finding more specific peptide ligands for target molecules in order to reduce the cost of production and purification of biotherapeutic proteins that can be beneficial in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. 

Carbonell said he will be formerly inducted Sept. 28 at a ceremony in Washington, DC.