A North Carolina State University chemical engineering professor will receive the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 2023 Langer Prize for his work on DNA engineering.
AIChE awarded the prize to Albert Keung, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and university faculty scholar at North Carolina State.
Keung’s research group is studying how information is stored and accessed in biological systems. The team focuses on the engineering of DNA, which is already being used as the information substrate in engineering molecular diagnostics and to produce biofuels, cancer immunotherapies and vaccines.
Keung’s team sees potential beyond these applications, including the use of DNA to address challenges in data storage and computation, programmable materials and climate mitigation.
Keung co-founded DNAli Data Technologies Inc., with a mission to drive the expansion of a DNA-based economy. Among the technologies that Keung has licensed to DNAli Data Technologies, is the modification of DNA oligos created through sustainable enzymatic synthesis.
Keung will receive the Langer Prize and present a lecture on Nov. 6, during the 2023 AIChE Annual Meeting, in Orlando.
The Langer Prize awards an unrestricted grant of up to $100,000.
