Samir Mitragotri, professor of chemical engineering at UC Santa Barbara, is one of 67 new members elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for 2015.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature,” and to the “pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”

Mitragotri was elected to the NAE “for development, clinical translation and commercialization of transdermal drug delivery systems.” Transdermal drug delivery, while a simple and painless alternative to needles, remains a big challenge. Mitragotri and his group have developed technologies that involve ultrasound, penetration enhancers and liquid microjets to overcome the skin barrier to enable delivery of proteins, peptides and small interfering RNA (siRNA).