Professor Yoel Fink of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)’s Class of 2025. Fink’s research focuses on developing advanced fibers with a range of properties, including optical, electronic, and acoustic capabilities.
Election to the NAE is “among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer,” according to a statement released Tuesday. Membership honors researchers who have made significant contributions in research or education, advanced new technologies, or demonstrated outstanding leadership in engineering.
Fink was recognized for “the design and production of structured photonic fibers, enabling surgeries and the invention of fabrics that sense and communicate,” the NAE statement said. His research has included programmable fibers that can sense, store and analyze activity after being sown into clothing; fabric that converts sound vibrations into electrical signals; and a hair-thin silk curtain that suppresses noise coming from the other side of a room.
“Professor Fink is not only a leading researcher but also a gifted educator, and a generous and devoted mentor to generations of materials researchers, including myself,” said Professor Polina Anikeeva, head of DMSE.
One of 150 new NAE members, Fink is among seven MIT School of Engineering faculty members elected and one additional MIT researcher.
Fink, who earned his PhD from MIT in 2000 (after earning a BS in chemical engineering and BA in physics from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology), joined DMSE’s faculty that same year. He co-founded OmniGuide, a company specializing in fiber-optic technologies, with applications in medical devices, communications, and industrial systems. He has received numerous honors, including MIT’s Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellowship in 2007 and the National Academy of Sciences Initiatives in Research Award in 2004.
The NAE has been electing members since its founding in 1964 and now counts more than 2,800 engineers as part of its distinguished membership.
He joins several current NAE members on DMSE’s faculty, including Professors Angela Belcher, Yet-Ming Chiang, Michael Cima, and Yang-Shao Horn. Many emeritus professors are also members, such as Merton C. Flemings, Ronald Latanision, Subra Suresh, and Edwin L. Thomas.