Dr. Albert Keung, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University, has been named the Goodnight Distinguished Scholar in Innovation in Biotechnology and Biomolecular Engineering.
Keung, who is also a University Faculty Scholar at NC State, works in synthetic biology; neural and stem cell engineering; and bioengineering.
His research group engineers cellular and molecular platforms to understand how information is stored and accessed in biological systems. This work includes engineering human stem cell models of neuroepigenetic disorders; synthetic biology platforms to map the complex networks within cells; and application of molecular biology to engineer scalable and extreme density DNA-based information storage systems.
“This is a wonderful honor shared by those that have driven the technological innovations and trainee growth coming out of our research group,” Keung said.”These are the past and present graduate, undergraduate and postdoctoral researchers in our research group, our many collaborators across the University, and the vibrant, cutting edge, and collegial Chemical and Biomolecular Department. For me personally, knowing how committed and supportive the Goodnights have been to North Carolina students and to innovative scholarship and training, this title is a strong motivator and reminder of their values to aspire to and be committed to as a professor.”
Keung has previously been recognized with the National Institutes of Health’s Avenir Award, the American Chemical Society’s Synthetic Biology Young Innovator Award, a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and a Goodnight Early Career Innovator Award, among others.
In November, Keung is scheduled to receive the Langer Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence from the American Institute for Chemical Engineering (AIChE). The fellowship — which is endowed by the AIChE Foundation — is named for biomedical pioneer Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Langer Prize awards an unrestricted grant of up to $100,000 to enable creative researchers and engineering entrepreneurs in their early careers to pursue potentially game-changing innovations with transformative societal impact.
Keung is an alumnus of Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. He was a postdoctoral fellow in biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University. He joined the NC State faculty in 2016.
“Dr. Keung is an outstanding young faculty member and a leader of his generation. He is extremely creative, collaborative, thoughtful and committed to excellence in all aspects of research, teaching and professional service. His recognition as the Goodnight Distinguished Scholar in Innovation in Biotechnology and Biomolecular Engineering is very well deserved, and I look forward to the inspirational research that will be made possible by this endowed position.”
The position was made possible by a gift from NC State alumni Dr. James and Mrs. Ann Goodnight. The Goodnights support more than 250 North Carolina students each year through the Goodnight Scholarships program, which they established in 2008 and expanded in 2017 to include transfer students from the state’s community colleges. The Goodnights also have generously strengthened centers, programs and additional scholarship opportunities across NC State. Their commitment to faculty excellence has resulted in the creation of 28 named faculty positions, including a deanship, as well as a program to invest in early-career faculty and support for additional endowed professorship funds. In 2022, the Goodnights increased their support to include graduate students, creating the Goodnight Doctoral Fellows for Ph.D. candidates in STEM and education.
Dr. Goodnight ⎯ the CEO and founder of SAS ⎯ earned his B.S. in applied mathematics in 1965, his M.S. and doctorate in statistics in 1968 and 1972, respectively, and the university conferred an honorary degree to him in 2002. Mrs. Goodnight earned her B.A. in political science in 1968 and works as the senior director of community relations at SAS. The Goodnights have received numerous university honors, including the Watauga Medal (Dr. Goodnight, 2002) and the Menscer Cup (2007). Mrs. Goodnight’s leadership roles include serving on the Board of Trustees and as a founding member of Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy at NC State.
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