Taher Saif, the Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He was elected “for characterizing mechanical properties of materials at small scales, with applications in materials science and biology.”

They are among 114 new members and 21 international members elected to the academy this year. This brings the total U.S. membership to 2,310 and the number of international members to 332. Academy membership honors those who have made “outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education,” according to the NAE.

Among other achievements, Saif was the first to demonstrate that plastic deformation in nanocrystalline metal films can be reversible—raising the possibility of manufacturing metal components that can heal themselves after being deformed. In other work, he and a collaborator demonstrated that neurons are under mechanical tension, and he is now studying the role of tension in neurons on memory and learning.