The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 106 new members and 18 international members including Dr. Michael Barber ’82, MSOE Regent. This brings the total U.S. membership to 2,420 and the number of international members to 319.  

Barber was elected to the academy for his contributions and leadership in developing diagnostic imaging and point-of-care devices in the global health care sector.  

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.”  

Recently, Barber retired as the chief diversity officer at GE, where he had a variety of roles in engineering, operations, product management and executive leadership over his more than 40-year career at the company. He began at GE prior to his graduation from MSOE in 1982 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. As chief diversity officer he led the company’s inclusion and diversity strategy to drive sustainable change with a focus on leadership accountability and metrics, building an inclusive culture, and reinvigorating inclusion and diversity learning and mentoring.  

Barber was the first leader for GE’s strategy on global health: healthymagination. He and his team delivered 50 products targeting cost, quality and access, while establishing key partnerships for GE in the cancer, maternal and newborn health, and emerging markets. Barber served as president and CEO of GE’s Molecular Imaging and Computed Tomography business, which looks at the biochemistry of disease by highlighting metastatic lesions, neurodegenerative disorders and cardiac function.  

Barber was an active champion of GE’s African American Forum, focused on professional development for African-American employees, and was the executive sponsor for the sustainability portion of GE’s $30 million philanthropic commitment to improve health care in sub-Saharan Africa.  

Active in professional associations, Barber has served on the board of Talix Inc. and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME). In 2014, he was elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and in 2009 he was named a Black Enterprise ‘Master of Innovation.’ He was the Rotary Club of Milwaukee’s Person of the Year in 2018.  

Barber, who also holds an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from MSOE, is a member of the MSOE Board of Regents. He is a staunch supporter of the university, student scholarships and MSOE’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, which he co-founded with his wife Jacqueline Herd-Barber and several other individuals when they were MSOE students.