Devon native Drew Endy, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, is a star in the emerging synthetic biology field, writes Steve Lohr for The New York Times.

He is the most ardent advocate of the field and is working to inspire others to see synthetic biology as a path to a better world.

He believes it can become a transformational technology that would help feed the planet, conquer disease, and combat pollution.

Endy’s optimism assumes that biology can follow the trajectory of computing, which has progressed rapidly thanks to continuous improvement in microchips. Currently, gene sequencing and DNA synthesis, which are the underlying technologies for synthetic biology, are following similar trends.

Biological information is coded in DNA, much like it is in computing, so it can be programmed to redesign organisms for practical purposes. The aim is to make such programming and production faster and cheaper, as well as more reliable — making it more of an engineering discipline and less an artisanal craft.

“Biology and engineering are coming together in profound ways,” said Endy. “The potential is for civilization-scale flourishing, a world of abundance not scarcity, supporting a growing global population without destroying the planet.”

Read more about Drew Endy in The New York Times.