Hanover — Hany Farid, chairman of the Dartmouth College Department of Computer Science, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

The honor is granted to people “who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.”

Farid received the distinction for his work in digital forensics, which has included the development of programs that identify and flag child pornography and terrorist propaganda.

Farid is well known for helping to refine a piece of software called PhotoDNA, an image tagging and flagging tool that is in wide use by internet companies and law enforcement investigators as a way to stop the spread of child pornography.