Barabas turns out to be a professor who invented a large helicopter named the Gyronef, which allows them to travel to the isle of Amoras to solve a mystery.

Barabas' many inventions often drive the plot forward, despite the fact that he doesn't always play a huge role in the stories.

In "De Gouden Cirkel" ("The Golden Circle") (1960) Barabas gets contaminated with radiation, causing his friends to travel across the entire globe to get him proper medicine.

He enjoys playing pranks on his friends now and then by keeping his inventions a secret until their curiosity gets the better of them or by disguising himself.

In "De Sprietatoom" ("The Tiny Atom") (1947) [3] he destroys his entire laboratory out of fear it will be misused by foreign military powers and becomes a poet.

[10] Barabas has invented many machines and vehicles, which often come to good use to Suske, Wiske, Lambik, Tante Sidonia and Jerom.

Pierre Bokma provided the voice of the same character in the animated adaptation Luke and Lucy: The Texas Rangers (2009).

In the room dedicated to his work a replica of Professor Barabas' teletijdmachine ("tele time machine") can be seen.