Dr Eli Ruckenstein is a Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. His main research areas are catalysis, surface phenomena, colloids and emulsions, and bio-compatible surfaces and materials.  He was born on August 13, 1925 in Boto?ani, Romania. Dr. Ruckenstein received a B.S. and Ph.D from Polytechnic Institute, Bucharest, and an honorary doctoral degree from the Technical University of Bucharest. Some of the various institutes of higher education at which he has taught are Carnegie Mellon University; London University, U.K.; Technion, Israel; Institute of Polymers at ETH, Switzerland; and the Catholic University, Belgium. Ruckenstein has received several awards including the National Medal of Science, the Creativity Award of the National Science Foundation, the Walker Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Pioneer of Science Award. His research has led to the publication of over 1,000 articles and he holds 10 U.S. patents.