Professor Jiri Jonas received his B. S. Degree from the University of Prague in 1956 and his Ph.D. from the Czechoslovak Academy of Science in 1960. He joined the faculty at Illinois in 1966. He was the director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois from August 1993 to September 2001. His research interests are in chemical physics and physical chemistry. Jonas is a pioneer in applying NMR spectroscopy to the pressure-unfolding of proteins. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and Professor Emeritus in the Center for Advanced Study.