Dr. Monica Olvera joined Northwestern University in 1986. She is a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and (by courtesy) the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. She obtained a B. A. in physics in 1981, from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City , and Ph.D. in Physics from Cambridge University , Cambridge , England , as a member of Trinity College , in 1985. From 1995-1997, she was a Staff Scientist (Eng. C3) in the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA), Saclay, France; where she also held visiting scientist positions in 1993 and in 2003. Olvera de la Cruz is interested in macromolecular physics and material properties. She has developed theoretical models to determine the thermodynamics, statistics and dynamics of macromolecules in complex environments. She has analyzed phase segregation in multicomponent systems, in chemically heterogeneous macromolecules, and in synthetic and biological polyelectrolytes. Her major awards include: 1990-95 Presidential Young Investigator Award (National Science Foundation).; 1990-92 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship.; 1989-94 David and Lucile Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering.