Kensal van Holde is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biophysics and Biochemistry at Oregon State University. Dr. van Holde has made significant contributions to the field of chromatin structure and dynamics, for which he was awarded the highly prestigious American Cancer Society Research Professorship in 1977. His second major research interest was focused on protein structure and function. The scientific contributions of Dr. van Holde have been recognized by election to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and numerous awards and fellowships, including Guggenheim, NSF, and EMBO. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific papers, as well as multiple well-received and well-known books. His teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate chemistry and molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and also the physiology and molecular biology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA. In 1999, Dr. van Holde received the Emily M. Gray Biophysical Society award for teaching and education publication in Biophysical Chemistry. In 2012, he received the Monie A. Ferst Award from the Scientific Society Sigma Xi; this Award is granted specifically for excellence in graduate education.