Ayusman Sen was born in Calcutta, India and holds a Ph. D. from the University of Chicago where he was first introduced to catalysis. Following a year of postdoctoral work at the California Institute of Technology, he joined the Chemistry Department of the Pennsylvania State University where is currently a Distinguished Professor. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His research interests encompass catalysis, organometallic and polymer chemistry, and nanotechnology. He is the author of approximately 345 scientific publications and holds 24 patents. Senas pastime centers on enological and gastronomical explorations. http://research.chem.psu.edu/axsgroup/