his issue of Biopolymers: Peptide Science is dedicated in the memory of Professor Bruce Merrifield who died on May 14, 2006, at his home in Cresskill, New Jersey. The outpouring of tributes in scientific journals, at the meetings of peptide societies throughout the world, and in the popular press are a testimony to the profound impact that Merrifield's invention of chemical synthesis on solid support has had on today's science. Solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) opened new possibilities to solve scientific problems, brought the field of peptide chemistry within the reach of other scientific disciplines, and facilitated the interactions between peptide chemists and scientists with diverse research and medical interests. Bruce Merrifield's invention holds a unique place in the history of 20th century science. Merrifield's path to SPPS was summarized by Dr. William Agosta during the presentation of the degree of Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, awarded by the Rockefeller University in 1998: ''In chemistry as elsewhere, it is one thing to have a novel idea and another to reduce it to practice. Famous chemists nearly always confine themselves to the pleasure of generating ideas and then depend on younger colleagues to make them work. Over a period of 3 years, Merrifield made his idea work by himself.'' This issue brings together the scientific contributions and recollections from Merrifield's coworkers in his laboratory, colleagues from the Rockefeller University, and scientists who interacted with Bruce Merrifield at different stages of his long career, as well as original articles and reviews from the younger generation of peptide chemists who are expanding the concept of SPPS in new directions. The issue is divided into several sections. Included are copies of the first three handwritten pages of the May 26, 1959, entry in the laboratory notebook where Bruce Merrifield describes the concept of SPPS. The notebook entry is followed by Bruce Merrifield's biography written by Arthur M. Felix, a bibliography of all of Bruce Merrifield's published work, and Alexander R. Mitchell's article ''Bruce Merrifield and SPPS: A Historical Assessment.'' The second part consist of ''Personal Reflections'' and ''Remembering Bruce Merrifield'' sections contributed by peptide scientists across the globe, while the third part of the issue is devoted to scientific articles and reviews.