A tribute to the career of a gentle giant of Peptide Science

Abstract

T he current issue of Peptide Science makes a compelling statement with many voices: Bruce Merrifield was greatly respected as a pioneer of peptide chemistry and warmly cherished as a friend and mentor. The legacy of his career is correspondingly rich, from the tremendous impact of his invention of solid-phase synthesis-far beyond peptide chemistry-to the legions of peptide scientists touched by him either directly through time spent in his laboratory or via collegial interactions and collaborations. This issue pays homage to Bruce, and its very breadth, from science to personal reflections, speaks volumes.We owe a huge dept of gratitude to guest editors Svetlana Mojsov and George Barany for their stewardship of this issue from beginning to end. Many others have contributed, not the least of course Libby Merrifield herself who pulled together the bibliography of Bruce's impressive publications.We are pleased to present you with this testament to Bruce Merrifield's contributions to our field. As emerges from all the contributions to this issue, we salute him as Bruce the scientist, but we miss him greatly as Bruce the person.