Richard S. Ellis received his B.A. degree in mathematics and German literature from Harvard University in 1969 and his Ph.D. degree in mathematics from New York University in 1972. After spending three years at Northwestern University, he moved to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies. His research interests in mathematics focus on the theory of large deviations and on applications to statistical mechanics and other areas. Information on his interests outside mathematics is available at http://www.math.umass.edu/~rsellis. He is Alison's husband and Melissa's and Michael's father.