This Presidential Young Investigator award is for Dr. William N. Bialek, an Assistant Professor of Biophysics and Physics. His research interests are in the application of theoretical approaches to biological problems, especially problems in sensory physiology and biophysics. Examples of the areas in which he has contributed include: 1. photochemical processes in photosynthesis, 2. the roles of protein structure and dynamics in oxygen transport by myoglobin solutions, 3. the mechanism by which hearing thresholds can be below the estimates of thermal noise levels, 4. the mechanism by which photon absorption can lead to visual nerve impulses, 5. the relation of neural impulse frequency to information coding. The PI intends to continue to explore these and related areas of biophysics, applying theoretical concepts to a number of problems. This approach is greatly underutilized, probably because the overhwelming majority of biological scientists do not have the extensive background in physics nor do most physicist have sufficient awareness of the biological problems that would profit from these methods. In addition, the PI appears to be a most remarkable young investigator, with depth of understanding in physics and what one evaluator describes as "stunning breadth of knowledge". There is no doubt that our understanding of various sensory processes can benefit tremendously from the efforts of Dr. Bialek. This amply demonstrated by the importance of his contributions during the few years that he has been active.
