Dr. Ninham's early work was in Statistical Mechanics and in this field he made significant contributions to the theory of phase transitions, to the Ising model, and to the theory of distribution functions. Ninham has been remarkable for the range of his interests, his inventiveness, and his originality in entering new fields and making significant contributions to these fields. His recent work on the calculation of Van der Waals forces in biological materials is considered a major advance in the understanding of cell biological phenomena.