PrologueThe life story of Leo L. Beranek deserves more than a few journal pages. Having put off a request from his family for some time, at the age of 93 years, Dr. Beranek wrote his memoir Riding the Waves. Its 10 spellbinding chapters were published by the MIT Press in 2008. Countless other pages, however, have been written about him, such as the many encomia in connection with the awards and recognitions he has received. Last year, Acoustics Today dedicated its entire fall issue to him, coinciding with his 100th birthday (cf., Rosenberg & Cavanaugh, 2014). It contained six chapters each focusing on a particular dimension of his accomplishments. Tying the entire issue together was a pictorial series of waves, one wave for every year of his life that, in sequences of 5, graced the bottom of 22 pages of the publication (Cavanaugh & Carballeira, 2014). Many of these years highlight special accomplishments and significant events. The visual series helps to capture the almost unfathomable scope of Leo's life. Thanks to the American Institute of Physics, our own special issue of Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, & Brain, on the topic of Performance Spaces for Music: Acoustic and Psychological Measurements and Their Interactions, which is dedicated to him, has the opportunity to present a composite of Dr. Beranek's 100 waves. See Figure 1 on the next four pages.Dr. Beranek has kindly provided our special issue with a condensed autobiography of his professional life. This material is dense and begins just after he received his doctoral degree. A journal which implies the word psychology in its title surely needs to offer some information about the early, formative years. I have therefore attempted to provide this. The content comes from a variety of sources including Riding the Waves and its reviews; interviews on the websites of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the American Institute of Physics; the special issue of Acoustics Today; histories of Bolt, Beranek, and Newman; various newspaper and other resources found on the Internet; as well as several communications with Dr. Beranek. The document ends with a summary of Dr. Beranek's achievements, honors, awards, and credentials. Together with Dr. Beranek's own story, the material must surely inspire readers of this journal through not only the accomplishments represented but also the opportunity to learn more about an extraordinary human being and exemplary devotee to the combined fields of music and science.Early YearsLeo Beranek was born in 1914 into modest and rugged circumstances in Solon, Iowa, a town of 400 people. His mother had been a school teacher there before her marriage, but this ended with her moving from Solon to the farm and becoming a housewife caring for her husband, who worked the farm, and Leo, and eventually a second child. Early education for Leo, when he became five, was a one-room schoolhouse. Leo's mother was a fairly accomplished pianist, and she gave him some piano lessons that provided an elementary grounding in music. When Leo was only 11 years old, his mother passed away. She left him with the advice to get a college education, something he never forgot. Her death led his father to give up the farm and move in with Leo at his parents' home in Solon. Leo's enterprising nature at the age of 12 resulted in his responding to an ad for a salesperson, placed by the Real Silk Company in the Saturday Evening Post. Having no idea that the applicant was a child, the company sent Leo a brown leather briefcase with supplies of silk stockings and related items, all that was needed for a fledgling door-to-door salesman. Working part time for 2 years in this job, he was able to be independent and purchase extras as his family took care of his basic needs but gave him no allowance.1Around this time, a teacher needing to complete the Solon high school band encouraged him to take up a musical instrument. Of a few choices, Leo chose drums. …