Thomas J. Hixon received his Ph.D. in speech pathology and audiology from the University of Iowa and did postdoctoral work in respiratory physiology and biomechanics at Harvard University. He is Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Director of the National Center for Neurogenic Communication Disorders, and Dean of the Graduate College Emeritus at the University of Arizona. Hixon is a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, holds its Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology, and has received the Honors of the Association. He has been Editor of the Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, Editor for the Speech Section of the Journal of… Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, and an Editorial Reviewer and/or Associate Editor to over a dozen speech and voice journals. Hixons research interests center on normal and abnormal speaking and singing. He has published and lectured widely on respiratory function in singing and is recognized for his seminal research on the topic. His two most recent books, Respiratory function in speech and song (with collaborators) and Evaluation and management of speech breathing disorders: Principles and methods (with Jeannette D. Hoit) document the breadth of his research and clinical interests in singing (and acting). Hixon has made presentations, given workshops, and/or conducted research at the Julliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the Voice Foundation, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, the British Voice Association, the Canadian Voice Care Foundation, the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and the Grand Ole Opry. He has also done research on acting that has included the study of members of the Royal Shakespeare Company of London.