Monroe Stanley Wechsler was born to Harry and Rose (Goldberg) Wechsler on May 1, 1923, in New York City. He received a B.S. (1944) in physics from the City University of New York and an A.M. (1950) and Ph.D. (1953), both in physics, from Columbia University. Prior to coming to Iowa State, Wechsler worked as an Electrical Engineer (1947-1948) at the U.S. Naval Air Magnetics Laboratory, New Jersey; he was Scientist and Head (1954-1969) of the Radiation Metallurgy Section, Solid State Division, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee; and Professor (part-time; 1960-1969) in the Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Tennessee. Wechsler arrived at Iowa State University as a Visiting Professor (1969-1970) in the Department of Metallurgy. He was named Professor and Chair (1970-1975) of the Department and Chief (1970-1975) of the Metallurgy Division at Ames Laboratory. Wechsler remained at Iowa State as a Professor (1975) in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (which was formed in 1975) and the Department of Nuclear Engineering. Wechsler spent summers working as a Visiting Scientist (1982-1989) at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Wechsler researched the irradiation effects on metals and alloys, phase transformation in solids, and materials for nuclear energy applications.