K. Peter C. Vollhardt is Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Born in Madrid, he completed he primary schooling in Spain and Argentina, his secondary schooling in Germany, and his university studies in the UK with a PhD from University College, London. Following a postdoc at CalTech he moved to Berkeley, where he has also been the Assistant Dean of the College of Chemistry and has been able to enjoy visiting professorships in France and Italy. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the German Chemical Society, and The Chemical Society, London, and has been the recipient of many prestigious international awards. Professor Vollhardt has had over 280 scientific coworkers and supervises a group of 10-12 students and postdoctorals. He has published and/or submitted for publication over 320 scientific papers and books, and has been issued 5 patents. Since 1975 he has presented plenary and invited lectures at over 120 international and national meetings and has given more than 350 invited research seminars at various academic and industrial institutions around the world.

Neil E. Shore is Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Davis, USA. Born in New Jersey in 1948, he was educated in public schools in the Bronx, New York, and Ridgefield, New Jersey. He completed a BA with honors in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in 1969. Moving back to New York, he worked with the late Professor Nicholas J. Turro at Columbia University, studying photochemical and photophysical processes of organic compounds for his PhD thesis. He first met co-author Peter Vollhardt in the 1970s when they both were doing postdoctoral work in Professor Robert Bergman's laboratory at Cal Tech. Since joining the UC-Davis faculty in 1976, Schore has taught organic chemistry to more than 15,000 nonchemistry majors, winning seven teaching awards, publishing over 100 papers in various areas related to organic chemistry, and refereeingseveral hundred local youth soccer games.