Mario Pagliaro is a chemistry scholar based at Palermo's CNR where he leads Sicily's Photovoltaics Research Pole. The achievements of his Laboratory are reported in a large body of research papers spanning many fields of contemporary chemical research. Some discoveries of his Lab are at the origin of new, diverse successful commercial products. Mario has co-authored many bestselling books, including Flexible Solar Cells and Silica-Based Materals. He has a prolonged interest in management and in science methodology and is often cited for his excellence in teaching. His website is qualitas1998.net

Michele Rossi holds a chair of inorganic chemistry at the University of Milan. He graduated in industrial chemistry at the University of Milan in 1963 at Professor Malatesta's school. In 1974 he became Professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Bari and in 1988 he returned to Milan. His research, documented in more than 150 papers and several patents, is focused on metal-based catalysis and has led to important results in the activation of small molecules for catalytic applications and to the discovery of nitrogen fixation.