Can Li received his PhD degree from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (China) in 1988, was promoted to full professor in 1993, and was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2003. He was appointed director of the State Key Laboratory of Catalysis at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in 1998 and elected to the President of the International Association of Catalysis Societies in 2008. He is a member of the editorial board of more than 15 academic journals and has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, authorized 40 patents and delivered more than 60 invited and plenary lectures at national and international conferences. Under his supervision, more than 60 graduate students have obtained their PhD degrees. Among the prestigious awards he received are the International Catalysis Award, the National Award for Outstanding Young Scientists in China, and the HoLeungHoLee Prize. His research interests are physical chemistry, catalysis, environmental catalysis, chiral catalysis, in-situ characterization, resonance and time-resolved spectroscopy, and solar energy utilization (photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis and photovoltaic).

Yan Liu studied chemistry at Lanzhou University (China) and then moved to the State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry to obtain his PhD degree under the supervision of Prof. Kuiling Ding in 2006. After three years of postdoctoral studies with Prof. Li Deng, Brandeis University (USA), he joined Prof. Can Li?s group at the State Key Laboratory of Catalysis at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in 2010 as associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 2013.