Robert H. Grubbs received his Ph.D. from Columbia University for work with Ron Breslow. After a postdoctoral year with Jim Collman at Stanford University, he joined the faculty at Michigan State University. In 1978, he moved to the California Institute of Technology, where he is now the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry. Among many other awards he received the Nobel Prize in 2005 for his research on the metathesis reaction. His research interests include polymer chemistry, organometallic catalysis, and development of new synthetic organic methodology.

Ezat Khosravi obtained his PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Sussex, UK in 1981. He is presently Reader in Polymer Chemistry at Chemistry Department, Durham University, UK. His research interests range from well-defined polymerization chemistry to novel polymers and biopolymers. He is internationally recognized particularly for his work on Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) and related chemistry. He is the permanent secretary of the advisory board of the International Symposium on Olefin Metathesis (ISOM).