David Levy is a Research Professor and head of the Sol-Gel Group at the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM) of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientí cas. His research interests are optical materials (bulk materials; thin- lm coatings as AR optical coatings, protection transparent coatings and functional coatings; oxide nanoparticles) and liquid crystal materials, by Sol-Gel processing and their applications. During his time at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem David Levy pioneered the sol-gel process for the preparation of organically doped silica-gel glasses. He has more than 130 publications and a number of patents to his name, and has received numerous prizes in recognition of his groundbreaking work on sol-gel materials, including the ?First Ulrich Prize? and the nomination to King Juan Carlos-I research award.

Marcos Zayat is currently vice-director of the Materials Science Institute of Madrid (ICMM). His scienti c interests are centered on the design of new optical coatings and the characterization of their physicochemical properties. After having obtained his PhD in Materials Science from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1997, Marcos Zayat joined the ICMM where he continues developing sol-gel materials for optical and electrooptical applications. He has published more than fty original articles in prestigious scienti c journals.