Ralf Riedel has been a professor at the Institute ofMaterials Science of Darmstadt University of Technology since 1993.He received his degree in chemistry in 1984, followed by two yearsof dissertation work with Professor Ekkehard Fluck at theUniversity of Stuttgart. After postdoctoral research at theMax-Planck Institute for Metals Research and the Institute ofInorganic Chemistry at the University of Stuttgart, he gained hislecturing qualification in the field of inorganic chemistry in1992. He is a member of the World Academy of Ceramics and GuestProfessor at the Jiangsu University in Zhenjiang, China, a Fellowof the American Ceramic Society and a recipient of the Dionyz SturGold Medal for merits in natural sciences. In 2006 he received anhonorary doctorate from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava,Slovakia. Professor Riedel has published more than 300 papers andpatents and is widely known for his research in the field ofpolymer derived ceramics and on ultra high pressure synthesis ofnew materials. I-Wei Chen has been Skirkanich Professor of MaterialsInnovation at the University of Pennsylvania since 1997, where healso gained his master's degree in 1975. He received his bachelor'sdegree in physics from tsinghua University, Taiwan, in 1972, andearned his doctorate in metallurgy from the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology in 1980. He taught at the University of Michigan(Materials) during 1986-1997 and MIT (Nuclear Engineering;Materials) during 1980-1986. He began ceramic research studyingmartensitic transformations in zirconia nano crystals, which led towork on transformation plasticity , superplasticity, fatigue, graingrowth and sintering in various oxides and nitrides. He iscurrently interested in nanotechnology of forroelectrics, thin filmmemory devices, and nano particles for biomedical applications. AFellow of American Ceramic Society (1991) and recipient of its RossCoffin Purdy Award (1994), Edward C. Henry Award (1999), Edward C.Henry Award (1999) and Sosman Award (2006), he authored over 90papers in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society (1986-2006).He also received Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S. Scientists(1997).