Klaus Wetzig studied physics at the University of Technology in Dresden, receiving his licence in 1963, his doctorate in 1967 and his habilitation in 1973. In 1975 he moved to the Academy of Sciences, and since 1992 he is Full Professor of Materials Analysis at the University of Technology in Dresden and Director at the Leibniz Institute of Solid State and Materials Research Dresden. His research interests include materials analysis and microstructures, especially electron microscopy of functional materials, characterization of thin films for electronics, and nanostructural features in general.

Claus Michael Schneider studied physics at the RWTH Aachen University receiving his diploma in 1985. He obtained his PhD in 1990 at the Free University of Berlin and his habilitation in 1996 at the Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. From 1998 to 2003 he headed the Department of thin Film Systems and Nanostructures at the Leibniz Institute of Solid State and Materials research Dresden. Since June 2003 he directs the Institute "Electronic Properties" within the department of Solid State Research(IFF) at the Forschungzentrum Julich, being jointly appointed as full professor at the University Duisburg-Essen. His research interests include solid state physics, thin film systems, surface magnetism and spintronics as well as the physics of nanostructures.