Salih is a professor of Civil engineering at Khartoum University, Sudan. After his PhD and DIC at Imperial College, London, he returned to Sudan in 1973 and has since worked in various teaching, research and consulting capacities at the University and abroad. These positions include the deputy vice chancellorship of the University; UNESCO's environmental adviser (Arab Region), deputy secretary of the IHP and director of Cairo and Tehran Offices and director of Water Sciences Division in Paris. He initiated regional and international networks on water resources management in arid zones and served as a jury member of many international water prizes. He is a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and the International Water Resources Association. He is a member of many International Scientific Associations (IAHR, IAHS, etc.).

Chen (PhD 1992, Joh.-Gutenberg-U., Mainz, Germany) is currently Chair Professor at University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He is an internationally renowned climate researcher with important contributions to the understanding of regional climate changes and their impacts in Sweden and China. His research includes Earth System Science, global environmental change, climate dynamics and modeling, and atmospheric circulation. He works on recent and future regional climate changes and their impacts on water, ecosystem, environment, and agriculture. He currently focuses on climate and environmental changes over the Third Pole (Tibetan Plateau) region. He has served as Executive Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU), Director of the Gothenburg Atmospheric Science Centre, and Science Director of the Beijing Climate Center. He is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg, as well as TWAS Fellow. He has served on numerous international and national committees and boards, advising various governmental, intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations as well as research funding agencies.

Rosswall is former Executive Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU). He has been Rector of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and is professor emeritus of water in environment and society at SLU. His research has focused on microbial regulation of nitrogen and carbon cycling from the micro- to the global scale. He has played an important role in the development of global change research as Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP).He was the inaugural Director of START, the capacity building component of the global change research programmes. His memberships include: Academia Europaea; Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry; and The World Academy of Arts and Science. He is, among many appointments, past Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and past member of the Steering Committee of the High-level Expert Panel (HLPE) of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS)..

Chergui (PhD, 1981, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay) is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. He studied and worked in the UK, France and Germany. His research focuses on the fundamental aspects of photo-induced dynamics in molecules, proteins, solids and nanosystems, using novel ultrafast spectroscopic tools, which he pioneered, in the deep-ultraviolet and in the X-ray spectral domains. He has been a user of synchrotron radiation, ultrashort pulse lasers and more recently of X-ray free electron lasers. Chergui received, among others: Humboldt Research Award, Kuwait Prize for Physics, Earle K. Plyler Prize from American Physical Society (APS), Edward Stern Prize for Lifetime Achievements (International X-ray Absorption Society), Liversidge Award from Royal Society of Chemistry (RCS), the Khwarizmi International Award, and the Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science and Technology (American Chemical Society). He is a Fellow of APS, Optical Society of America, RCS, European Physical Society, American Crystallographic Association, European Academy of Sciences, among others, and a Foreign Correspondent of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences.

Sayed is dean of engineering, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. He has served as distinguished professor and chairman of electrical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he founded the Adaptive Systems Laboratory (1996). Recognized as a highly cited researcher and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, he served as president of the IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) in 2018-19. An author of over 570 scholarly publications and six books, his research involves several areas including adaptation and learning theories, data and network sciences, statistical inference, and multi-agent systems. His awards include: 2020 Norbert Wiener Society Award, 2015 Education Award from IEEE-SPS; 2014 Papoulis Award from European Association for Signal Processing; 2013 Meritorious Service Award and 2012 Technical Achievement Award from IEEE-SPS, 2005 Terman Award from American Society for Engineering Education, 2003 Kuwait Prize, and several Best Paper awards from scientific organizations. He is a fellow of IEEE, European Association for Signal Processing (EURASIP), and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Zichichi, em. prof. of Adv. Phys., U. of Bologna, has authored over 1100 sci. papers incl. 7 discoveries, 5 inventions, 3 original ideas which opened new avenues in high energy subnuclear physics and 4 high-precision measurements of fundamental physics properties. Among the discoveries: nuclear antimatter; among the inventions: an electronic circuit for time-of-flight measurements with a precision of seventy thousandth of a billionth of a second; among the original ideas that which brought to the discovery of the third column in the fundamental structure of the Universe. The great projects of European Physics (LEP and LAA at CERN, GRAN SASSO at INFN, HERA at DESY) are linked to his name, for his seminal contributions in their conception, study and implementation phases. He has been in charge of high-level offices and received 102 prizes, distinctions and medals in 15 countries.

Chang is Emeritus Scholar Chair of Natl. Synchrotron Radiation Res. Center (NSRRC) and honorary chair professor, Natl. Tsing Hua U. (NTHU) in Hsinchu, Taiwan. He obtained his PhD in 1975 at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. He was former director of NSRRC and former vice president (NTHU); president, Physical Society of R.O.C., director general (Natural Sciences), National Science Council; commission members IUPAP and IUCr. His honours include NSC Outstanding Research Award, Sun Yet San Academic Award, MOE Academic Award; Tung Yuan Award for Sci. and Tech.; B. E. Warren Diffraction Physics Award (Amer. Crystallogr. Assoc.); Ho Chin-Duei Outstanding Honorary Award. Member/Fellow: Academia Sinica; Asian Pacific Academy of Materials Science; American Physical Society; Physical Society of R.O.C.; national chair professor; chair, Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship.

Chang [M.D., 1974, National Taiwan University (NTU)] is Distinguished Chair Professor, NTU; past-president, Federation of the International Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition; member of Hepatology and Pancreaticobiliary Working Group, Internal Medicine Topic Advisory Group for the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Disease, WHO. She provided the first evidence for hepatitis B vaccine as the first effective cancer preventive vaccine in human. Her prizes include Distinguished Achievement Award of American Association for the Study of Liver diseases (AASLD); The World Academy of Sciences Prize; ISI Citation Classic Award; Sheila Sherlock Award of the International Association for the Study of the Liver; Canadian Association for the Study of Liver / Canadian Liver Foundation Sass-Kortsak Award; Asian Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Prof. JL Sung’s Award; Academician of Academia Sinica; Fellow of AASLD.

Chen received her BSc in physics from the National Taiwan University in 1981, and her PhD in applied physics from Harvard University (1989). Then, she worked at the General Electric Corporate R&D, Schenectady, New York (1989–1994), joined the Center for Condensed Matter Sciences (CCMS), NTU in 1994, and became a professor with the Physics Department in 2021. Chen was the director of CCMS (2012–2018), and since 2018 has been the director of the Center of Atomic Initiative for New Materials, a research centre featured by the Sprout Project under the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Taiwan. Chen’s group is specialized in low-dimensional nanomaterials and their applications for optoelectronics and energy. She is a Fellow of both the Physical Society and the Vacuum Society in Taiwan, and the Materials Research Society in USA. She has received numerous honours that include a Laureate of the 22nd Khwarizmi International Award, the Outstanding Research Award by the National Science and Technology Council (twice), the MoE Academic Award, and the Taiwan Outstanding Women in Science. Chen was elected as an Academician of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials and Academician of Academia Sinica.

Chou obtained his PhD at UC Santa Barbara in 1971 and was a postdoc. at Toronto Univ. in 1972. He is chair prof. and dir. of the Research Center for Biodiversity, China Medical U. He was: Dir., Inst. of Botany, Academia Sinica, and dir., Life Sci. Research Promotion Center for NSC, 1989-1996; vice-pres. and Natl. chair prof., Natl. Sun Yat-Sen U., 1999-2002; pres. and chair prof., Natl. Pingtung U. of Sci. and Tech., 2002-2006; and vice-pres., IUBS, 1997-2000, PSA, 2011-2015; Vice-Pres. and EC member, SCOPE. His honors: Academic Award in Agriculture, MOE; Distinguished Research Award, NSC; Highest Award of International Academic Cooperation, Russian Academy of Science, 1999; and Life Time Achievements Award 2009, by Inter. Allelopathy Foundation. Life Time Contri. to Biol. Sci. Award, and Life Time Achiev. Award of Bot. Soc. of Taiwan. He is an Academician, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, 1994.

Hung, PhD, is president for China Medical University and chancellor for China Medical University - Asia University System in Taichung, Taiwan. He was vice-president for basic research and professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas. Hung is a basic scientist with a keen translational vision and especially his recent research effort has significantly contributed to understanding the biology of cancer and to developing combinational cancer therapies to overcome resistance. Up to date, Hung has published more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, of which over 160 were published in journals with impact factor 10 or above. His lifetime h-index reaches to 163 (Google Scholar). He is one of the members of the selection committee for Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science category, and is one of the founding editorial members for Cancer Cell (2002–2020). He serves as member, Molecular Cell Advisory Board (2020–present); senior editor, Cancer Research (2018–2021); editor-in-chief, American Journal for Cancer Research (AJCR) (2015–2017; 2020–present); editor, Cancer and Metastasis Reviews (2018–present).

Lee received his B.S. degree from the National Taiwan University in 1959 and Doctorate from UC Berkeley in 1965. After working with Professor Mahan at Berkeley and Professor Herschbach at Harvard as a post-doctoral fellow, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago in 1968. He returned to Berkeley as Professor of Chemistry in 1974. He was University Professor and Principal Investigator at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, UC Berkeley, before he returned to Taiwan to serve as the President of Academia Sinica from 1994 to 2006, the highest ranking academic institution in Taiwan. He was elected President of the International Council for Science (ICSU) in 2008 and served from 2011 to 2014. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Doctor Honoris Causa from 41 universities throughout the world.

Lee received a PhD degree from Caltech in 1975. He specializes in space and plasma physics. Before 1995, he performed research at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, U. of Maryland and U. of Alaska. Upon returning to Taiwan in 1995, Lee served as the Dean of the College of Science, National Cheng Kung U., Director of National Space Program Office, founding President of the Natl. Applied Research Laboratories, President of Natl. Central University, and Minister of National Science Council. He is a distinguished research fellow of the Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica. Lee's honours include the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar, the Presidential Science Prize in Taiwan, Academician of Academia Sinica, Elected Member of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and International Academy of Engineering, Russian Academy of Engineering (IAE).

Lee is chair professor at the Department of Applied Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Science, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Science, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan, and an adjunct research fellow of the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. He obtained his PhD in 1979 at UC Berkeley. He was professor at the Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. His prizes include National Chair Professor from Ministry of Education, APA Award (Asian and Oceanian Photochemistry Association), Academic Achievement Award from the Ministry of Education, Excellent Research Awards from National Science Council. His memberships include fellow of the American Physical Society and Academician of Academia Sinica.

Lee is Dist. Res. Fellow, Inst. of Information Sci., Academia Sinica, Taiwan, (1998- ), and was Dir. of IIS (1998-08), and Pres. of Natl. Chung-Hsing U. (2011/8-2015/7). He is also Dist. Res. Chair Prof. of computer science, Natl. Taiwan U., and Chair Prof., Natl. Taiwan Tech and Natl. Chung-Hsing U.. He was Professor of computer science, Northwestern U. (1978-98) and was Program Dir., CISE, Natl. Science Foundation (1989-90). He is editor of Algorithmica, Intl. J. Information and Computer Security; Co-Editor-in-Chief, Intl. J. Computational Geometry and Applications; and editor, Lecture Notes Series on Computing, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore. He is Fellow of IEEE and ACM; Academician, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, recipient of the Humboldt Research Award, Germany, and Dist. Educator Award and Illini Comeback Guest Award, U. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.