Wienhard is the director at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Leipzig, an honorary professor at the University of Leipzig, and scientific chair of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation. Her mathematical scientific interests focus on geometry, group theory, and dynamics, and on the application of geometric methods in other sciences. Her career led her to Switzerland (ETH Zurich, Basel University) and the USA (IAS Princeton, University of Chicago, Princeton University, Caltech, MSRI/SLMath). As a professor at Heidelberg University and a group leader at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies she was co-spokesperson of the Excellence Cluster STRUCTURES, and founding director of the Research Station Geometry and Dynamics. Among her honours are two ERC grants and the Hector Science Award 2022. She gave invited addresses at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2018, and the European Congress of Mathematics (ECM) in 2016, and a plenary address at the ECM in 2024. She is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, member of the Heidelberg and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academies of Science (Leopoldina), and the European Academy of Sciences.

Tschinkel received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992. From 1992–95 he was a junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows, and from 1995–96 a Leibniz Fellow at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Prior to joining the Simons Foundation in 2012, Tschinkel was a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a visiting associate professor at Princeton University, the Gauss chair of mathematics at the University of Goettingen, and professor and chair of the mathematics department at the Courant Institute, New York University. Tschinkel’s research lies at the interface of algebraic geometry and number theory. He is the author of 165 papers and editor of 20 books. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences, a foreign member of Academia Europaea, and a foreign member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Mulugetta is a professor of energy and development policy at University College London (UCL), and a member of the management team of the Climate Compatible Growth programme. Prior to joining UCL, he held an academic position at the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey, UK. He is also a founding member of the African Climate Policy Centre at the Ethiopia-based UN Economic Commission for Africa, where he served as senior climate and energy specialist (2010–2013). He has over 25 years of research, teaching and advisory experience specialising on the links between energy infrastructure provision and human welfare. His research focuses on three interconnected areas: energy systems and development; energy systems and climate change; and political economy of low carbon development. He served as a coordinating lead author of the energy systems chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (Working Group III on mitigation), lead author in the IPCC Special Report on global warming, and lead author in the IPCC 6th Assessment Report. He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences.

Morshed is a leading authority in microbiology, specializing in zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, diagnostic microbiology and public health. With over 150 scientific publications and $20 million in research funding, he has addressed a broad range of topics, including SARS-CoV-2, and syphilis. His career began at the Teknaf Dysentery Project, where he established a microbiology laboratory in a remote, power-deprived area using innovative methods. He helped establish microbiology labs in Dhaka Children Hospital and Jahangirnagar University, which later was turned into a full department. Before moving to Canada, he pursued a PhD in Japan. He has been a key scientist at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and University of British Columbia, mentoring students and managing outbreaks like SARS-CoV-2 and West Nile Virus. He has delivered over 50 international lectures. His accolades include UBC’s Excellence in Education (2023), the Distinguished Microbiologist Award (2018), Top 25 Canadian Immigrants People’s Choice Award (2017) and Excellence in Clinical Services Award from UBC (2016). Morshed’s contributions highlight resilience and dedication in public health.

Wonkam is a professor of genetic medicine, and director of the McKusick-Nathans Institute and Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, US. He is also director of GeneMAP (Genetic Medicine of African Populations), and immediate past-deputy dean of research at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa. After an MD training with the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon, he has completed a doctorate in medical sciences (cell biology) at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a PhD in human genetics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Wonkam also trained as a medical geneticist in genetic medicine at the University of Geneva. His scientific results are reflected in more than 230 peer-reviewed publications. His research focuses on genetic and genomic variations in the African population with a focus on 1) Genomics modifiers of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD); 2) Genetics of hearing Impairment, and 3) Ethical, Equity, and Educational Issues in Genetic Medicine Research. Wonkam is president of the African Society of Human Genetics.

Professor Kadambot Siddique obtained his PhD in 1985 from The University of Western Australia. Currently Hackett Professor of Agriculture Chair, and Director, The UWA Australia Institute of Agriculture. He is Fellows of The World Academy of Sciences, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, African Academy of Sciences, Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Agriculture Institute of Australia and Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He was designated by United Nations FAO as special ambassador for the International Year of Pulses 2016. Highly Cited Researcher in 2019-2023 in Agricultural Sciences and double Hi Ci in 2021-2023 in Agricultural Sciences and Plant & Animal Science (Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics). Professor Siddique is the recipient of national and international awards. In 2025 was bestowed Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by Kerala Agricultural University, India and 2024 Crawford Fund Medal in recognition of considerable and continued contribution to international agricultural research through the Crawford Fund’s programs and related activities. Awarded Western Australian Scientist of the Year 2023.

Parisi is a theoretical physicist born in 1948, and a former student of the Italian physicist Nicola Cabibbo. From 2018–2021 he was president of the Accademia dei Lincei, and now is a member of various academies including the American Philosophical Society. In 2021 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales." He carried out his research activities at the Frascati National Laboratories, first as a fellow of the CNR (1971–1973) and later as an INFN researcher (1973–1981). During this time he spent long periods abroad at Columbia University, IHES, ENS. In February 1981, he was appointed full professor of theoretical physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, a position that he held until 1992. Since 1992, he has been an emeritus professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza. His contributions cover many areas of theoretical physics, including particle physics, statistical mechanics, fluid dynamics, condensed matter physics, and scientific computer constructions. He has also published some papers on neural networks, the immune system, and starling flight.