Carl H. Hamann:Following his studies in mathematics, physics, biology and economics in Hamburg and Bonn, graduating in 1966 as a physicist, Carl H. Hamann gained his doctorate in 1970, becoming Professor for Applied Physical Chemistry at the University of Oldenburg in 1975. He has since concentrated mainly on fuel cells, electrochemical metrology, passage and adsorption kinetics, turbulent flows, the thermodynamics of irreversible systems, preparative electroorganic chemistry and technical electrochemistry. Professor Hamann has thus far published some 80 articles in journals and books. Wolf Vielstich:As Heinz Gerischer's first student, in Gottingen in 1952/53, Wolf Vielstich was concerned with developing a fast Potentiostaten while determining exchange current densities. Upon starting work at the Institute for Physical Chemistry, Bonn University, in 1960 he demonstrated that, apart from mercury, reproducible cyclic voltamograms, such as for the oxidation of hydrogen and methanol, are contained in solid electrodes, including Pt, Ir, Rh, Au and Pd. There then followed experiments with methanol/air and NiMH cells, among others. He was always interested in developing novel methods, such as the rotating ring electrode, on-line MS (DEMS), in-situ FTIRS and UHV analysis of adsorbants. Between 1986 and 1993, Wolf Vielstich was the Coordinator of the first European project to develop a DMFC, and in 1998 he was awarded the Faraday Medal by the Royal Chemical Society. Since 1999 he has been working as a guest of the Universidade de Sao Paulo, and edited Wiley's Handbook of Fuel Cells (2003). Professor Hamnett graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA (Chemistry) in 1970 and a D.Phil. (Chemistry) in 1973. He has held research and academic positions at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and at Oxford and Newcastle Universities, England, before his appointment in January 2001 as Principal and Vice-chancellor of the University of Strathclyde. He has nearly 200 publications in books and scientific journals, covering areas of spectroscopy, quantum theory and electrochemistry. His primary academic interests in recent years include the development and utilisation of spectro-electrochemical techniques in electrochemistry, and the development of improved fuel cells and solar-energy conversion devices.
