Steven S. Zumdahl earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Wheaton College (IL) and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has been a faculty member at the University of Colorado-Boulder, Parkland College (IL), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) where he is Professor Emeritus. He has received numerous awards including the National Catalyst Award for Excellence in Chemical Education, the University of Illinois Teaching Award, the UIUC Liberal Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching, UIUC Liberal Arts and Sciences Advising Award, and the School of Chemical Sciences Teaching award (five times). He is the author of several chemistry textbooks. In his leisure time he enjoys traveling and collecting classic cars.

Susan L. Zumdahl earned a B.S. and M.A. in Chemistry at California State University-Fullerton. She has taught science and mathematics at all levels including middle school, high school, community college, and university. At the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, she developed a program for increasing the retention of minorities and women in science and engineering. This program focused on using active learning and peer teaching to encourage students to excel in the sciences. She has coordinated and led workshops and programs for science teachers from elementary through college levels. These programs encourage and support active learning and creative techniques for teaching science. For several years she was director of an Institute for Chemical Education (ICE) field center in Southern California and she has authored several chemistry textbooks. Susan spearheaded the development of a sophisticated Web-based electronic homework system for teaching chemistry. Susan enjoys traveling, classic cars, and gardening in her spare time when she is not playing with her grandchildren.