Thomas Engel has taught chemistry for more than 20 years at the University of Washington, where he is currently Professor of Chemistry and Associate Chair for the Undergraduate Program. Professor Engel received his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University, and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Chicago. He then spent 11 years as a researcher in Germany and Switzerland, in which time he received the Dr. rer. nat. habil. degree from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. In 1980, he left the IBM research laboratory in Zurich to become a faculty member at the University of Washington.

Professor Engel's research interests are in the area of surface chemistry, and he has published more than 80 articles and book chapters in this field. He has received the Surface Chemistry or Colloids Award from the American Chemical Society and a Senior Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which has allowed him to establish collaborations with researchers in Germany. He is currently working together with European manufacturers of catalytic converters to improve their performance for diesel engines.

Philip Reid has taught chemistry at the University of Washington since he joined the chemistry faculty in 1995. Professor Reid received his bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound in 1986, and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992. He performed postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, campus before moving to Washington.

Professor Reid's research interests are in the areas of atmosphere chemistry, condensed-phase reaction dynamics, and nonlinear optical materials. He has published more than 70 articles in these fields. Professor Reid is the recipient of a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation, is a Cottrell Scholar of the Research Corporation, and is a Sloan fellow.