Euan Nisbet is a scientist internationally respected for the originality and quality of his work. A geologist, he contributed significantly to individual field areas, notably in Zimbabwe and Canada; his contributions to the understanding of Archaean geology, including komatiities, plate tectonics, and the origin of life, are considered by colleagues to be "of profound impact." His most recent research involves global change and environmental issues.

Christine Mary Rutherford Fowler is the third generation in a family of scientists of extraordinarily high international reputation. Her main areas of research include seismic refraction, thermal models, sedimentary basins and continental crust. She is co-author with E.G. Nisbet on several papers: her latest book, "The Solid Earth", quickly became the standard text in geophysics, and is used at MIT and CalTech, etc.