Akira Fujishima is the President of the Science University of Tokyo. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo in 1971, then taught at Kanagawa University for four years and then moved to the University of Tokyo, becoming a Full Professor in 1986. In 2003, he took on the position of Chairman at the Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology. He has published over 750 original papers, 440 review articles and holds 280 patents. His awards include the Heinz Gerischer Award (European Section, Electrochemical Society, 2003), the Medal with a Purple Ribbon (2003), the Japan Prize (2004), the National Commendation for Invention Award (2006), and the Kanagawa Culture Award (2006). In 2005, he was appointed a Special University Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo. From 2006 to 2008, he was the President of the Chemical Society of Japan. In 2009, he was appointed as a member of Academiae Europaeae. Hiroshi Irie is a Professor in the Clean Energy Research Center at the University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Japan. He received his B.E. and M.E. degrees from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1992 and 1994, respectively. He then worked at Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. as a research engineer. In 2000, he received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Tokyo in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies. He then was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tokyoand a research staff member at Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology. He joined University of Tokyo as a Research Associate in 2001 and became an Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo from 2006 and 2008, respectively. He was promoted to a full professor in 2009 at Clean Energy Research Center in University of Yamanashi. Xintong Zhang is a Professor of Materials Physics and Chemistry at Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1998 from Jilin University. He joined the group of Professor Akira Fujishima, at the University of Tokyo in 2001, and spent six years with Professor Fujishima, including four years at Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology. Donald A. Tryk is a Professor in the Fuel Cell Nanomaterials Center at the University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Japan. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1980 from the University of New Mexico (USA) and joined Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA), working with the late Prof. Ernest Yeager. Starting in 1995, he spent six fruitful years in the research group of Professor Akira Fujishima. Later, he worked with Professors Carlos Cabrera and Yasuyuki Ishikawa at the University of Puerto Rico and with Professor Haruo Inoue at Tokyo Metropolitan University.
