Severian Dumitriu (deceased) was a research professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. He edited several books, including Polymeric Biomaterials, Second Edition, Polysaccharides in Medicinal Applications, and Polysaccharides: Structural Diversity and Functional Versatility. He also authored or coauthored more than 190 professional papers and book chapters in the fields of polymer and cellulose chemistry, polyfunctional initiators, and bioactive polymers and held 15 international patents. Professor Dumitriu received his BSc (1959) and MS (1961) in chemical engineering and his Ph.D. (1971) in macromolecular chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Jassy, Romania.

Valentin I. Popa earned his BSc and MSc in chemical engineering (1969) and Ph.D. in the field of polysaccharide chemistry (1976) from Polytechnic Institute of Iasi, Romania. He was awarded the Romanian Academy Prize for his contributions in the field of seaweed chemistry (1976). He has published more than 500 papers in the following fields: wood chemistry and biotechnology, biomass complex processing, biosynthesis and biodegradation of natural compounds, allelochemicals, bioadhesives, and bioremediation. Dr Popa is also the author or coauthor of 37 books or book chapters. He holds six patents and has been involved in many Romanian and European research projects as scientific manager. He is also a professor of wood chemistry and biotechnology at "Gheorghe Asachi" Technical University of Iasi, and editor-in-chief of Cellulose Chemistry and Technology.