John Joule is Emeritus Professor in the School of Chemistry, Manchester University, UK. His current research interests centre on the properties and synthesis of heterocyclic compounds, in particular developing new methods for constructing and manipulating nitrogen containing heterocycles. He is also working on synthetic approaches to heterocyclic spheres, analogous to the all-carbon dodecahedrane. In 1996 Professor Joule received a Royal Society of Chemistry Medal for Heterocyclic Chemistry.

Keith Mills spent 25 years in the Medicinal Chemistry and Development Chemistry departments at GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, UK, and is now an independent consultant.