Hiroshi Fukumura studied the biocompatibility of polymers in the Government Industrial Research Institute of Osaka from 1983 to 1988. He became an Assistant Professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology in 1988, then moved to the Department of Applied Physics of Osaka University in 1991, where he worked on the mechanism of laser ablation and laser molecular implantation. Since 1998, he is Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Tohoku University. His current interests include molecular physical chemistry employing ultra-fast spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. Masahiro Irie received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Kyoto University and his Ph.D. degree in radiation chemistry from Osaka University. He started his research on photochemistry at Hokkaido University in 1970 and went on to Osaka University. In 1988 he was appointed to Professor at Kyushu University, where he initiated the study of photochromic diarylethene derivatives. He is currently interested in developing single-crystalline photochromism and single-molecule photochemistry using diarylethene derivatives. Yasuhiro Iwasawa pioneered the integration of modern surface science and organometallic chemistry into surface chemistry and catalysis on the atomic/molecular scale, and he has a leading position in the creation of the new research field of catalysis and surface chemistry at oxide surfaces by XAFS and SPM techniques. His honors include the Japan IBM Science Award (1990), Inoue Prize for Science (1996), Catalysis Society of Japan Award (1999), The Surface Science Society of Japan Award (2000), Medal with Purple Ribbon (2003), and the Chemical Society of Japan Award (2004). Hiroshi Masuhara held a Professorship at the Kyoto Institute of Technology (1984-1991) before returning to Osaka University as Professor in the Department of Applied Physics. With his research, he opened a whole new field on laser nanospectroscopy, nanophotochemistry and laser nanoablation. In addition to his position in Osaka, he joined the Hamano Life Science Research Foundation in Kobe for research activities in bioscience and biotechnology. He has edited ten English and three Japanese books on topics ranging from photochemistry and spectroscopy to micro- and nanophotonics. Kohei Uosaki was a Research Chemist at Mitsubishi Petrochemical Co. Ltd. from 1971 to 1978 and a Research Officer at the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory of Oxford University between 1978 and 1980. He subsequently joined Hokkaido University as Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, receiving promotions to Associate Professor in 1981 and Professor in 1990.
