Budiman Minasny is a professor of soil science at the University of Sydney, with a keen interest in history. Originally from Medan, North Sumatra, he has authored several scholarly articles on the historical narratives of the region's people. In Soil Science, Budiman is considered a leading authority in soil mapping, has authored more than 200 academic papers, and was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.Dirk Aedsge Buiskool is a historian. He was lecturing in history at the Groningen Volksuniversiteit and the University of North Sumatra. In Medan he co-founded Tri Jaya Tour & Travel and Hotel Deli River. Dirk contributed to different historical journals and books and published the award-winning book De reis van Harm Kamerlingh Onnes. In 2019, he received his PhD from Utrecht University with the thesis "Prominent Chinese During the Rise of a Colonial City: Medan 1890-1942."