Dr. Elke Meissner is a senior scientist at the Department Materials of the Fraunhofer Institute of Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB) in Erlangen, Germany and head of the Nitrides group. In addition to her activities at the IISB, she carries out gallium nitride (GaN) research at the Fraunhofer Technology Center for Semiconductor Materials (THM) in Freiberg (Saxony, Germany) and fundamental research at the Technical Faculty of University of Erlangen-Nuremberg at the Chair for Electron Devices. She boasts more than 20 years of experience in various fields ranging from applied and experimental mineralogy, silicon nitride and related processes under high pressure and temperature as well as the crystal growth of GaN and AlN. She is inventor or co-inventor of international patents, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications. She has served on the chairs of high-profile international conferences, and is member of the international steering committee of the International Workshop on Bulk Nitride Semiconductors (IWBNS).

Prof. Dr. Rainer Niewa is a professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He has long-standing experience in inorganic materials synthesis including high pressure-high temperature, solvothermal, electrochemical and molten flux preparation and crystal growth, along with an array of various characterization techniques. One of his main research areas is the synthesis and characterization of novel functional materials with one focus on a wide range of nitrides and related compounds. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications, and is member of the international steering committee of the International Workshop on Bulk Nitride Semiconductors (IWBNS).