Robert Martin graduated as engineer from CNAM, then as doctor-engineer and doctor sciences (Ph. D.) from Paris University. He studied with professors Léon Denivelle and Albert Kirrmann. After having worked in the pharmaceutical industry, Robert Martin completed his career of organic chemist at a Research Laboratory of the French CNRS, located in the Curie Institute in Paris. He has been studying Fries reaction since 1956 without interruption. He prepared a considerable number of aromatic hydroxyketones. A large part of these are included in the reference NMR and IR spectra collection of SADTLER (Philadelphia, USA).

His research on aromatic hydroxyketones gave rise to about forty publications between 1963 and 1992, some of them in collaboration with Mainz University (Germany) and others with Institut Curie (Paris). In 1992, he published a review on Fries reaction in the ORGANIC PREPARATIONS AND PROCEDURES INTERNATIONAL. This was followed by the publishing of two books dealing with aromatic hydroxyketones, published by KLUWER in 1997 and 2000. For his various works concerning aromatic hydroxyketones he received the silver gilt medal from "Société d'Encouragement à l'Industrie Nationale" in 1985. Dr Jean-Pierre Buisson Jean-Pierre Buissson is also doctor es-science (Ph. D) from Paris University. The subject of his thesis was “Phenolic ether desalcoylation with pyridinium hydrochloride”. Chemist at the CNRS, he worked all his career in the chemistry lab of the Institut Curie in Paris with successively, Drs. Royer, Demersseman, Monneret and Florent. His research concern the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds in the benzofuran, naphthofuran and oxaphenalene series. The major product obtained was the R7000, the most mutagenic compound on bacterial strains, which is now an international reference for the biologists.