Professor Duncan Bruce graduated from the University ofLiverpool (UK), where he also gained his PhD. In 1984, he took up aTemporary Lectureship in Inorganic Chemistry at the University ofSheffield and was awarded a Royal Society Warren ResearchFellowship. He was then appointed Lecturer in Chemistry and waspromoted Senior Lecturer in 1994, in which year he becameco-director of the Sheffield Centre for Molecular Materials. In1995, he was appointed Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at theUniversity of Exeter. Following the closure of Exeter's chemistrydepartment in 2005, Professor Bruce took up his present position asProfessor of Materials Chemistry in York. He is currently Chair ofthe Royal Society of Chemistry Materials Chemistry Forum. Hiscurrent research interests include liquid crystals andnanoparticle-doped, nanostructured, mesoporous silicates. His workhas been recognized by various awards including the British LiquidCrystal Society's first Young Scientist prize and the RSC's SirEdward Frankland Fellowship and Corday-Morgan Medal and Prize. Hehas held visiting positions in Australia, France, Japan and Italy. Dr. Richard Walton, who was also formerly based in theDepartment of Chemistry at the University of Exeter, now works inthe Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick. Hisresearch group works in the area of solid-state materials chemistryand has a number of projects focusing upon the synthesis,structural characterization and properties of inorganicmaterials. Dermot O'Hare is Professor in the Chemistry ResearchLaboratory at the University of Oxford. His research group has a wide range of research interests. Theyall involve synthetic chemistry ranging from organometallicchemistry to the synthesis of new microporous solids. Duncan Bruce and Dermot O'Hare have edited several editions ofInorganic Materials published by John Wiley & SonsLtd.