Professor Peter Halley is a leading international expert in bio-based polymers and translational polymer research. His initial work on Australia's first biodegradable thermoplastic starch polymers led to the establishment of spin-off company Plantic Technologies, venture financing, sales of commercially-viable products and a continued research provider relationship with Plantic. Professor Halley has led translational research projects in biopolymers and biofluid platforms for agrifood, biomedical and high-value manufacturing sectors which have attracted both government and industry funding; and produced patents, licences and new industrial know-how. Professor Halley is a fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) and the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). He is on the editorial board of four journals. Professor Luc Averous is a leading international expert in bio-based and/or biodegradable polymers. He started working on thermoplastic starch in 1996 to develop biodegradable packaging. During the two last decades, his major research projects have dealt with biobased and/or biodegradable polymers for environmental and biomedical applications. On these topics, he has published hundreds of scientific communications (articles, books chapters, patents and proceeding papers) with more than 2500 citations, thanks to strong collaborations with foreign labs and international companies. He is on the editorial board of more than ten journals. He has recently co-published 2 books (2011 and 2012).