Curtis T. McMullen is Cabot Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University. He graduated valedictorian from Williams College in 1980, earned his Ph.D. at Harvard, and held positions at Princeton and Berkeley before coming to Harvard in 1997. His research centers on complex dynamics and hyperbolic geometry, and has included work in knot theory, number theory and algebraic geometry. McMullen has delivered over 200 public lectures in a dozen countries, in forums ranging from gatherings of high school students to international meetings. He was awarded the Salem Prize in 1991 and the Fields Medal in 1998.

Lisa Randall studies particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University, where she is professor of theoretical physics. Her research concerns elementary particles and fundamental forces, and has involved the study a wide variety of models, the most recent involving extra dimensions of space.