Lars Samuelson, currently Professor of Solid State Physics at Lund University, is internationally recognised for his breakthrough research on low-dimensional structures and the physics and applications made possible by these structures. In recent years, his research has been directed towards new ways for the formation of ideal one-dimensional heterostructured nanowires through self-assembly, their physical properties, and applications of semiconductor nanowires in electronics, photonics and the life-sciences.

Dr. Samuelson is the director of the Nanometer Structure Consortium, started in 1988, which is today the primary center for nanoscience in Sweden. He is the scientific leader of two Strategic Research Centers funded by the Swedish Foundation of Strategic Research (SSF): one in the field of Microelectronics (2003-2008), called “Nanoscience for Future Electronic Devices”, and a Strategic Research Center called “Nanowires for emerging nanoelectronics and life-science applications”. Samuelson is also the leader of a major European R&D project called NODE (“Nanowire-based One Dimensional Electronics”), with participation by leading European electronics industries, research institutes and academic research teams.

In 2002 Lars Samuelson was appointed “doubly excellent scientist” by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet, VR), for his research on fundamental quantum physics (by the Natural Science section of VR) and electronics and photonics (by the Engineering Science section of VR).
In 2005, the Swedish Research Council identified the research effort “Nanowires for Fundamental Materials Science and Quantum Physics and for Applications in Electronics, Photonics and in Life-sciences”, headed by Lars Samuelson, as one of the top ten scientific environments of all areas of science in Sweden.

In 2004 Dr. Samuelson became Fellow of the Institute of Physics, FinstP, in the United Kingdom, and in 2006 he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, (Kungl. Vetenskapsakademien (KVA) (Physics)), which awards the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physics each year.

Dr. Samuelson is the author of more than 300 articles in refereed journals, and has given about 150 plenary/invited talks at international conferences and workshops. He received obtained his Ph.D. in Solid State Physics at Lund University in 1977.

Dr. Federico Capasso, currently Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering at Harvard University, is internationally known for his pioneering research on bandstructure engineering of artificially structured semiconductors and devices, which has opened up new directions in materials research, mesoscopic physics, photonics, electronics, and nanotechnology. He and his collaborators invented and developed the quantum cascade laser, a fundamentally new light source, which is now commercial and has wide ranging applications in a number of fields.

Operating at the interface between applied and basic solid-state science, at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Dr. Capasso pioneered the design of artificially structured materials and devices using semiconductor heterostructures. Dr. Capasso's many other
contributions include multilayer low-noise avalanche photodiodes, the solid-state photomultiplier and seminal work with quantum electron devices. Dr. Capasso started his 26-year career at Bell Labs in 1977 as a member of the technical staff. He was vice president of physical research from 2000 to 2003, when he joined the faculty at Harvard. A Fellow of the IEEE, the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences and the Optical Society of America (OSA), Dr. Capasso is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. His many honors include the IEEE Edison Medal, the Rank Prize for Optoelectronics, the King Faisal International Prize for Physics, the American Physical Society Arthur Schawlow Prize for Laser Science, the David Sarnoff Award and OSA's R. Wood Prize.

Dr. Capasso has published more than 300 papers and holds over 50 U.S. patents. He received the doctor of Physics degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Rome, Italy, in 1973.

Dr. H.-S. Philip Wong, currently Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, is a 16-year veteran of IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center where he had the responsibility of shaping and executing IBM’s strategy on nanoscale science and technology, and the technology roadmap for silicon technology. His research focuses on nanoscale science and technology, semiconductor technology, solid state
devices, and electronic imaging, exploring new materials, novel fabrication techniques, and novel device concepts for future nanoelectronics systems. His research also includes explorations into circuits and systems that are device-driven.

Dr. Wong is a Fellow of the IEEE, the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology and a member of the Emerging Research Devices Working Group of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Western Institute of Nanotechnology, a consortium aimed at helping to define the successor to silicon CMOS technology and funded by, inter alia, Intel, IBM, Texas Instruments, AMD, Freescale and MICRON.

Dr. Wong joined the faculty at Stanford in 2004 and has published over 125 papers and regularly presents to major academic and industry conferences. He received the PhD degree in 1988 from Lehigh University.