T. Pullaiah, PhD , is a former Professor at the Department of Botany at Sri Krishnadevaraya University in Andhra Pradesh, India, where he has taught for more than 35 years. He has held several positions at the university, including Dean, Faculty of Biosciences, Head of the Department of Botany, Head of the Department of Biotechnology, and Member of Academic Senate. He was President of Indian Botanical Society (2014), President of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (2013), and Fellow of Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences. He has been awarded with various prestigious awards for his work. Under his guidance 54 students obtained their doctoral degrees. He has authored 65 books, edited 45 books, and published over 340 research papers. His books include Mangroves: Biodiversity, Livelihoods and Conservation (Springer), Ethnobotany of India (5 volumes, Apple Academic Press), Global Biodiversity (4 volumes, Apple Academic Press), Monograph on Brachystelma and Ceropegia in India (CRC Press), Apomixis in Angiosperms (CRC Press), Invasive Alien Species ( 4 volume, Wiley International), Advances in Cell and Molecular Diagnostics (published by Elsevier), Camptothecin and Camptothecin Producing Plants (Elsevier), Paclitaxel (Elsevier), Red Sanders: Silviculture and Conservation (Springer), and more.

He was also a member of Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Professor Pullaiah received his PhD from Andhra University, India, attended Moscow State University, Russia, and worked as Postdoctoral Fellow during 1976-1978. Teshome Soromessa, PhD , is currently a Professor of Environmental Science at the Center for Environmental Science of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He is a renowned Ethiopian environmental scientist who has significantly contributed to the understanding and conservation of the country natural resources. His research focuses on various aspects of Ethiopian vegetation, including flora of northeast and east tropical Africa, woodlands and forests, community and ecosystem ecology, regeneration ecology, forest fire and its impact on plant species, restoration of degraded land, estimation of carbon stock in natural forests, tree allometry and modelling of ecosystem services, etc. Professor Soromessa research has not only been groundbreaking but also highly impactful. He has published over 200 scientific articles, books, and book chapters, sharing his knowledge with the wider scientific community and informing conservation efforts. His dedication to the environment extends far beyond his research.

He has actively served in various capacities, promoting capacity building and environmental awareness at the national and international levels. Dr. Soromessa completed both his BSc and MSc degrees at Addis Ababa University. He earned his PhD and postdoctoral research at the prestigious University of Vienna, Austria.