Jörg Liesen's research interests are in Numerical Linear Algebra, Matrix Theory and Constructive Approximation, with a particular focus on the convergence and stability analysis of iterative methods. He is also interested in the history of Mathematics, and in particular of Linear Algebra. He is the recipient of several prizes and awards for his mathematical work, including the Householder Award, the Emmy Noether Fellowship and the Heisenberg Professorship of the DFG. He likes to teach and pursue Mathematics as a lively subject, connecting theory with an ever increasing variety of fascinating applications. Volker Mehrmann's research interests are in Numerical Mathematics, Control Theory, Matrix Theory as well as Scientific Computing. In recent years he has focused on the development and analysis of numerical methods for nonlinear eigenvalue problems and differential-algebraic systems with applications in many fields such as mechanical systems, electronic circuit simulation and acoustic field computations. He is co-editor-in-chief of the journal Linear Algebra and its Applications and editor of many other journals in Linear Algebra and Numerical Analysis. He believes that Mathematics has become a central prerequisite for the societal development of the 21st century and that mathematical methods play the key role in the modeling, simulation, control and optimization of all are as of technological development.