**About the Editors**

**Anthony E. Hughes** currently holds honorary positions of Adjunct Professor at Deakin University within the Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University and is a CSIRO Fellow at CSIRO Mineral Resources. He qualified with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Phys) with distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in 1978. In 1982, he obtained a Master in Applied Science, also from RMIT, with a thesis entitled *Photon Correlation Spectroscopy Study of Polymer Solutions*. He was the first Ph.D. graduate from the newly formed RMIT university when he was granted a Ph.D. for his thesis entitled *X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study of Segregation Phenomena in Yttria-Zirconia Solid Electrolytes* (1991). He was employed as an electron spectroscopist (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) at CSIRO Division of Materials Science in 1982, where he worked on characterization studies of catalyst and catalytic reactions from fundamental perspectives of single-crystal studies to more practical catalysts, where he examined the dispersion of catalytic metals on mostly oxide supports. In 1990, Professor Hughes began working in corrosion inhibitors, corrosion management systems, and coatings almost exclusively for aerospace applications. This work was undertaken with aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing (1990–1996) and BAE SYSTEM (1999–2003). It resulted in several patents for conversion coating processes and one commercial Ce-based process developed with Chemetall GmbH from 1997 to 1999. This process was eventually superseded by other processes where the bath chemistry was easier to maintain. The work with BAE SYSTEMS went a long way to developing prognostic health management systems for airframes. From 2007 to 2009, Professor Hughes was an external participant in a Dutch Program on Self Healing Materials working on a project managed by Professor J.M.C. Mol at TU Delft, called *Pre-emptive healing by responsive release in organic coatings*. This project delivered new, high-throughput techniques using multi-electrodes and microfluidics, both of which are used more broadly by other research groups, now in combination with neural networks as discovery methods. In the TU Delft/CSIRO project some 6000 combinations of inhibitors under various conditions were tested. Between 2010–2013, Professor Hughes was involved in a long-term commercial project on high throughput catalysis research for new ammonia synthesis approaches. In addition, he was also leading a large commercial research project looking to find new multifunctional inhibitors to replace chromate as inhibitors in aerospace primer paint coatings, as well as demonstrating self-healing mechanisms. From 2006 to his retirement in 2014, Professor Hughes moved into research management, where he was required to assemble diverse research areas into groups under a thematic management structure aimed at industry sectors. Such structures included *Interfacial Science, Corrosion Science and Surface Design, Nanoadditives for the Fine Chemical Industry*, and *Cleantech*. The largest of these groupings had over 55 staff grouped into 15 to 20 research areas. Since retiring in 2014, Professor Hughes has undertaken honorary positions at Deakin University (additive manufacturing, pipeline corrosion and inhibition) and CSIRO (aluminum alloy microstructure and corrosion). At Deakin University he supervises students working on advanced manufacturing of stainless steels using 3D laser printing. He contributes extensively to the 3D characterization of these materials using X-ray CT techniques. He has written around 200 papers and book chapters. He has eight patent families and is also one of only 3 recipients of the RSC Corrosion award (2005).

**Russell J. Varley** earned his B.Sc (Hons) in Physical and Inorganic Chemistry from The University of Adelaide, South Australia in 1987. After graduation, he worked for 1.5 years at Yorkshire Chemicals in Melbourne, Victoria, a manufacturer of chemicals for the textile industry, before gaining employment at the CSIRO Division of Chemicals and Polymers in 1989. While still working as a researcher at CSIRO he completed his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering in 1998 from Monash University, Australia entitled *Thermoplastic Toughening of a Tri-functional Epoxy Resin*. His research career began by working on the development of new polymer matrices for high-temperature composites for aerospace applications, which led to a life-long interest in using polymer chemistry to design processable, high-performance, and functional polymer composites. After spending several months at the Technical University of Delft, the Netherlands in 2007 working with Prof Sybrand van der Zwaag he became passionate about applying self-healing methods to create polymer composites and coatings for demanding applications. In 2016, he left his position as the leader of the Industrial Composites team at CSIRO to join the Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University as Professor of Composite Materials. Since then, his research goals have expanded to include the synthesis of next-generation carbon fiber using novel rapid oxidation methods, alternative precursors, and novel architectures for enhanced sustainability and improved structural and functional properties. He has published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed literature, 3 book chapters, and 3 patents. As Carbon Nexus group leader he leads a portfolio of externally funded projects focused on industrially relevant outcomes within the aerospace, automotive, renewable energy, and oil and gas sectors of the economy. In 2009, he won the CSIRO Medal for Business Excellence as part of the PETRONAS Engagement team and, in 2013, won the CSIRO Newton Turner Award for Scientific Excellence.
