Donald D. Brown is the director of the Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institute of Washington in Baltimore, Maryland. His research focuses on animal developmental biology. He has served on numerous scientific committees and initiated and manages a fellowship program for outstanding researchers. He is a recipient of the U.S. Steel Foundation Award for Molecular Biology and other honors and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Michael T. Clegg is a professor of botany and genetics, University of California, Riverside. His research interests are in population genetics and evolution. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Jeffrey J. Doyle is an associate professor at the L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, where he performs research on plant systematics and molecular evolution.

James R. Ehleringer is a professor in the Department of Biology, University of Utah. His research is in plant physiology and plant ecology, with an emphasis on linkages between these areas. He has served on major advisory panels for federal agencies and on editorial boards; he is currently editor-in-chief of Oecologia.

Gerald R. Fink is the American Cancer Society Genetics Professor and director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. His research interest is in plant and fungal molecular genetics. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of the U.S. Steel Foundation Award for Molecular Biology and other honors.