Claudio Zannoni obtained his PhD in Chemical Physics from Southampton University in 1975 and has been Professor of Physical Chemistry (now Emeritus) at the University of Bologna since 1987. He has extensive experience in the field, having published some 300 papers and delivered over 350 lectures worldwide on computer simulations and molecular theories of liquid crystals. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Bonino Medal of the Italian Chemical Society. In 1998 he founded and now directs the International School of Liquid Crystals.