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Ezio Rizzardo (right) graduated with first class honours in applied organic chemistry from the University of New South Wales and was awarded a Ph.D. in organic chemistry by the University of Sydney in 1969 for his studies on the photochemistry of organic nitro compounds. He joined David Solomon’s group at CSIRO in 1976 after postdoctoral work on the synthesis of biologically active compounds with Richard Turner at Rice University (Houston), Sir Derek Barton at RIMAC (Boston), and Arthur Birch at the ANU (Canberra). His research at CSIRO has focused on the development of methods for understanding and controlling polymerization processes. He is the co-author of some 200 journal papers, which to date have received over 13000 citations, and co-inventor on 44 worldwide patents. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the recipient of the Australian Polymer Medal, the CSIRO Chairman’s Gold Medal and the Australian Government’s Centenary Medal for contributions to society and polymer science. David Solomon (left) graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Ph.D. in 1959 and a D.Sc. in 1968; he also holds a Diploma in Chemistry from Sydney Technical College (1950). During his studies, he worked for Dulux and this is where his interest in the chemistry of radical polymerization began. He was seconded to work at ICI Paints Division in 1959 and returned to Dulux to set up their polymer research group. In 1963, he joined CSIRO and set up the polymer research section. He recruited Ezio into this group and together they developed techniques to better understand radical chemistry and eventually living radical systems. David was also the principal inventor of the world’s first polymer banknote. He was President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) from 1979 to 1980. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (Foundation Fellow), the RACI and the Institute of Chemical Engineers. He has received numerous awards, including Member of the Order of Australia, D.App.Sc. (Honoris Causa) (University of Melbourne), and is the sole recipient of Australia’s Bicentennial Science Achievement Award. The Polymer Division of the RACI has recognized Dave’s contributions to polymer science with the annual Solomon Lecture given by a prestigious polymer scientist.