The Brazilian Marcelo Gleiser is a Natural Philosophy, Physics and Astronomy Professor at Dartmouth College, USA, where he has been teaching since 1991. He graduated in Physics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, obtained a master's degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a PhD from King's College, University of London, UK. He did postdoctoral research at Fermilab and at the University of California, Santa Barbara, both in the USA. He has published more than 100 scientific papers and 14 books, which were translated in more than 15 languages. He is a member of the American Physical Society and of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life.

The Italian Gianfranco Ravasi is president of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Born in Merate on October 18, 1942, he is considered a specialist in the Middle East and Islam. He worked in archaeological excavations in Turkey, Jordan, Syria and in Iraq while he worked on his PhD at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. On October 20, 2010, his creation as Cardinal was announced by Pope Benedict XVI. Known for his dialog with the world of art, science and culture, Ravasi often uses various references in his lectures, such as St. Augustine, Isaac Newton, among others.