Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was an English physicist and mathematician who was a leading figure in the scientific revolution. His work throughout the seventeenth century provided the basis for modern science, including his three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. Newton's career was prolific. He was president of the Royal Society and in 1705 he was knighted, becoming the first ever scientist to receive the honour.

Kirill Krasnov (introduction) is a Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Nottingham. He received a BSc in Physics from Kiev T. Schevchenko University in 1994 and a PhD in Physics from Pennsylvania State University in 1999. He has held Postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, Potsdam. He has been the recipient of the prestigious EPSRC Advanced Fellowship and the ERC Consolidator Grant. Krasnov is most known for his work on black hole entropy within the loop approach to quantum gravity, work on spin foam models of quantum gravity, as well as work on the renormalized volume of hyperbolic 3-manifolds.

Professor Marika Taylor (series foreword) is a Professor of Theoretical Physics and Head of School within Mathematical Sciences at the University of Southampton. Her research interests include all aspects of string theory, gravitational physics and quantum field theory. In recent years much of her work has been focused on holographic dualities and their implications. Marika's research has featured in such publications as Physical Review, Journal of High Energy Physics and General Relativity and Gravitation among others.