Vasilis M. Fthenakis is the founder and director of the Center for Life Cycle Analysis (CLCA), Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, USA. He is also a senior scientist emeritus at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) where he conducted research for 36 years and directed the National Photovoltaics (PV) Environmental Research Center and several international networks. Dr. Fthenakis is the coauthor and editor of four books and about 400 scientific publications on topics at the interface of energy life cycles and the environment. Currently, he is leading research on solar desalination, energy systems modeling, life‐cycle analysis, and PV recycling.

Paul A. Lynn obtained his B.Sc. (Eng) and Ph.D. degrees from Imperial College London, UK. After several years in the electrical/electronics industry, he lectured at Imperial College and the University of Bristol, latterly as Reader in Electronic Engineering. In 1993 he became the founding managing editor of the prestigious Wiley journal Progress in Photovoltaics and held this position for 14 years. As a retired academic, Dr. Lynn’s continued interest in renewable energy has led to a trilogy of Wiley books and, in his spare time, three solar‐powered boats. He is the author of nine other books and numerous technical papers and articles.