Odd Arne Westad is a scholar of modern international and global history, with a specialization in the history of eastern Asia since the 18th century. He is also the author of 16 books, most of which deal with 20th-century Asian and global history. Westad joined the faculty at Yale after teaching at the London School of Economics, where he was School Professor of International History, and at Harvard University, where he was the S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations. He is a fellow of the British Academy and of several other national academies.

Jian Chen is a leading scholar of modern Chinese history, the history of Chinese-American relations, and Cold War international history. He currently serves as Distinguished Global Network Professor of History at NYU Shanghai, and
Global Network Professor in the Department of History at NYU. Before joining NYU Shanghai, he was the Michael J. Zak Professor of History for U.S.-China Relations at Cornell University, the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at the London School of Economics, and visiting research professor at the University of Hong Kong (2009-2013).