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John Suchocki received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1987 from Virginia Commonwealth University. After a two year post-doc in medicinal chemistry/pharmacology at the Medical College of Virginia, John became a visiting assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he also began working with his uncle, Paul Hewitt, on the liberal arts college textbook Conceptual Physical Science, which is now in its third edition. His research efforts turned to chemical education, with a particular emphasis on liberal arts chemistry courses and distance learning technology. Using his experience in creating Conceptual Physical Science and relying on the meticulous guidance of his famous uncle, John moved forward in creating a new and unique college chemistry textbook, Conceptual Chemistry, now in its 2nd edition. The focus of Conceptual Chemistry is on the concepts of chemistry rather than mathematical problem solving. It also has a strong emphasis on student-centered learning. First published in 2001, Conceptual Chemistry quickly became one of the leading textbooks for introductory college chemistry courses. Accompanying Conceptual Chemistry is John's acclaimed CD-rom series, Conceptual Chemistry Alive! The first of its kind, CCAlive! is, in essence, a "talking textbook" where the student has the author himself as their personal course instructor. John currently lives in Burlington, Vermont, where in addition to writing science curriculum he is an adjunct faculty at St. Michael's College. His favorite hobby is writing music, which is featured on his personal website: www.JohnAndrew.net.

Paul Hewitt Paul G. Hewitt, former boxer, uranium prospector, sign painter, and cartoonist began college at the age of 28 and fell in love with physics. His name is synonymous with Conceptual Physics to physics educators everywhere. Before the advent of Professor Hewitt's textbook of the same name, physics was traditionally taught primarily as applied mathematics - geared to students with high math and science aptitudes. As such, any serious study of physics was out of the educational mainstream for most students. Hewitt's conceptual approach changed all this. By translating the central concepts of physics from mathematical language to common English, and by explaining physics rather than proclaiming physics, and by extensive use of analogies as a teaching tool, Hewitt brought physics into the educational mainstream. His textbook, the leading physics textbook for nonscientists since 1971, has changed the way physics is taught to both non science and science majors as well.

In 1987 he wrote a high-school version of Conceptual Physics, published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, and now in its third edition. In 1992 he teamed together with his chemist nephew, John Suchocki, and his geologist daughter, Leslie Hewitt to write the college textbook Conceptual Physical Science, which is also now in its third edition. Meeting the broad needs of students, Conceptual Physical Science became just as popular with high schools as it was with colleges. To create an edition that was more specifically tailored to high schools, the authors created Conceptual Physical Science-Explorations, which sold an amazing 100,000 copies within two years after publication in 2003.

In recognition of Hewitt's achievements, the American Association of Physics Teachers honored him in 1982 with their Millikan Award - the once-per-year prestigious prize for outstanding contributions to physics teaching. Hewitt is presently a column editor for The Physics Teacher, the monthly magazine of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Hewitt now resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he is presently working on the much anticipated Conceptual Physics, 10th edition.

Leslie Hewitt received her Masters of Science degree in Geology in 1992 from San Francisco State University and soon thereafter began working with her father, Paul Hewitt, and her cousin, John Suchocki on creating the widely popular Conceptual Physical Science textbook and its accompanying supplements. Her desire to bring quality science education down to where it matters most, which is with children, led her to teaching at Westlake Elementary School in San Francisco. Leslie's expertise at working with children and her talent for identifying the truly key concepts of earth and planetary science were most instrumental in allowing the Conceptual Physical Science line of textbooks to be successful at reaching such a broad range of students. Leslie and her husband, Bob Abrams, who has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from Stanford University, teamed together to create the highly popular 10th volume of the Conceptual Physical Science-Explorations DVD series. Leslie and Bob are currently in the process of writing the first edition of Conceptual Earth Science.