David Gordon Wilson was Professor of Mechanical Engineering Emeritus at MIT. An acknowledged authority on human-powered transit and bicycle design—and the self-described “father of modern recumbents”—he was also a prolific inventor and an early advocate for a “carbon fee” to encourage the use of renewable energy.

Theodor Schmidt, a Swiss engineering consultant specializing in motive solar and human power, worked with David Gordon Wilson on several projects, initially within the International Human-Powered Vehicle Association. Schmidt was editor of Human Power and is now editor of Human Power eJournal.