**Meet the editor**

Dr. Alexander Banishev is a research associate at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) (USA). He received his PhD degree in Physics at Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia) in 2008. Before joining the University of Illinois, he was working at the University of California, Riverside. His primary research interests include optical and laser physics, light interaction with nano- and molecular materials, and optical properties of materials under extreme conditions and precise measurements. He reviews articles for *Optical Society of America* journals.

Dr. Mithun Bhowmick completed his PhD degree in Physics from Virginia Tech in 2012 and currently is working as a research associate at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Before Joining the UIUC, he worked at Nazarbayev University and National Autonomous University of Mexico as full-time and visiting professors, respectively. His research interests are optical properties of semiconductors, many body effects in scattering mechanisms of carriers/spins, and energetic liquids under extreme conditions. He is a recipient of Jamie Dunn Award, Philip Morris Fellowship, and Ministry of Education and Science grant from the Republic of Kazakhstan for his studies on semiconductor heterostructures. He is a member of American Physical Society and Optical Society of America and reviews articles for international journals on materials science/applied physics (*Physical Review B*, *Journal of Applied Physics*, etc.).

Dr. Jue Wang is a research associate at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. He received his PhD degree in Geosciences at Princeton University in 2014. Before joining the University of Illinois, he was studying equation of state and structure of materials at high pressures and high temperatures at Princeton University. His research interests include physical and chemical properties of materials at extreme conditions. He reviews articles for *Scientific Reports* and *Optics Letters*.
