Alexander Yulaev is a UMD Postdoctoral Researcher in the Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Ph.D. in Physical and Mathematical Sciences from Saratov State University, Russia, and another Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Maryland. His recent doctoral research was focused on operando/in situ characterization of liquid samples through graphene membranes using electron microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. He also quantified the role of oxidizing environment and charging rates in Li-ion solid state battery operation. Alexander is currently working with Vladimir Aksyuk to (i) develop and demonstrate the novel measurement applications enabled by flexible and efficient engineered photonic to free-space mode converters and (ii) research light modulation enabled by electrically tunable localized plasmonic resonators.