**About the Editors**

**David Blaschke** (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult.) obtained his PhD in theoretical physics from Rostock University in 1987 and habilitated in 1995. From 2001 to 2007, he was Vice Director of the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. Since 2006, he has been a professor at the University of Wroclaw. His works are mainly devoted to topics in quantum field theory at finite temperatures, dense hadronic matter and QCD phase transitions, quark matter in heavy-ion collisions and in compact stars, as well as in pair production in strong fields, with applications to high-intensity lasers. He has published more than 380 articles, most of them in peer-reviewed international journals, edited more than 12 books, and currently has an h-index of 44. He has obtained honorary doctorates from Dubna State University (2017) and Russian-Armenian University in Yerevan (2019).

**Alexandra Friesen** (Dr.) obtained her PhD in theoretical physics from the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in 2016. Since then, she has worked as a scientific researcher at the laboratory. Her scientific interests are centered around topics in quantum field theory at finite temperature, dense hadronic matter, QCD phase transitions and quark matter in heavy-ion collisions. She has published more than 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals. She was awarded scholarships for Young Scientists and Specialists, named after D.I. Blokhintsev (2015, 2016) and L.D. Soloviev (2017).

**Vladimir Morozov** (Prof., Dr. phys.-math. Sciences) obtained his PhD (1973) and Doctor of Science degree (1988) in theoretical physics from Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow. He is currently a full professor at the MIREA—Russian Technological University. His works are mainly devoted to the statistical mechanics of nonequilibrium processes and its applications to different many-particle systems, in particular open quantum systems in solid state physics. He has published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and contributed to several books on statistical mechanics.

**Nikolay Plakida** (Prof., Dr. phys.-math. Sciences) graduated at Moscow State University in 1960, obtained his PhD in theoretical physics from Steklov Mathematical Institute RAS in Moscow in 1966, Doctor of Science in 1976, and the Professor rank in 1991. In 1963—1966 he was a lecturer at the Physics faculty of Moscow State University. From 1966, he has been working at the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, presently as a chief scientific researcher. He has been a supervisor of 15 PhD students. Between 1992 and 2007, he was a Visiting Professor at MPIF (Stuttgart), RAL (Didcot, UK), CPT CNRS (Marseille), Yukawa Institute (Kyoto), Tohoku University (Sendai), and MPIPKS (Dresden). His works are devoted to statistical physics, many-body systems, and the theory of solid state. In particular, he has developed a theory of highly anharmonic crystals —the theory of self-consistent phonons and the theory of structural phase transitions. In recent years, he has developed, with his coworkers, a theory of spin fluctuations and superconductivity in strongly-correlated electronic systems, such as cuprates, based on the application of Hubbard's operator technique to the t-J and Hubbard models. He has published more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed international journals, has written three books, and several contributions to monographs. He currently has an h-index of 30. In 2003, he became an honored worker in the science of Russia.

**Gerd R ¨opke** (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.) obtained his PhD in theoretical physics from Leipzig University in 1966 and habilitated at the Technical University Dresden in 1973. He visited the Steklov Institute of the Soviet Academy of Science in Moscow from 1968–1970. From 1977 to 2009 he was docent, later on professor at the Rostock University. From 1994 to 1997, he was Vice Director of the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. His works are mainly devoted to quantum statistics of many-particle systems, in particular dense plasmas and nuclear systems in equilibrium and non-equilibrium. He has published about 400 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and contributed to several books. He worked in different administrative committees and is a member of several scientific societies.
