I am a professor of physics at Stony Brook University. I studied physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and received my Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. After that, I worked at MIT before coming to Stony Brook in 2000. 

I am a theoretical physicist. This means that I use mathematics and computers to understand how physical systems work. My research is mostly in quantum physics and in the physics of systems containing many interacting particles. I have worked on problems related to magnetism, superconductivity, the quantum Hall effect, and the unusual behavior of quantum fluids. I am especially interested in how relatively simple microscopic laws can lead to complicated collective behavior and how apparently different physical systems can sometimes be described by the same mathematics.

I have extensive experience teaching mathematics and physics to students of various ages. For many years, I taught at the Krasnoyarsk Summer School for gifted high school students, SigmaCamp, and I have been teaching at SchoolNova since 2004. While at high school, I actively participated in Physics competitions and was a member of the Soviet Union's international competition team. 

At Stony Brook, I teach both undergraduate and graduate physics courses. 

I think that learning mathematics and physics should be interesting and enjoyable. It is important not just to memorize formulas, but to understand where they come from and how to use them to solve problems. I also believe that mathematics and science are an important part of general education, whether or not a student plans to become a scientist. 

More about my research and teaching can be found on my Stony Brook University webpage.