Alejandro Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and the Director of the Program in Materials Science and Engineering at Princeton University. He received B.S. and PhD degrees in Physics from MIT in 2006 and 2010 and held joint postdoctoral positions at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University and at the Department of Mathematics at MIT. His research interests lie in the general area of nanophotonics, with a focus on nonlinear optics, numerical methods, large-scale optimization, and fluctuation phenomena. Prof. Rodriguez has co-authored over 100 publications and several patents; he was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Young Investigator Award. He was also a Department of Energy Frederick Howes Fellow. Alejandro was born in Cuba: a byproduct of loud rumbas, a family of physics enthusiasts, and Afro-Cuban folklore.