Dr. Bluskov received his Ph.D in Mathematics from Simon Fraser University, his M.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Victoria, and his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Plovdiv. He was previously an Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Gabrovo. Prior to coming to UNBC he was a Research Fellow at Simon Fraser University. His interests include combinatorics, designs, coverings, extremal set theory and optimization algorithms. He has recently published a book on applications of combinatorics in lotteries. Dr. Bluskov has lectured at many international conferences, authored and co-authored papers in 10 refereed journals, co-authored three books on problem-solving, and acted as a referee for six journals. He has been interested in mathematical competitions and been involved in the preparation of students for such competitions, including the International Mathematical Olympiads and Putnam Exam. He has also published more than 60 competition problems and solutions in five journals, including American Mathematical Monthly and also done refereeing and editing work for another problem-solving-oriented journal, Crux Mathematicorum.