Selected Alumni
[Last updated, July 2026]
Gavin Crowder (PhD Student, graduated 2025)
Next transition: Post-doc, U Ottawa (Lora Ramunno group)
Thesis: Quantum Light Emission from Waveguide-QED Systems with a Time-Delayed Coherent Feedback
Sofia Arranz Regidor (PhD Student, graduated 2025)
Next transition: Post-doc, Queen's U (Hughes group)
Thesis: Theory and applications of waveguide QED and quantum circuits using matrix product states
Becca VanDrunen (Accelerated MSc Student, graduated 2025)
Next transition: Unknown/Looking for jobs in Industry
Thesis: Theory and Simulations of Gain-Compensated Metal Cavity Quasinormal Modes and Radiative Decay Dynamics for Embedded Quantum Emitters
Antonia (Toni) Neill (MSc Student)
Next transition: Unknown
Yi-Ming Chang (MSc Student, graduated 2024)
Next transition: Industry/Software Development
Thesis: Theory and space-time simulations of dipole-dipole interactions in the presence of mechanical oscillations
Dr. Sebastian Franke (Post-Doc)
Next transition: Industry/Finance/Software
Chelsea Carlson (PhD Student, graduated 2021)
Next transition: Teacher/Education
Thesis: Theory and Simulation Techniques of Broadband Light-Matter Interactions in Nanophotonics
Eric Nussbaum (USRA, Summer Student, 2000 and 2021)
MSc/PhD in Economics/Finance
Matthew Filipovich (MSc Student/MITACS Internship; main supervisor Bhavin Shastri) [2021]
Next transition: Internship in France, then PhD Student, Oxford University, UK
Thesis: Training Deep Neural Networks and Solving Differential Equations using Neuromorphic Photonics
Will Salmon (MSc Student) [2021]
Next transition: Teacher/Education
Thesis: Master Equations for Computing Gauge-Invariant Observables in the Ultrastrong Coupling
Waleed El-Sayed (accelerated MSc) [2021]
Next transition: PhD Student, U. Calgary
Thesis: Quasinormal-mode theory and design of elastic Purcell factors, mechanical cavity modes and Fano resonances in optomechanical beams
Erik Sauer (accelerated MSc) [2021]
Next transition: Industry
Thesis: Theory and Computation of Intrinsic Propagation Losses and Disorder-Induced Modes in Topological Photonic Crystal Waveguides Using Mode Expansion Techniques
Gavin Growder (accelerated MSc) [2021]
PhD Student, Ottawa/NRC and Queen's (co-supervised with Lora Ramunno and Dan Dalacu)
Thesis: Quantum Trajectory Theory of Open Cavity-QED Systems with a Time Delayed Coherent Optical Feedback
Chris Gustin (accelerated MSc)
Next transition: PhD Student and Collaborator, Stanford University; now a post-doc NBI, Denmark
Thesis: Theory and Modelling of Pulse-Driven Quantum Dots in Nanophotonic Structures
Dr. Mohsen Mohsen Kamandar Dezfouli (post-doctoral fellow)
Next transition: post-doc/RA at NRC (National Research Council) in Ottawa; now working in industry
Dr. Juan Pablo Vasco (post-doctoral fellow)
Next transition: post-doc at EPFL, Switzerland; now working in industry
Nishan Mann, PhD
BSc from University of Toronto, MSc from Gdansk University of Technology (Poland)
Next transition: Now working industry/Software/ML
Thesis: Theoretical and computational studies of disorder-induced scattering and nonlinear optical interactions in slow-light photonic crystal waveguides
Ross Manson, (accelerated MSc), Queen’s University
Next transition: Unknown
William Cartar, (accelerated MSc)
Next transition: Data scientist, CIBC, Toronto
Thesis: Theory and Modelling of Light-Matter Interactions in Photonic Crystal Cavity Systems Coupled to Quantum Dot Ensembles
Simon Axelron, UG Research student
Next transition: Grad Student at U Toronto, then PhD Student at Harvard
Dr. Kaushik Roy Choudhury (post-doctoral fellow)
PhD from University of Southern California (USA)
Next transition: Senior Statistical Analysis, b3Intelligence, Toronto
Dr. Rongchun Ge (post-doctoral fellow)
PhD from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).
Next transition: Post-doc in Singapore.
Now a professor at Sichuan University of Chengdu.
Gerry Angelatos, Accelerated MSc Program, Queen’s University
Next transition: PhD student at Princeton; now working in industry/QI
Thesis: Theory and applications of light-matter interactions in quantum dot nanowire photonic crystal systems
Cole Van Vlack, PhD Student
Next transition: Director of Operations and Development at IPG Photonics (Canada)
Thesis: Dyadic Green Functions and their applications in Classical and Quantum Nanophotonics
Dr. Chiranjeeb Roy (post-doctoral fellow)
Next transition: Working in industry
Dr. Pradyumna Kumar Pathak (post-doctoral fellow)
Next transition: Assistant Professor, IIT Mandi, India
Mark Patterson, MSc
Last known position: Manager, Electro-Optical Engineering at L3 WESCAM (Ontario, Canada)
Thesis: Classical and Quantum Optical Properties of Slow Light Photonic Crystal Waveguides
Dr. Peijun Yao, (postdoctoral fellow)
Next transition: Associate Professor, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
Arvin Reza, MSc
Last known position: Senior Manager at BMO Financial Group
Thesis: The optical properties of metamaterial waveguide structures.
Dr. V.S.C. Manga Rao, (post-doctoral fellow
Next transition: post-doctoral fellow, Italy.