02research interests
Experimental quantum optics: single-photon and entangled-photon sources, cavity and waveguide QED, and photon-photon and photon-phonon interactions across solid-state, atomic, and two-dimensional systems.
03education
2022 to 2027
B.A.Sc., Engineering Physics and Computing
Queen’s University, Kingston ON
- Cumulative GPA: 3.86 (since Jan 2024)
- Harold M. Cave Scholarship in Experimental Physics, 2024-2025
- Dean’s List Scholar, 2025-2026, 2024-2025, 2023-2024, 2022-2023
May to June 2026
USEQIP Summer School
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo
- Selected for the Undergraduate School on Experimental Quantum Information Processing, spanning experimental spin, photonic, superconducting, trapped-ion, and NV-centre qubits, QKD, and entanglement
- Group project implementing a two-qubit Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm on an NMR processor
June 2026
SPIE Photonics for Quantum
Invited attendee, Institute for Quantum Computing, Waterloo ON
- Technical sessions on single-photon sources, integrated quantum optics, and scalable photonic computing platforms
June 2025
Simons SCEECS Summer School
Simons Collaboration, UT San Antonio
- Selected as the only Canadian student to attend the summer school
- Intensive training on MHD, plasma turbulence, reconnection, relativistic flows, and laser-plasma interactions
04research experience
summer 2026
Undergraduate Research Award
Reimer group, IQC, University of Waterloo
- Enhancing nanowire quantum dot single-photon sources for scalable quantum networking, with experimental work on entanglement swapping, a primitive for quantum repeaters and long-distance networks
- Collected emission spectra and derived a phonon-sideband emission model by reducing a cavity-QED polaron master equation to the cavity-free case, extracting the Huang-Rhys parameter and exciton confinement length from spectral fits
- Designed and assembled the optical layout delivering the group’s Ti:sapphire and HeNe lasers into fibre, with switchable beam paths, polarization and power control, and an autocorrelator for pulse-duration measurement
since 2025
Undergraduate Researcher
Shastri Lab, Queen’s University (thesis)
- Redesigned a failing continuous Ising solver into a discrete, constraint-aware architecture for Hydrophobic-Polar protein folding, reaching 100% ground-state convergence on all 23 benchmark chains (4 to 64 amino acids)
- Validated optical matrix-vector multiplication on the photonic Ising machine using cascaded TFLN Mach-Zehnder modulators, reaching 6.12 effective bits of precision
- Formulated destabilizing-mutation selection as a binary optimization problem, finding mutation sets more effective than conventional single-site ranking
since 2024
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Iorsh group, Queen’s University
- Used analytical theory and numerical simulations to study how periodic driving generates controllable long-range correlations in a transverse-field Ising chain
- Characterized how interference between Kibble-Zurek and Floquet-resonance excitations enables drive-tunable, slowly-decaying spatial correlations
- Computed excitation correlation functions and defect densities in Python with CUDA acceleration, validating the analytical predictions
summer 2024
Research Assistant, nEXO collaboration
SNOLAB, Sudbury ON
- Designed and implemented a cooling system that reached the 12 °C target temperature for the nEXO photomultiplier-tube testing setup
- Enhanced Python scripts for PMT data analysis on the SNOLAB nearline cluster
- Documented the work in a technical report and presented findings to the research group
05manuscripts
I. V. Iorsh and L. Paroski. Long range spatial correlations in the periodically driven transverse field Ising model. arXiv:2607.15665, 2026.
L. Paroski and B. J. Shastri. Ising Machines for Protein Folding and Engineering. in preparation, 2026.
06projects
since 2025
Mach-Zehnder Modulator PCB Integration and Characterization
Shastri Lab
- Assembled custom PCB platforms for TFLN MZMs with precision bias circuitry, SMA RF interfaces, and thermal management
- Characterized MZM operation through eye diagram capture and quality factor analysis
2025
Thermodynamics of Neural Network Training
ENPH 472 final
- Modeled NN training as a thermodynamic phase transition using a Nose-Hoover thermostat
- Detected a Schottky anomaly and computed entropy difference (ΔS ≈ 0.7 kB per parameter) driving the transition from overfitting to generalization
07awards and distinctions
- ENPH 455 thesis poster selected by faculty for year-long display, 2026
- Harold M. Cave Scholarship in Experimental Physics, 2024-2025
- USEQIP Selection and Undergraduate Research Award, 2026
- Dean’s List Scholar, 2025-2026, 2024-2025, 2023-2024, 2022-2023
- Academic All-Canadian (USPORTS), 2025-2026, 2024-2025, 2023-2024, 2022-2023
- Simons SCEECS Selection (only Canadian student), 2025
- Ontario Junior Citizen Award, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, 2020
- Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award (International), 2022
- High School Valedictorian, 2022
- Athlete of the Year, 2022
08selected coursework
- Quantum Mechanics I and II
- Statistical Mechanics
- Thermodynamics
- Solid State Physics
- Advanced Classical Mechanics
- Electromagnetism
- Mathematical Methods I and II
- Computational Engineering Physics
- Algorithms and Data Structures
- Computer Architecture
09additional experience
since 2023
Student Athlete Academic Mentor
Queen’s University
- Re-selected annually to mentor and tutor 6 to 8 first-year student-athletes in physics and calculus
- Weekly one-on-one check-ins on academic performance and well-being
summer 2023
Math and Physics Content Developer
Maplesoft, Waterloo ON
- Developed 30+ math and physics interactive modules for Maple Learn and published a Math in Nature blog post
- Secured 450 student licenses from French institutions via targeted educational content
since 2024
Varsity Water Polo
Queen’s Varsity Athletics
- Earned a starting role on a high-performance varsity team after returning to the sport
- Manage a rigorous academic workload with 15+ hours of weekly training and competition
2022 to 2024
Varsity Volleyball
Queen’s Varsity Athletics
- Recruited on the maximum first-year athletic scholarship permitted in Ontario
- Trained and competed year-round in a high-performance varsity program
10leadership and community
since 2025
Physics Outreach Volunteer
Père-René-de-Galinée
- Initiated and designed two hands-on physics demonstrations delivered entirely in French to classes of 20 to 30 students
- Invited students to explore the equipment and ask questions
2024 to 2025
Co-Presenter, Internships Workshop
QMIND, Queen’s Machine Intelligence Design
- Co-presented a workshop with Prof. Bhavin Shastri to roughly 30 students
- Developed a practical guide to industry and research internships using an annotated outreach email and Queen’s-specific application resources
2019 to 2022
Youth Accessibility Leader
Government of Canada
- Secured a $10,000 Government of Canada grant and consulted CNIB and a person with low vision to create Kitchener’s first tactile trailhead guide strips
- Linked the sidewalk to both sides of a road-separated trail; the City later adapted the concept for community-centre entrances
2018 to 2020
Math Wall Creator
City of Kitchener
- Secured a $6,000 City grant to build a permanent outdoor math wall, using survey feedback from 462 children to shape the design
- Later invited as keynote speaker and master of ceremonies at civic summits
11skills
programming
Python, C, C++, VHDL, Java, Bash, Git, Linux, Maple, LabVIEW
scientific computing
NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib, PyTorch, CUDA, Qiskit, PennyLane, Slurm, HPC and cluster computing
experimental physics
Photonic hardware (TFLN MZMs, lasers, polarizers, optical amplifiers), FPGA development (RFSoC 4x2, PYNQ), RF electronics, PCB integration, PMT characterization
lab equipment
High-speed oscilloscopes, pattern generators, amplifiers, power supplies, soldering, remote lab automation
documentation
LaTeX, technical writing, experiment logs and reporting
languages
Fluent in English and French