Women in Physics Canada (WIPC) 2017

Razieh is a postdoctoral fellow at Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) working in the field nano-MRI imaging which aims at ultra sensitive detection of electron and nuclear spins. Razieh earned her PhD with Prof. David Cory at IQC in 2016. Her PhD was mainly focused at the border of quantum information theory and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. She obtained her MSc in physics from Sharif University of Technology in 2010 and her BSc from Alzahra University in 2007.  Razieh is interested in both theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum control, quantum biology and metrology.

Michael Burns has taught at the Waterloo Regional District School Board for the last 25 years as a Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy teacher. He has degrees in Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, and education obtained from the University of Toronto, Berkeley, and Brock University. After graduation, Dr. Burns worked in research with Northern Telecom and Bell Northern Research in Satellite Telecommunications while applying newly developed CCD camera technology into Galaxy Supernova studies. Still heavily involved with the technical design of modern CCD camera application with Astro-imaging division with Ottawa's Mallincam corporation and NASA's Night Skies Program, Dr. Burns has taught at the Perimeter Institute's International Summer School for Young Physicists (ISSYP) program, and presented Dark Matter lectures at Perimeter Institute's Quantum to Cosmos Festival. He is living his dream by teaching up and coming young scientists the wonders of the world of Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy at Waterloo Collegiate Institute. 

Melanie Campbell earned a BSc in Chemical Physics, Victoria College, University of Toronto, an MSc in Physics, University of Waterloo and, from the Australian National University, a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Physiology. Following a CSIRO Fellowship at the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics in Canberra, Campbell returned to Canada with an NSERC University Research Fellowship.

Prof. Campbell undertakes experimental and theoretical research in the optical quality of the eye and improved imaging of its structures. She studies eye development, eye disease and linear and nonlinear optics of the eye. Campbell is known for her work on the gradient index optics of the crystalline lens, its changes with ageing and effects of visual experience on its refractive index distribution. Recently she has discovered putative optical signals to eye growth which appear to follow a circadian rhythm. She collaborated in the first real-time images of cone photoreceptors, using adaptive optics. Imaging applications of interest include the biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, using the retina as a window on the brain.

Campbell is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and a former member of OSA’s Board of Directors, a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK), and is a former President of the Canadian Association of Physicists. Campbell was also a co-founder of Biomedical Photometrics Inc, now Huron Technologies. Campbell shared the 2004 Rank Prize in Optoelectronics for her work cited as "an initial idea (that) has been carried through to practical applications that have, or will, demonstrably benefit mankind." In 2014, she was awarded the CAP INO Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Photonics in recognition of her contributions to the field of visual optics and improved imaging of structures within the eye. In 2015, she was awarded the OCUFA Status of Women Award of Distinction for her work to improve the position of academic women through organizational, policy, and educational leadership.

Chris is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, and received his PhD in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. His primary research interests lie at the intersection of condensed matter physics and quantum information science; recently, his work has focused on the study of entanglement in quantum phases of matter.

Michelle Irvine is a Technical Writer at Google. She received a BSc in Physics from the University of Guelph, and a MA in Rhetoric and Communication Design from the University of Waterloo.

Prior to Google, Michelle was a technical writer for ANSYS, a software company that creates physics simulation software. She specialized in their multiphysics products which simulate cases such as fluid-structure interactions. Michelle has also worked in publishing at Nelson Education, working on their Ontario Grade 11 and 12 Physics textbooks.

Katanya Kuntz received a BSc degree in Physics from the University of Calgary, Canada, in 2008. She then moved to Australia, and completed a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia in 2013 under the supervision of Prof Elanor Huntington. Her doctoral work was on experimental quantum optics: the generation and characterization of photon-subtracted squeezed light. She stayed in Canberra as a research associate until 2015, where she both lectured and conducted research in non-classical light generation, continuous-variable quantum key distribution (QKD), and optical phase estimation for quantum control. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Canada since 2015. Her research interests lie in both classical and quantum optics, with current projects including emulating atmospheric turbulence in the lab to demonstrate QKD hacking in a turbulent channel, exploring fundamental concepts of quantum physics, and demonstrating protocols for measurement-device-independent QKD.

Eduardo’s research combine the fields of quantum information science, quantum field theory and general relativity; studying quantum effects induced by gravity from the perspective of quantum information to gain information about the spacetime structure. This approach has a wide range of potential outcomes and applications from quantum computing technology to the basic physics of the question of how the spacetime curvature and quantum theory impact the flow and the processing of information.

Eduardo completed his PhD in Theoretical Physics in 2011 at the UCM (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain) with “summa cum laude” and receiving the "2010-2011 extraordinary PhD thesis award". During his PhD period he collaborated with top scientists in relativistic quantum information in Canada, United Kingdom, Austria, Japan and Poland. In 2012 he moved to the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo for his first postdoctoral appointment. In October 2012 he was awarded the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship. He was also an associate postdoctoral researcher at Perimeter institute.

In 2014 Eduardo was named a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Quantum Computing, cross-appointed to the Perimeter Institute. Soon afterward, he was awarded the prestigious John Charles Polanyi Prize for Physics.

In July 2016 Eduardo was appointed Assistant Professor in the department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, becoming an IQC Associate and a Perimeter institute Affiliate. 

Jen is a business and career coach who works with women going through career transition or growth and helps her clients uncover what truly makes them happy. She helps women and girls define success in their own terms, and works with them to achieve it.

A graduate in Sociology from University of Waterloo, Jen worked for 20 years in various event management and training positions in San Francisco, Auckland New Zealand, and Canada.

Prior to working with Sr. Executives to plan and execute world class events with Manulife, Jen managed training events for the Insurance Institute of Canada, McMaster University, BlackBerry and University of Waterloo.  Her background includes program development and vocational counselling for immigrant women experiencing domestic violence in San Francisco and specialized life skills training and job placement for teen mothers in Auckland.

Jen is the founder of Girls On Purpose, a leadership program for pre-teen girls.

Jen is a Certified Professional Coach and trained with iPEC, the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. 

My research uses light to study the quantum world. I am currently a Research Associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technologies where I am working on developing tools to test foundational issues in quantum mechanics. In my spare time I can be found dancing up a storm to the tunes of the twenties, thirties and forties.

I love to learn about the world around me, and am continually surprised about how nature works at the quantum level. Nothing is obvious or can be taken for granted. What inspires me is being able to experimentally test some of these quantum ideas in the lab. Quantum systems can be extremely fragile, and a great deal of technological sophistication is required in order to accurately control and manipulate them. We have finally reached the point where we have tools sensitive enough to study the world of single atoms and photons. The insights we gain from probing atoms and photons may be the key to future quantum technologies, and has already played a critical role in our understanding of foundational issues in physics.

As physicists, we are weaving a compelling narrative about how nature works. I feel it is important that we share this story with others. Communicating my research to the general public forces me to distill ideas to their essence–a process that is difficult, but provides me with a deeper understanding of my own work.

Some people want to change the world. I want to explain it.

At the intersection between art and science there is a great opportunity for unique collaborations. This intersection is something that I am exploring in order to find new ways of communicating science. To help make some of the mind-boggling concepts in quantum mechanics more approachable I have teamed up with a magician, musicians, and dancers. I am working on a number of exciting projects, so stay tuned.

René Stock is Director for Quantitative Analytics and Methodology and a key subject matter expert in emerging trends in market risk and counterparty credit risk at Scotiabank. He leads a team to oversee risk measures as applied to the bank’s derivative trading portfolio. He represents Scotiabank in discussions with regulators and policy groups on key methodology and risk modelling issues. In previous roles at Scotiabank, he established the Methodology and Research group. He spearheaded the bank’s first counterparty credit risk backtesting program and helped lead Scotiabank to become the first Canadian bank to be approved by Canadian regulators to use internal models for Counterparty Credit Risk.

From 2012 to 2015, René served as Director for Policy, Science to Business Network, a non-profit organization that furthers non-academic career development to enhance innovation and commercialization in Canada. Prior to moving to finance and risk management, René completed a PhD in physics from the University of New Mexico, and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in physics at the University of Toronto. He has published in distinguished journals such as Physical Review Letters in the areas of quantum information, atomic physics, and optics. René holds an MBA degree from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. 

Serge Villemure graduated in 1989 with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology and obtained his Masters in 1991 in Administration from the University of Ottawa. Serge joined NSERC in 1991 where he worked as a Program Administrator in different disciplines within the Research Grants Division. In 1997, he became Team Leader for Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He spent one year, from June 2000 to June 2001, at the Canada Research Chairs as a Senior Administrator, where he contributed to starting up the program and then returned to his position within the Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In 2004, he led the Physical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering team as Director. Since 2010, he has been Director of the Scholarships and Fellowships Division. In 2013, he also became Director of the Chairs for Women in Science and Engineering Program and at the same time undertook the responsibility of integrating diversity and gender equity considerations into policies and programs, and facilitating Gender-Based Analysis capacity building across the Agency.  To maintain a well-balanced life, Serge cycles to work, and also enjoys yoga and jogging.  He lives in Gatineau with his wife and daughters.

Jon supports Waterloo Engineering by drafting and managing major proposals, identifying new funding opportunities, and advising researchers on the dos and don’t bothers of grant strategy. Over the past three years he has gained dangerously little knowledge of additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, cybersecurity, energy storage, nanomaterials, photovoltaics, robotics, smart grids and wireless communication. In the process, however, he has written grants securing over $30M for research and over $34M for teaching and construction.

Prior to this Jon worked in quantum information, receiving a D.Phil in Physics from the University of Oxford followed by postdocs at the University of Calgary and the Perimeter Institute. He’s currently Vice President of Waterloo Region Nature, a local non-profit conservation group.

Dr. Edward Beharry is a Registered Clinical Psychologist for Counseling and Psychological Services at University of Waterloo. Beharry obtained his Ph.D in Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor in 1975. His responsibilities include psychological assessment, individual and group psychotherapies, and clinical consultation. Beharry is also the Chairperson of Service Delivery Committee for Campus Wellness, runs the Graduate Student Stress Management Group, and supervises senior graduate students in Clinical Psychology at the University of Waterloo. 

Crystal Tse is an Instructional Developer – Research and Consulting at the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo where she supports instructors on conducting research on teaching and learning. She received her PhD in social psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Waterloo. Her primary research interest is in applying psychological theory to inform evidence-based interventions that address issues related to education and social justice. Specifically, she is interested in increasing the performance, retention, and representation of women and minorities in the fields where they are underrepresented.