Dr. Zbigniew (Zbig) Wasilewski is internationally renowned for his contributions to molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and to the development of quantum-dot and quantum-well photonic devices, including terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). His work also spans quantum structures and devices based on high-mobility two-dimensional electron gases, such as lateral few-electron quantum dot circuits—potential building blocks for future quantum computers.
Dr. Wasilewski received his M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Warsaw, Poland, and subsequently joined the Semiconductor Physics Research Group at the Institute of High Pressure Physics, where he worked until 1986. During this period, his research focused on low-temperature magneto-optical studies of semiconductors under high hydrostatic pressures of up to 25,000 atmospheres. Much of this work was conducted in Professor R.A. Stradling’s laboratories in the Department of Physics at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He earned his PhD from the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1986.
In 1988, following a postdoctoral appointment at Imperial College, London—where he expanded his research to additional material systems and nanostructures—Dr. Wasilewski joined the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). There, his research shifted to the molecular beam epitaxial growth and characterization of quantum structures and devices based on III–V semiconductor compounds. In 2006, he was promoted to the level of Principal Research Officer, NRC’s highest research rank.
In July 2012, Dr. Wasilewski joined the University of Waterloo as a full professor and was appointed the University of Waterloo Endowed Chair in Nanotechnology. That same year, in recognition of his exceptional research record, international standing, and contributions to the development of GaN-based optoelectronics in Poland, he was awarded the title of Professor of Physics by the President of Poland.
Dr. Wasilewski is a co-author of more than 500 refereed journal and conference proceedings papers, with over 16,000 citations (h-index 64; i10-index 248, Google Scholar, 2023).