Team
Principle Investigator
Assistant Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
University of Florida
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PD, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA 2023
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, USA 2021
M.Sc., Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan 2014
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‪Elham Heidari, PhD‬ - ‪Google Scholar‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
Email: el (dot) heidari (at) ufl (dot) edu
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Dr. Elham Heidari is an Assistant Professor, specializing in the design and implementation of integrated resonators for nonlinear and quantum optics, with a specific focus on all-optical frequency conversion applications and the development of compact and robust photonic platforms for generating and observing phenomena in Kerr combs. During her academic career, she has accrued nearly four years of work experience in cross-functional teams and experimental design and process development of the photonic interconnect devices such as high-speed short-wavelength semiconductors, plasmonic switches, low dimensional electro-optical modulators, chip-based wideband electromagnetic wave sensing, spectroscopy in Near-IR and MID-IR regions. Her work in this field has been published in leading journals such as Nature SR, Optica, IEEE JLT, and Nanophotonics.
She has also successfully collaborated with various agencies to obtain research funding, including DOD, AFOSR, SRC, and NASA, serving as PI/Co-PI. Dr. Heidari earned her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and her M.Eng. from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Graduate Students
Qian Cai
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MSc., The George Washington University, USA 2023
BSc., Penn State University, USA 2021
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Qian is an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) doctoral student at the University of Florida. Qian possesses a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in computer engineering, with an emphasis on computer architecture, FPGA programming, high-performance computing, secure computing, neural network (NN) training, and quantum technology. His main objective is to investigate the physics and design of photonics chips in optical computing. He is a student member of IEEE and OSA/Optica.
Tongyao Wu
MSc. in Physics, University of Florida, USA 2024
BSc., Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China 2021
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Tongyao is an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) doctoral student who earned a bachelor's and master's degree in physics. He has a strong background in Photonics, quantum mechanics and semiconducting material. Tongyao is interested in quantum optics, optical nonlinear effects and optical angular momentum. He is currently working on the simulation and measurement of the Kerr nonlinearity and quantum photonic entanglement in the microring modulator. He is a student member of IEEE and OSA/Optica.
Incoming Graduate Students
Joana Tátá
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MSc. NOVA School of Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Portugal
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​Joana is soon to be an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) graduate student. Her background in Micro and Nanotechnology provided a strong foundation in semiconductor technologies and her interests led her to specialize in integrated photonic circuits. She has experience working in research and development of photonic components for industry. Her main objective is to further contribute to novel photonic component mechanisms and chip capabilities through integration technologies and new materials.
She is a culinarian and animation enthusiast.
Benjamin Hayden
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BSc., University of Florida
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Benjamin is an incoming Ph.D. student at the University of Florida (co-advised with Prof. Dalir), focusing on advanced ADC/DAC design for AI accelerators. He is passionate about emerging technologies, particularly quantum computing and integrated photonics. Beyond academics, Benjamin enjoys drawing, playing volleyball, and lifting weights. He aspires to contribute to the advancement of quantum and photonic technologies in the years to come.
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Master Students
Mengze Qi
BSc.,Anhui University,China 2019
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Mengze is an Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) master student at the University of Florida. Mengze possesses a bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics, with a solid foundation in quantum mechanics, polymer fiber optic engineering, optical waveguide and electrodynamics. His main research goal is the integration of low-energy consumption, highly integrated vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs).