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Ahmed is an M.A.Sc. student at ����ֱ��. In 2018, he obtained his B.A.Sc. degree from the ECE department, faculty of engineering, Ain Shams University with a focus on Optics and Electromagnetics. He joined Si-Ware Systems in 2018, a Cairo based startup working on the world's smallest FTIR spectrometer, and worked on MEMS sensors development, optical coupling solutions and optical signal processing. He is currently interested in silicon photonics and photonic integrated circuits. In his free time, he likes to relax by watching movies and playing video games.

Marcus is pursuing a Ph.D. at Queen’s University. His B.A.Sc is in Engineering Physics with a Nanotechnology specialization, Mathematics minor, and Co-op option at the University of Alberta. He is interested in neuromorphic systems, quantum neural networks, atomic-scale devices, and nanofabrication. His hobbies include playing board games, video games, and 3D printing.

Jagmeet is a graduate student at ����ֱ��. He received the BS-MS dual degree from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, India with a major in Physics (2019). He previously worked on a classification problem using deep learning techniques in  collaboration, Japan. He is interested in building new computer architectures using photonics, particularly neuromorphic computing that has application in deep learning problems. His research interests include AI, machine learning and cloud computing. In his spare time, he likes programming, reading history, listening to Punjabi folk music and playing basketball.

Zhimu is a Ph.D. student after accelerating into M.A.Sc from his B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics, Computing option at ����ֱ��. Zhimu has a strong interest in working at the junction of the hardware and software for computer systems. He is also looking forward to exploring new technologies in the quantum computing realm, including integrated neuromorphic photonic processors for deep learning.

Maryam Moridsadat holds a master degree in Photonics Engineering (nanophotonics) from University of Tabriz, Iran (2017) with a focus on semiconductor plasmonic at THz range. She also received her Bachelor degree in Electronics Engineering from Shahid Chamran University, Iran (2012). During her PhD journey she works on neuromorphic photonics systems. Furthermore, she likes to spend her free time hiking, skiing and travelling.

received her Ph.D. in Optics/Photonics from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté University, France in 2018, where she worked for Professor Laurent Larger. She also holds a Bachelor's (2012) and Master's (2014) degrees from the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) and the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), respectively. Her interests and directions are focused on nonlinear and complex dynamical systems, machine learning & AI photonic hardware. Additionally, she likes to spend her free time traveling and painting/drawing. Check out her for more information.

Hugh is pursuing his graduate degree at Queen’s researching neuromorphic silicon photonic systems. He received the B.A.Sc from ����ֱ�� in Engineering Physics with an option in Computing. His undergraduate thesis was on the simulation of silicon photonic neural network architectures. His interests are in novel computing systems and artificial intelligence.

Bhavin J. Shastri is a Canada Research Chair in Neuromorphic Photonic Computing, an Assistant Professor of Engineering Physics at Queen’s University, Canada, and a of the . He earned his Honours B.Eng. (with distinction), M.Eng., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Photonics) from McGill University, Canada, in 2005, 2007, and 2012, respectively. He was an NSERC and Banting Postdoctoral Fellow (2012–2016) and later served as an Associate Research Scholar (2016–2018) at Princeton University. Dr. Shastri’s research interests include nanophotonics, photonic integrated circuits, neuromorphic computing, and quantum neural networks. He has published over 105 journal articles, 135 conference proceedings, and seven book chapters, and has delivered more than 110 invited talks and lectures, including eight keynotes. He is a co-author of the book (Taylor & Francis, 2017), a term he coined alongside Prof. Paul Prucnal (Princeton). He is also a Faculty Affiliate at the Vector Institute and a Visiting Faculty member at Princeton University.

Dr. Shastri is the Scientific Co-Director of , a pan-Canadian photonic computing program funded by NSERC CREATE, bridging artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum information. He was named a 2025 in Physics and, in 2024, was recognized by Science News as one of its . A Senior Member of and , his accolades include the 2022 and the 2020 , awarded by the International Commission of Optics (ICO) “for his pioneering contributions to neuromorphic photonics.” Dr. Shastri has received numerous other awards, including the 2024 from Ontario, the 2022 2014 from the Government of Canada, the 2012 for the top graduating Ph.D. student at McGill, the 2011 , the 2011 , the 2011 , and the 2008 . Dr. Shastri has also received multiple Best Student Paper Awards, including at the 2014 IEEE Photonics Conference, the 2010 IEEE Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, the 2004 IEEE Computer Society Lance Stafford Larson Outstanding Student Award, and the 2003 IEEE Canada Life Member Award.