Research

Posters and Conference Proceedings of my Prior Work.

Laser Heating and Ablation

September 2023 - August 2024: This is the software I built to control and calibrate the Mass Spectrometer. It can control the laser, oscilloscope, pulse generator and voltage supllies simultaneously.

I am currently working with Professor Dwayne Miller, with whom I have done 2 projects. My first project (thesis) involved modelling nano and picosecond laser heating of breast tumor tissue. I quantified tissue death and heating times. This was used to compare against continuous wave lasers of the same power. I also performed laser ablations on biological samples and was a contributing author on an associated SPIE conference proceeding.

For my second project, I developed and implemented instrumentation protocols for pulse generators, oscilloscopes, and voltage supplies to operate our Laser Ablation-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer. I designed and built software for the collection and analysis of experimental data (see picture). Leveraging Bayesian optimization, I was able to automate the maximizization of resolution.


Nonlinear Optics

May 2023 - August 2023: My work comparing pulse propagation equations, where I compared the accuracy and computation time when modelling Raman Effect (PCF) or Kerr Instability Amplification (MgO Crystal).

I worked with Professor T.J Hammond, with whom I simulated various nonlinear optics processes. I modelled the Raman effect in particular, and compared pulse propagation equations in different media to balance accuracy and computation time. I presented posters at Photonics Online Meetup 2023 and CAP Congress 2024.


Physics Education and Machine Learning

September 2022 - April 2023: Our work using machine learning to cluster comments and identify insightful comments from first-year physics student feedback.

I worked with Dr. Carolyn Sealfon and a couple of colleagues, with whom I implemented machine learning algorithms to quickly group student feedback in large classes. We were able to identify common points of confusion among first year physics students, and extract the most useful comments. We presented this poster at the UofT ROP Poster Fair 2023.


Ligand Receptor Interactions

June 2022 - August 2022: BioPhysics Research where I applied the Gillespie algorithm to validate theoretical predictions of complex formation and signal production (lost higher resolution image).

I had the privilege of working with Dr. Anton Zilman (may his soul rest in peace) in biophysics research. He taught me how to do research for the first time, where I applied the Gillespie algorithm to model ligand-receptor interactions. This was done to compare against theoretical predictions of Duncan Kirby, whose work guided the project. This was presented at the Uoft SURF poster competition in 2022.