Ballroom dancing, surfing, Game of Thrones, which awesome professor did the Iron Warrior find for this issue? None other than Professor Michal Bajcsy!
Professor Bajcsy joined the Institute of Quantum Computing in 2014 after receiving his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University and completing his postdoctoral research at Stanford University. An Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Professor Bajcsy kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to Skype in with us from California to answer a few of our questions.
Q: Which courses do you teach?
I have taught ECE 106 (Physics of Electrical Engineering), ECE 404 (Geometrical and Physical Optics) and ECE 770 (Quantum Electronics and Photonics).
Q: Why did you choose to pursue a career in Engineering?
It was a family business. My dad, aunt, uncle, and two older brothers are all electrical engineers. I also enjoy math and physics, and this was a field that combined them both.
Q: What was your most memorable experience as an undergraduate student?
Hmm I have to come up with some that are actually appropriate for this interview! There were several. I took a geology class which was a lot of fun; it ended with a camping trip to the surrounding mountains to look at some rocks. A class on Celtic poetry was also very interesting.
I also took a class on the history of science, which basically went over the most important scientific developments of the 20th century, such as the making of the atomic bomb, the green revolution, the genome study, and so on. So it was an interesting overview of what science was actually good for and how it changed things.
Another class was an engineering class called Junior Capstone Project. It was like engineering consulting 101; the professors would bring in clients from outside with a real problem and the students would work in a group to suggest a solution by the end of the semester, and we had to give a presentation and propose our solution.
It was certainly an interesting social dynamic to figure out how to work in a team without killing each other, and it was also very good training on how to give presentations and effectively communicate your ideas.
Q: What was your first impression of Waterloo?
Well, the land is very flat. In the States I was always either on the east or west coast, and in both of them you can get to mountains in just a couple of hours. Whereas Waterloo is more rolling hills and like a Midwest style. But the surprising impression was that there were way more students than I was expecting. I mean, the school doesn’t look like it would fit 30 000 students.
Q: What are your research interests?
On the large scale of things, I am trying to make single photon gates. In other words, trying to make logic gates that work with single photons. Experimentally I am trying to implement it in a combination of nanophotonic structures and cold atoms, and occasionally warm atoms. The point is that the nanophotonic structures can keep the photons confined and the atoms add the non-linearity that we need to implement the logic gate.
Q: What is your favourite part about teaching?
I like that I still learn new things. I was very surprised that I still learned new things in ECE 106 even after teaching it the second time. Another favourite thing is when students get it, you sort of see that “aha” moment which is quite enjoyable.
Q: What is the most challenging part?
Board technique. I suck at that. Some professors are really good about it and you can basically make a print-out of their board, I haven’t quite gotten there yet. I’m still trying to improve it to a reasonable level. It makes it easier for the students to learn, but there also seems to be a strong correlation between your board technique and the overall happiness of the class, particularly with the first years.
Q: Do you have any advice for your students?
One is a quote from Louis Pasteur. The gist of it is that in science or life in general, “chance favours the prepared mind.” Basically, a lot of things happen by chance, but you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of that chance if you weren’t already looking in that area or aware of what was going on. Another is a quote that I saw in a lab in Nebraska, which says that “a few months of working in the lab can often times save you a couple of hours in the library.” The last one would be to keep working on your writing and presentation skills. We do so much of our communication through writing, and presentation is very important because that is how you sell stuff. Even if you come up with something interesting, there’s no point in it if you can’t explain to people why it is interesting or how it works.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
I used to, and I hope to come back to them at some point. I used to be an avid ballroom dancer. I used to do it competitively in college and in grad school. I quit about halfway through grad school when I realized that I actually needed to graduate at some point. So when I was a postdoc I didn’t compete anymore but the Palo Alto area had a really good social ballroom scene so I was still enjoying that. I also enjoy skiing, and during a trip after finishing my postdoc I picked up surfing. I’m still really bad at it but I really enjoy it. Apparently you can also surf in Ontario. In some of the Great Lakes they have good waves for surfing.
Q: What is your favourite TV show?
Lately I have been addicted to Game of Thrones. This season has been really good, it seems like they are really trying to get it going and the pace has been picked up a lot. It seems like they are trying to wrap up the whole thing and I guess there’s still a lot of characters that need to be killed off. I’m also a big fan of Family Guy and American Dad.
Q: Interesting places you have traveled to?
Hawaii has been one of my favourite places. I also visited Japan for a few days which was very interesting. In the Caribbean I’ve made it to St. Maarten and St. Barts so far. They are neighboring islands but they are very different. St Maarten is super touristy, but at St. Barts the cruise ships have to anchor a few miles off the coast and then they will have small boats come in. Another interesting place I’ve visited in the last several years is Antelope Canyon in Utah. It’s this canyon where the water has cut through the sandstone, and it’s absolutely amazing. And California is pretty amazing as well.
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