Prospective Students

I am looking for motivated students to join my group at the University of Waterloo. I am interested in a broad range of topics including reconfigurable computing architectures, CAD algorithms, and custom accelerators for deep learning and other applications. I am also always open to learning about and exploring new research areas. If you are interested in working with me, please send me an email with the title Prospective Grad Student: <Your Name> from <Undergraduate Institute> and make sure to include 3 things: your up-to-date resume, your undergraduate (and masters) transcripts, and a short paragraph describing why you want to pursue graduate school and what you would like to work on during your degree (feel free to look at the list of my prior publications for examples on what I would be interested to work on).

What am I looking for in a prospective student?

I am looking for students who:

• are interested in continuously learning new skills/topics and tackling open-ended research questions.
• have a strong academic record from a reputable undergraduate ECE or CS program.
• have a good grasp of the basics of software coding (C++, Python), electronic circuits, and digital hardware design (RTL and/or HLS).
• can clearly communicate their ideas in spoken and written English.

Prior research experience and publications are strong differentiators for your application, but are not required.

Choosing your graduate school advisor

I believe that choosing your advisor is the single most important decision of your graduate school experience/commitment (more important than the school and your research topic). You ideally want an advisor who is not only technically strong but also a nice person to work with. I was lucky to have such an advisor (Prof. Vaughn Betz) and this had a significant impact on both my work and personal life. While you are selecting your advisor, it is always a good idea to talk to his/her students or collaborators, which will give you a better sense of how it is to work with him/her. I am happy to provide contact information of a number of people that I worked closely with for this purpose, if needed.

Application process

If you are interested in working with me during your grad school, you should first email me as described above. After the initial screening of the emails I receive, I will schedule a call to chat more with prospective students. If I decide to endorse the recommendation for your admission, you will need to submit an application to UWaterloo graduate school. Please refer to the following links for the requirements and deadlines of MASc and PhD program applications. This link will also provide you with a detailed guide on how to apply for UWaterloo graduate school.