Two Students from the Faculty of Engineering Won the PBC Excellence Scholarship for Outstanding Female Students in High-Tech Fields

Congratulations, master's students Shiran Arol Wiegand of the Quantum Optics Lab, and Shira Tziony of the Optical and Acoustical Neuroimaging Lab, for winning the PBC Excellence Scholarship for outstanding female students in high-tech fields.

Implementing quantum encryption on optical chips

Shiran Arol Wiegand is a master's student of Dr. Boris Desiatov. Her research, conducted at the QuantumOpto Lab, explores implementing quantum encryption (QKD) on a photonic integrated circuit. "By combining advanced photonic components on a tiny chip, it is possible to develop innovative infrastructure for secure communication at the highest level of protection," she explains. "This technology enables a compact implementation of quantum encryption protocols, and may lay the foundations for the next generation of quantum technology-based information security systems."

Shiran met Dr. Boris Desiatov during the final year of her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at Bar-Ilan, when she attended his courses on optical communications and nano-photonics. "These exposed me to the field, and that's when I realized this was the direction I wanted to pursue in research," she recounts. "I ventured into the specific field of quantum encryption, which is the subject of my research, after first hearing about it from a family friend. As I delved deeper into the topic, reading articles and watching YouTube videos, I realized that this was a particularly intriguing field that I would want to explore in an academic setting." Shiran aspires to continue to grow in her field by pursuing PhD studies and finding her place in the industry.

Optical methods for monitoring the neurovascular system

Shira Tziony is a student in the direct master's track, studying at Dr. Nisan Ozana's Optical Neuroimaging Lab. Her research focuses on advanced, noninvasive optical methods for monitoring the neurovascular unit, the system which regulates oxygen and blood flow. "As part of the research, I examine several blood flow monitoring methods based on speckle pattern measurements, including Speckle Contrast Optical Spectroscopy, Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging, and also vibrations/acoustics pulse measurements," Shira explains. "The methods we use in the lab do not directly measure brain activity, but rather the subsequent change in blood flow. Sometimes we try to study this system by measuring peripheral blood flow such as the carotid, which is the main artery supplying blood to the brain, and monitoring it is critical for monitoring cardiac or cerebrovascular events."
Shira first encountered the combination of optics and neuroengineering during the first year of her bachelor's studies, in a lecture given by Dr. Ozana. "I was immediately intrigued," she recalls. "In my second year of studies, I joined Nisan's lab, and since then I have been engaged in research under his supervision." Shira, who previously won the Schulich Leaders Scholarship, aspires to develop cutting-edge technologies in the field of neurophotonics, combining advances in signal processing and electro-optics for real-time functional monitoring of the brain.