Dr. Viktoriia Rutckaia is the Director of the Photonics Core Facility at ASRC.
She earned her Ph.D. in Physics from Martin-Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Her research
is rooted in the study of light-matter interactions within dielectric and plasmonic structures,
silicon photonics, and active emitting materials. She brings a wide range of skills, including
numerical modeling, nanofabrication, and optical characterization of nanodevices, which significantly
bolster the research conducted at ASRC. In this proposal, Dr. Rutckaia will provide research projects,
training, and support for Cohort A fellows during the Micro-Internship at ASRC.
Tara McCaughey is the Strategic University Partnership Manager at GlobalFoundries (GF) in
Malta, NY, building partnerships with key universities to enable and facilitate research projects, workforce
development collaborations, and to grow the technology talent pipeline. Her background includes experience
in the semiconductor industry as an engineer and in secondary education, teaching math and STEM courses.
In her prior role in workforce development at GF, she helped launch the first Registered Apprenticeship
in the U.S. semiconductor industry, created a network of employee Ambassadors for regional STEM outreach,
and built industry-education partnerships with the region's high schools, community colleges, and universities24.
In this proposal, Tara McCaughey will coordinate all organizational efforts from the GF side, including
the virtual information session and the site visit activities.
Dr. Milan Begliarbekov is the Director of QCi Foundry, leading the company in the development
of quantum materials, devices, and technology. His research focuses on thin film niobate and transition metal
ferroelectrics to facilitate quantum-enabled sensing and photonic computing. Prior to joining QCi, Dr. Begliarbekov
was a Director of the Nanofabrication facility at ASRC, CUNY. In this capacity, he oversaw the design, construction,
commissioning, and ongoing operation of the Nanofabrication facility. Dr. Begliarbekov possesses extensive expertise
in nanofabrication, materials science, and quantum technology development. He will manage the operations of this
project and coordinate summer Internships at QCi.
Dr. Kurt Steuck — Consultant and External Evaluator
Dr. Kurt Steuck is the Director of Evaluation and Research at Steuck & Associates LLC.
After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Educational Psychology, Dr. Steuck taught at
Trinity University in San Antonio, conducted research as a federal employee for nearly 15 years in the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
and focused on evaluation and training for the past 25 years in the private sector. He is a member of American Evaluation Association,
the International Society for Technology in Education, and the Texas Evaluator's Network.
Dr. Seth Cottrell teaches Quantum Computation and is PI of the Quantum Teaching Lab at CCNY. He earned his PhD in mathematics from the Courant Institute at NYU. His research focuses on quantum information theory and quantum graphs. In addition to writing the textbook for the class, he has designed and built dozens of experiments and activities for teaching quantum theory at the undergraduate and high school level. Dr. Cottrell teaches the "Quantum Bootcamp" for QUEST, a one-week intensive course where students directly experiment with superposition, quantum measurements, qubits, and entanglement.
