Group members

Stuart Masson, Assistant Professor

Stuart completed his undergraduate studies at Imperial College London in 2014, submitting his Master's thesis on quantum metrology. He received his PhD from the University of Auckland in 2019, on the topic of many-body cavity QED. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University in the group of Ana Asenjo-Garcia, working on quantum optics of ordered atomic arrays, with a particular focus on many-body decay. He joined the University of South Florida as an Assistant Professor in the summer of 2024. Full CV is available here (last updated Nov. 2025). When Stuart is not in his office, he's probably wandering around local swamps looking for birds.

Debsuvra Mukhopadhyay, Postdoc

Debsuvra earned his PhD at Texas A&M University and held brief postdoctoral appointments at Washington University in St. Louis and Northwestern University. With a background in quantum optics, his postdoc research has spanned multiphoton-excitation–driven atomic transitions, nonlinear amplification for qubit readout, measurement-induced decoherence, and anharmonicity engineering for optimal squeezing in microwave amplifiers. His current interests include collective decay in atomic ensembles, the effects of time-delayed feedback or retardation in QED, and bath engineering to probe novel non-Markovian physics. While off the clock, he follows events from the chess world—and occasionally plays—with the humility of a cheerful dilettante.

Zachary Cole, Graduate student

Zachary is a PhD student at the University of South Florida. He has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from New College of Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of South Florida. He is interested in quantum information, quantum computing and quantum networks.

Shane DeStefano, Graduate student

Shane earned his first undergraduate degree in health physics in 2018 at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. After 2 years working as a Health Physicist in USF's Radiation Safety Office, he returned to undergraduate studies, earning a second bachelor's degree in physics from USF with minors in astronomy and mathematics. Between graduation and graduate school, he worked as a middle school teacher and after-school tutor in mathematics and physics. Shane is currently working towards a master's degree and has ambitions to enter the doctoral program afterward. When Shane is not studying, he's worldbuilding for the Dungeons & Dragons group he runs.

Sreeram Vasudevan, Graduate student

Sreeram is a PhD student at the University of South Florida. He received a bachelors in math and physics from the University of Florida in 2024 and conducted research on low temperature tunnel-diode oscillators while there. His interests lie in quantum information and quantum optics. Outside of research, he enjoys playing rhythm games and reading.

Yash Yarlagadda, Graduate student

Yash is a PhD student at the University of South Florida from India. In the famous words of Abraham Maslow, “What a man can be, he must be.” Guided by this principle, Yash does things that serve as steps in his self-actualization, with theoretical physics taking priority on that list. His academic research interests currently lie in many-body cavity QED, many-body localization & quantum phases of matter. He takes personal interest in algebraic quantum field theory and AdS/CFT correspondence. In parallel to his academic pursuits, Yash challenges himself with hybrid athlete training & martial arts. He enjoys nature & still photography. He loves literature & art from the Renaissance and the philosophical works of Dostoevsky and Nietzsche.

Kayla Ann March, Undergraduate student

Kayla is currently an undergraduate at the University of South Florida, majoring in Physics with a minor in Astronomy, and is a Tampa Bay local. She is interested in researching quantum metrology and has previously done research studying solar-thermoelectric hybrid models for maximizing renewable energy harvesting. Outside of physics, Kayla is interested in art and stargazing.

Thach Anh Nguyen, Undergraduate student

Thach is an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida, majoring in Physics. He is an international student from Vietnam. Currently, his research is in light-matter interactions in atomic arrays. His previous research experience was in electromagnetism. Beside physics, he enjoys playing League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics.

Brandon Nieten, Undergraduate student

Brandon is a Physics major with a French and Francophone Studies minor. He is originally from Orlando, FL. He is interested in quantum or nuclear physics as a career path and is currently performing research on quantum optics with ordered atomic arrays. 

Javier Rosario, Undergraduate student

Javier was born in Tampa but raised switching between Tampa and New York. The two overarching topics in physics that interest him most are quantum mechanics and acoustics. The most intriguing part of quantum mechanics is its ambiguous nature. He is also a musician who plays multiple instruments. He has always loved learning the physics behind each instrument and performance space including the way waves interact with the room.