About me
Tyler Stowell
Introduction
My name is Tyler Stowell, and I’m a research assistant in Dr. Camacho’s lab at Brigham Young University researching quantum engineering. I made this website for a couple of reasons, but the main one is that I think resume’s and CV’s are boring. I’ve done a lot of cool things in my life, and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish. I wanted to share some of that in a format that wasn’t quite so formal, and I wanted a good record of the path I’ve taken to end up where I am.
If I had to define myself, I’d say that I’m curious and determined. I have a mix of always wanting to try new things and having the drive to see them through. I taught myself to code, I taught myself physics, I taught myself robotics and I taught myself quantum mechanics. Frequently I find something cool and ask myself, “how can I learn to do that?” That’s the source of most of the projects on this website.
I also hope that my voice comes through in some of these writeups. Working on this website has reminded me just how fortunate I’ve been to have the opportunities I do, and I’m so grateful to the people who made it possible. Some of these projects worked, some of these projects didn’t, some of them led to publications and some of them led to a Github repository that’s now gathering dust. I’m grateful for all of them, and I hope that I can continue working on new things that push the limits of what I’m capable of.
Enjoy learning a little more about me, and I hope you find this page as cool as I do! (Note: if you only have time to skim, go check out my work page - it has the best pictures)
Education
April 2027
Brigham Young University – Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering
- Minor: Physics
- Cumulative GPA: 3.99 / 4.0
Experience
Sep 2021 – Jun 2022, Jun 2024 – Present
CamachoLab – Research Assistant
- Designed, fabricated, packaged, and tested integrated silicon photonics devices in collaboration with employees at Nokia
- Deployed a quantum random number generator on site at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a quantum key distribution system
- Wirebonded photonic chips in BYU’s cleanroom and edge coupled them for characterization
- Designed couplers and crossover waveguides for an active green machine PIC with collaborators at the University of Arizona, UMD, and Tyndall National Institute
May 2026 – Aug 2026
Center for Quantum Networks – Quantum Engineer (Contract)
- Built a quantum frequency conversion system from scratch for silicon vacancy quantum memory experiments with ~75% internal quantum efficiency
- Developed a cavity-coupled color center simulator that reproduces published experimental results to prepare for experimental work on a system ordered from IonQ (manuscript in preparation)
- Restored a pulsed laser system (water cooling, N2 purge, alignment) and supported alignment of the silicon vacancy quantum memory setup
June 2020 – Aug 2021
Harsch Systems – Design Engineer
- Designed two generations of an RP2040-based PCB for industrial control of 4–20 mA and 0–10 V inputs and outputs
- Wrote a Linux kernel driver so Raspberry Pis could meet strict SPI timing requirements for industrial I/O applications under heavy load
- Brought up embedded Rust on the then-unsupported RP2040, writing register level GPIO, ADC, and PWM test programs
Service & Leadership
July 2022 – June 2024
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Volunteer Representative
- Served a two-year, Spanish-speaking volunteer mission in southern Argentina, teaching and doing community service
- Led and trained groups of volunteers as district and zone leader
- Served as the primary financial and housing secretary for 6 months, managing all finances and housing contracts for ~150 volunteers
Publications
Integrated Differential Conjugate Homodyne Detection for Quantum Random Number Generation
- Wrote FPGA code for Toeplitz hash-based entropy extraction from quantum shot-noise limited measurements at a rate of 12 Mbps
Quantum Conference Key Agreement Using a Photonic Integrated Circuit Green Machine
- Characterized a PIC capable of super additive measurements of quantum signals
- Built a digital twin and QKD simulations (decoy states, finite-key effects) to compute conference key rates
Device-Aware Quantum Photonic Simulator for Gaussian States
- Contributed quantum simulation features to the Simphony photonic circuit simulator, later extending it to sums of Gaussian states (e.g. cat states)
Selected Projects
Single-Wheel Robot (2025)
- Designed, 3D-printed, wired, and programmed a modular robot from scratch that converts between two-wheel and single-wheel balanced modes
Laser Tag System (2026)
- Designed an optical transceiver board (LED transmitter, photodiode receiver, filtered amplifier) that placed in the top 10% of the class for signal-to-noise ratio
Real-Time Noise Floor Computer (2021)
- Wrote code that estimated the noise floor of signals from the adaptive-optics wavefront sensor on the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in real time
Skills
Cleanroom Experience
- Fabricated MOSFETs, photodiodes, and a diode laser in BYU’s cleanroom
Optics, Photonics, and PIC Design
- Lumerical FDTD, GDSFactory, Free Space Optics Design, PIC Testing, Edge Coupling, Wirebonding
Programming and Hardware
- Python, C, Rust, FPGA (Xilinx Vivado), KiCAD PCB Design, Linux Kernel Drivers
Engineering Teams
- Hobby Robotics, BYU Mars Rover Team, BYU Rocket Club
Languages
- English (native), Spanish (fluent)