Emanuel Istrate obtained his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2005. After pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship, he joined the Institute for Optical Sciences at U of T as the Academic Program Coordinator, where he develops unique teaching programs and conducts courses for undergraduate and graduate students related to optics and holography. Istrate also contributes actively in developing entrepreneurship and industry collaboration-based programs for students at U of T’s Impact Centre, as well as in coordinating the Arthur Schawlow Stream within the VicOne program at Victoria College for incoming first-year students. Istrate is an active senior member of the IEEE (the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and has previously served as chair of the IEEE Toronto Section.