Armin Jamshidpey

Research

My work sits where algebra meets computation: symbolic and exact linear algebra over rings and fields, normal bases of finite fields, and the computational theory of algebraic tori, with applications to cryptography in a post-quantum world. I am an affiliate member of the Institute for Quantum Computing.

Appointments

• 2024 – now Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo
• 2021 – now Affiliate Member Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo
• 2023 – 2024 Faculty Lecturer Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo
• 2021 – 2022 Post-doctoral Fellow Department of Mathematics, University of Toronto
• 2020 – 2021 Post-doctoral Fellow Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo
• 2017 – 2020 Post-doctoral Fellow Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo
• Ph.D. 2017 Mathematics, Western University Dissertation: “Algebraic Tori: A Computational Approach” · Visiting Ph.D. student, Waterloo, 2015–17
• M.Sc. 2012 Mathematics, IASBS Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, Zanjan, Iran

Publications

• M. Giesbrecht, A. Jamshidpey, É. Schost. Fast Deterministic Normal Bases and Circulant Polynomial Determinants. ISAAC 2026, 37th International Symposium on Algorithms and Computation, Hangzhou (to appear)
• M. Giesbrecht, A. Jamshidpey, É. Schost. Subquadratic-Time Algorithms for Normal Bases. Computational Complexity, 2020
• M. Giesbrecht, A. Jamshidpey, É. Schost. Quadratic-Time Algorithms for Normal Elements. ISSAC ’19, International Symposium on Symbolic and Algebraic Computation
• A. Jamshidpey, N. Lemire, É. Schost. Algebraic Construction of Quasi-split Algebraic Tori. Journal of Algebra and Its Applications, 2019
• A. Jamshidpey. Algebraic Tori: A Computational Approach. Ph.D. thesis, Western University, 2017

Students

A note for prospective students: I currently have no openings for graduate students or undergraduate research assistants. This page will be updated when that changes.

• 2026 – now Michael Xu MMath student · co-supervised with Mark Giesbrecht · since January 2026
• 2026 – now Anvay Mukim Undergraduate Research Assistant · since September 2026
• 2025 Arthur Xu Undergraduate Research Assistant · September–December 2025 · co-supervised with Mark Giesbrecht
• 2021 Jeffrey Kam Undergraduate Research Assistant · Spring 2021

Teaching

This term (Fall 2026) I am teaching:

• CS 135, Designing Functional Programs
  A first course in computer science through the lens of functional programming.
• CS 234, Data Types and Structures
  Fundamental data types, data structures, and their applications.

In Winter 2027 I will be teaching:

• CS 480/680, Introduction to Machine Learning
  Models and algorithms for machine learning, and the theory behind them.

Over the years I have regularly taught CS 135 (Designing Functional Programs), CS 234 (Data Types and Structures), CS 341 (Algorithms), CS 240 (Data Structures and Data Management) and its enriched version CS 240E, CS 487 (Introduction to Symbolic Computation), CS 475/675 (Computational Linear Algebra), CS 231 (Algorithmic Problem Solving), and CS 245 (Logic and Computation).

Before joining Waterloo, I taught in the mathematics departments of two other Ontario universities. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, I taught Linear Algebra (MAT 223) in Fall 2021 and Calculus 2 (MAT 136) in Winter 2022, both large first-year courses serving students from across the sciences. Earlier, during my doctoral studies at Western University, I taught first-year Calculus (Calc 1000) in Fall 2016. Teaching foundational mathematics to broad audiences shaped how I approach computer science courses today, with an emphasis on careful reasoning and building intuition before formalism.

Talks and events

SCG talks

I organize the talk series of the Symbolic Computation Group. The full schedule, including upcoming talks, is on the SCG talks page. Recent talks:

• On the Effective Algebraic Geometry of Determinantal Varieties
  Sriram Gopalakrishnan (University of Waterloo and Sorbonne Université) · September 8, 2026
• Inferred Author Gender as a Variable Affecting LLM Behaviour
  Avery Hiebert (University of Waterloo) · August 25, 2026
• Algorithms for Analytic Combinatorics: Positivity Bounds and D-finite Operators
  John Hunn Smith (University of Waterloo) · August 6, 2026

Workshops and special sessions

• Workshop on Quantum Algorithms in Number Theory
  The Fields Institute, Toronto · April 2022 · with M. Giesbrecht, S. Hallgren, T. Lange, M. Mosca, K. Murty
• Special session “Symbolic and Exact Linear Algebra over Rings and Fields”
  ACA 2021, Athens · July 2021 · with M. Giesbrecht and É. Schost
• Minisymposium “Computational Aspects of Finite Groups and Their Representations”
  SIAM AG19, Bern · July 2019 · with M. Giesbrecht and É. Schost

Exam Board (v0.9 beta)

A display for exams that run in several rooms at once. Every room's projector shows the same page: a clock taken from one shared server, the start and end times, announcements written in LaTeX, and whether washroom breaks and hand-in are currently allowed. The coordinator edits one text file and every room updates within seconds.

• See it running (live demo, driven by the sample file demo.txt)
• Stand-alone backup version (works with no server and no internet)
• Source code and downloads on GitHub, MIT License
• README: setup, checklist and settings

It is a beta: a visual aid, not a replacement for proctors. Bug reports and suggestions are welcome on the Issues page.