Blaskovits Group

Biography

My name is Juan Diego Castro Miyashiro. I did my undergrad at the University of Alberta, where I graduated with a double major in Physics and Computer Science. After that, I spent three years working in industry on applied machine learning. Over time, I became convinced that machine learning’s potential in scientific discovery was being underexplored compared to its popular, consumer-facing uses. That idea pulled me back into academia, where I’m now exploring how modern ML methods can help tackle problems in chemical physics and molecular modeling. My research sits at the intersection of quantum chemistry and deep learning. I’m broadly interested in developing flexible generative methods for molecular design that can incorporate physical constraints and respond to quantum-chemical objectives. My current work focuses on probabilistic and geometry-aware models that learn from molecular structure and enable controllable generation in chemical space. Outside of academia, I enjoy martial arts—particularly Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—as well as salsa dancing.