People

Senior Scientists & Staff

Sergio Carbajo (he/him)

Sergio Carbajo (he/him)

Assistant Professor, QLMC Director, UCLA & Stanford

Randy Lemons (he/him)

Randy Lemons (he/him)

Project Scientist, SLAC/Stanford

Chad Pennington (he/him)

Chad Pennington (he/him)

Post-doctoral Fellow, UCLA ECE & Physics

About me

Chad received his B.Sc. in Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2017 and completed his Ph.D. in Accelerator Physics at Cornell University in 2024. His doctoral research focused on photocathode physics and enhancing the quality of electron beams in linear accelerators. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, playing the guitar, and mountain biking.

  Tao Qu                                           (she/her)

Tao Qu (she/her)

Post-doctoral Fellow UCLA, ECE

About me

Tao is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she is currently focused on Quantum Sensing, specifically dual-comb spectroscopy. She earned her Ph.D. in Physics from C-SPIN (the Center for Spintronic Materials, Interfaces, and Novel Architectures) at the University of Minnesota, where her research included ultrafast laser manipulation and detection of magnon-phonon interaction for ultrafast spintronic memory and logic devices. Before that, she completed her B.Sc. in Physics at the University of Science and Technology. 

Justin Baker (he/him)

Justin Baker (he/him)

Adjunct Ass. Prof., UCLA Math

About me

Dr. Justin Baker is an incoming Hedrick Adjunct Assistant Professor at UCLA, having recently completed his PhD in applied mathematics at the University of Utah. His research focuses on geometric deep learning and computational mathematics, with a particular interest in developing canonicalization algorithms in AI for Science. Dedicated to mentoring, Dr. Baker has contributed to undergraduate research experiences at UCLA and ICERM. In addition to his academic work, he is also a certified flight instructor and volunteers his time to support at-risk youth.

Afaf El-Sayed (she/her)

Afaf El-Sayed (she/her)

Post-Doctoral Researcher, QLMC

About me

Dr. Afaf El-Sayed is a dedicated senior postdoctoral researcher at the Materials Physics Centre (CFM) in San Sebastián, Spain, and an Associate Professor of the Physics of Nanotechnology at the Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Afaf earned her PhD in the Physics of Nanostructures and Advanced Materials from the Applied Physics Department at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of the Basque Country in San Sebastián, Spain, in 2013. Since then, she has had an exciting career, balancing her time as a scientific postdoctoral researcher at CFM and as an effective member of the academic staff at Al-Azhar University.

Throughout her journey in science and academia, she has cultivated a wealth of knowledge through diverse research positions and topics, with a focus on surface science and nanoscience, stretching from basic to applied science. Afaf has greatly enjoyed the benefits of international collaborations, which have enriched both her scientific expertise and
personal connections. Additionally, she brings over 10 years of teaching experience to the table, sharing her passion for knowledge through lectures, hands-on laboratory sessions, and mentoring students in their theses at various
academic levels.

Her main hobbies include diving into books, enjoying long walks, exploring new languages, and whipping up
delicious meals in the kitchen.

Irene Gutierrez (she/her)

Irene Gutierrez (she/her)

Administrative Director, QLMC

Graduate Researchers

Jack Hirschman PhD Candidate (he/him)

Jack Hirschman PhD Candidate (he/him)

Stanford/Applied Physics

About me

Jack is a PhD candidate in Applied Physics at Stanford University. His dissertation research at SLAC focuses on software model development and optics design for real-time programmable machine learning-based photo-injector laser shaping for LCLS-II. Additionally, his work involves data readout, reduction, and restructuring for X-ray diagnostics at LCLS-II. Outside of research, Jack enjoys soccer, hiking, badminton, weightlifting, and exploring food.

Hao Zhang PhD Candidate (he/him)

Hao Zhang PhD Candidate (he/him)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Hao received his B.Sc. degree at Tianjin University in China in 2020 before pursuing his MAS.c degree at the University of Victoria in Canada. He is Quantum BC scholar and Canada NSERC QC CREATE Scholar. Previously, he worked in RF and microwave engineering and since September 2020, he focused on nonlinear optics and plasmon-enhanced optical trapping. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Los Angeles, supervised by Dr. Sergio Carbajo, and is also a visiting student at SLAC. In his free time, he likes hiking, playing basketball, astronomical observation, and painting.

 Linshan Sun PhD Candidate (he/him)

Linshan Sun PhD Candidate (he/him)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Before joining the QLMC, he got his M.S. and B.S. in Physics from Nankai University in 2020 and 2022, respectively. He also was a research assistant at the City University of Hong Kong in 2021. His research topics include nonlinear optics and photonics. He likes skating, swimming, skiing, playing guitar, and badminton in their free time.

Greg Sercel PhD Candidate  (he/him)

Greg Sercel PhD Candidate (he/him)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Before joining the QLMC, Gregory studied microbiology and biomedical engineering at California State University, Los Angeles while working as an aviculturist, supplying exotic birds to zoos and the pet industry. After completing his B.S. degree, he spent a year working for Caltech Optical Observatories, where he developed a passion for photonics and fiber-optics. Outside of work, Gregory enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and wildlife photography

Gia Azcoitia PhD Candidate (she/they)

Gia Azcoitia PhD Candidate (she/they)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Gia is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering at UCLA. She received her BS in electrical engineering and applied mathematics from Florida International University. She has previously worked on research related to partial differential equations, radio frequency communication, and machine learning and is currently interested in quantum electrodynamics. Outside of academics, she enjoys rock climbing, reading, and knitting.

Abhimanyu Borthakur MSc Candidate (he/him)

Abhimanyu Borthakur MSc Candidate (he/him)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Abhi(manyu) is an international MSc ECE student at UCLA. Hailing from Calcutta, India, his research experience is (almost) as diverse as his country of origin. This has ensured a track record of successes at an industrial and academic level – as a machine learning practitioner, he has published at prestigious venues such as NeurIPS and attained the prestigious GCP ML Engineer certification within the first six months of his industrial career. He is interested in research, gaming, watching (and unabashedly critiquing) films, cooking and living life in general!

Jackson Rozzels MSc Candidate (he/him)

Jackson Rozzels MSc Candidate (he/him)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Jack is currently a M.S. student in the Electrical & Computer Engineering department at UCLA. Prior to coming to UCLA, he obtained his bachelors degree from Boston University in 2022. Where he conducted research in neuroscience and physics at BU, Harvard and MIT. Outside of his academic pursuits, Jack spends most of his time playing beach volleyball and skateboarding

Undergraduate Researchers

Rachel Tang (she/her)

Rachel Tang (she/her)

UCLA/Chem. E

About me

Rachel Tang (she/her) is an aspiring chemical engineer currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at UCLA. She’s passionate about the intersection of chemistry, mathematics, and problem-solving. One of her goals includes encouraging more female students in underserved community to pursue the field of engineering. When she’s not in the lab or studying, she would be reading, walking her dog, or volunteering in community outreach programs.

Connor Lim (he/him)

Connor Lim (he/him)

UCLA/ME & ECE

About me

Connor Lim is currently studying mechanical engineering at UCLA. He is passionate about studying fusion energy, material sciences, and nanotechnology, though, outside of the classroom, he likes to pole vault whenever possible and he would like to pick up jazz piano.

Sophia Beninati (she/her)

Sophia Beninati (she/her)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Sophia Beninati is studying Electrical Engineering at UCLA. Academically, she’s interested in the applications of quantum physics and electromagnetism. She is also passionate about encouraging other women to pursue careers in engineering, as well as playing soccer and the violin.

Cameron Leary  (he/him)

Cameron Leary (he/him)

UCLA/ECE

About me
Cameron is a third-year undergraduate electrical engineering and physics major from LA studying at the University of California Los Angeles.He is interested in solid-state physics and photonics.
Leyna Nguyen (she/her)

Leyna Nguyen (she/her)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Leyna is a current undergraduate student pursuing Electrical Engineering. She is passionate about exploring renewable energy systems, especially the overlap between signal processing and integration of laser based technologies. Outside of academics, she enjoys going to the beach, exploring LA’s food scene, and going to concerts.

Pranav Singamsetty (he/him)

Pranav Singamsetty (he/him)

UCLA/ECE

About me

Pranav Singamsetty is currently studying Electrical Engineering and Physics at UCLA. His academic interests include molecular simulations and nanofabrication of optical devices. Outside of research, he enjoys running, watching movies, and reading.

Alumni

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  • Iñigo Bastarrica, M.Sc. (2024)
  • Isahia Kim, M.Sc (2024)
  • Brittany Lu, Ph.D (2024)
  • Íñigo Bastarrica, M.Sc  (2024)
  • Erfan Abedi, M.Sc (2024)
  • Ravi Varma, M.Sc (2024)
  • Juan Jose LaTorre, M.Sc. (2024)
  • Tiffany Chang, B.S. (2023)
  • Ariel Nicole Hart, Ph.D/MD (2023)
  • Hongyi Yang, B.S. (2023)
  • Alan Wang, B.S. (2023)
  • Alain Lacunza, M.Sc. (2023)
  • Ravi Saripalli, Ph.D. (2021)
  • Teresa Celaya Garmendia, M.Sc. (2020)
  • Iñigo Calvo Sánchez, M.Sc. (2019)
  • Wei Liu, Ph.D. (2017-2019)
  • Irene Fernandez de Fuentes, M.Sc. (2017-18)