Sergio Carbajo

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Sergio Carbajo
Carbajo.CNSI.jpg
Carbajo as a panelist at a California NanoSystems Institute event, October 7, 2024 (Photo taken by Penny Jennings)
Born
Sergio Carbajo Garcia

Donostia-San Sebastian [1]
EducationM.Eng. in Telecom Engineering, M.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ph.D. in Physics
Alma mater Universidad de Navarra, Colorado State University,University of Hamburg, Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron
Occupation Scientist & Educator
Known forAssistant professor at the UCLA Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)

Sergio Carbajo Garcia is an American engineer assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with concurrent faculty appointments in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Department of Physics & Astronomy. [2] [3]

Contents

He founded and directs the Quantum Light-Matter Cooperative (QLMC) at UCLA, a consortium focusing on understanding, designing, and controlling light-driven physical processes to help solve interconnected socio-technological challenges. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Early life and education

Carbajo was born on October 4, 1985, in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, and grew up in Hernani, Gipuzkoa. From 2001 to 2003, he attended Barandiaran Lizeoa High School. From elementary school to high school, Carbajo was classically trained in music. He releases music under the stage name Julian Telleria. [1]

In 2009, he received an M.Eng. in telecommunications engineering from Tecnun, the University of Navarra, School of Engineering in San Sebastián, Spain. In 2012, Carbajo earned an M.Sc. in electrical and computer engineering from Colorado State University. Afterward, he completed a Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.) in physics from the University of Hamburg in Germany. [2] [11]

Career

After receiving his Ph.D., Carbajo began working as an associate staff scientist for the Lasers in Science Division at Stanford’s SLAC. In 2018, he was promoted to staff scientist and also became department head for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) Lasers for Accelerators Research and Development department until 2021. [8] As of 2022, he is a visiting professor for Stanford’s SLAC Photon Science department. In this capacity, Carbajo bridges expertise across disciplines in photon sciences and accelerator physics for the advancement of XFEL technology and science, namely LCLS and LCLS-II science and instrumentation. His work at SLAC is central to his research career, combining quantum and nonlinear optics and laser-matter interactions to develop scientific instruments and processes. [8]

At UCLA, Carbajo primarily teaches courses on photonics, such as Principles of Photonics and Photonic Devices and Circuits. He also teaches courses that combine humanities with STEM, which includes the course Humanities-Informed STEM Studies and various other seminars. [12] [13] [14]

From 2019 to 2021, Carbajo was an affiliated faculty in the Department of Physics at Colorado School of Mines. [15] He has also been a visiting scientist for the Donostia International Physics Center since 2023, researching topological nanophotonics. [16] Carbajo is the founder of NLighten Photonics LLC. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Carbajo was also a 2024 Nature Light Science and Applications Rising Star winner for his work in optics and photonics. [21] [22] [23] [24]

Research

Carbajo has expertise in generating and manipulating ultrashort, high-intensity laser pulses. He has worked extensively with techniques such as optical parametric amplification (OPA), frequency comb generation, and pulse shaping to create tailored light fields for varied applications. [25] [26] Carbajo’s work has focused on using these advanced laser systems to investigate ultrafast phenomena in materials and to drive novel electron beam sources. [27] [28]

Carbajo has also conducted extensive research on particle accelerators and free-electron lasers (FELs), which are powerful tools for generating intense X-ray pulses. His contributions include developing novel laser-based techniques for electron beam generation, shaping, and conditioning. [29] He has investigated methods for microbunching instability suppression, seeded X-ray FEL emission, and high-brightness electron beam production. [30] [31]

In ultrafast X-ray science, Carbajo's research has focused on using ultrafast X-ray pulses generated by FELs to investigate the dynamics of molecules and materials on very short timescales. [32] [33] He has been involved in studies using techniques such as time-resolved X-ray scattering to investigate phenomena such as photochemical reactions, protein structural dynamics, and charge transfer processes. [34] [35]

Some of Carbajo’s other works explore the intersection of ultrafast photonics and quantum science. He is working on developing quantum sensing technologies and exploring quantum phenomena in light-matter interactions. [36] His research aims to investigate topics such as high-harmonic generation, strong-field terahertz science, and the use of quantum materials for advanced applications. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

List of honors and awards

YearAward/Honor
2024Nature Light Science and Applications Rising Star Award [21]
2024Humboldt Foundation Fellow [22]
2024Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award [40] [42]
2023 IEEE Senior Member
2023 UCLA Innovation Fellow
2023AFOSR Young Investigator Program Award
2021Co-recipient of Horizon Prize from the (UK) Royal Society of Chemistry
2021SPIE Early Career Achievement Award in recognition of capacity to unify ultrafast and quantum optics with X-ray science to advance the mission of Basic Energy Sciences facilities [43]
2021 Sigma Xi Member
2020 Optica Senior Member
2020OSA Foundation Congressional Policy Fellow
2019 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellow at RIKEN Attosecond Research Center
2018SRI Young Scientist Award
2015PIER Helmholtz Foundation Dissertation Award
2014PIER Helmholtz Graduate School Mobility Award for Young Investigators
2014US Particle Accelerator School Fellow
2011Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Grant Awardee
2010-2014Basque Research Excellence Scholarship
2010 Colorado State University Program of Research and Scholarly Excellence Scholar
2008-2009Universidad de Valladolid FARO Global Scholar

Activism

Since 2022, Carbajo has been the director of diversity for UCLA's Electrical & Computer Engineering department. [44]

Carbajo is queer and is a founding member and chair of the LGBTQ+ employee resource group at SLAC. [45] He co-organized the workshop "Inclusive Diversity in Science: Guidelines for Research Teams" at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and was an executive committee member of APS-IDEA (American Physical Society - Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Alliance) at Stanford and SLAC from 2020 to 2021. Some of his initiatives here included paid fellowships for people of color and the establishment of gender-neutral bathrooms. [46] He also played a role in organizing the first pride event at SLAC. [47]

References

  1. 1 2 Stories, Local (2023-03-22). "Meet Sergio Carbajo". Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Sergio Carbajo" . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ "UCLA Physics & Astronomy: Affiliated Faculty". UCLA Physics & Astronomy. March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ "People – The Quantum Light-Matter Cooperative". light-matter.seas.ucla.edu. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Team - CQSE". www.cqse.ucla.edu. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ "UCLA acquires L.A.'s former Westside Pavilion to transform empty mall into the UCLA Research Park". UCLA. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ "The UCLA Research Park: Quantum science and engineering". UCLA. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 "Sergio Carbajo – Exploring Your Universe" . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Pri Narang and Sergio Carbajo look to advance quantum science for next-gen sensors". UCLA. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  10. ↑ "UCI-UCLA Kick-Start Collaborative Projects Funded by Samueli Foundation | Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine". engineering.uci.edu. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Sergio Carbajo (Visiting) | SLAC Faculty". faculty.slac.stanford.edu. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Principles of Photonics". catalog.registrar.ucla.edu. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Photonic Devices and Circuits". catalog.registrar.ucla.edu. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Humanities-Informed Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics". catalog.registrar.ucla.edu. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Sergio Carbajo". Physics Department. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Sergio Carbajo". Donostia International Physics Center. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  17. ↑ "NLIGHTEN PHOTONICS LLC in Boulder Creek, CA | Company Info & Reviews". www.bizapedia.com. 2025-04-02. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Technology -2022-286 Optical Pulse Temporal Shaping Through Nonlinear Mixing". ucla.technologypublisher.com. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Technology -Copyright: Machine Learning-Assisted Design of High Power Laser Systems (Case No. 2024-067)". ucla.technologypublisher.com. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Technology -Method for Simultaneous Nonlinear Frequency Conversion and Spectro-Temporal Shaping of Lightwaves (Case No. 2024-254)". ucla.technologypublisher.com. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  21. 1 2 "2024 | Light: Science & Applications". www.nature.com. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  22. 1 2 "Prof. Dr. Sergio Carbajo". www.humboldt-foundation.de. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Ultrafast X-ray scattering | 2021 Faraday Division Horizon Prize winner". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Sergio Carbajo: The 2021 Early Career Achievement Award - Industry/Government Focus". spie.org. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  25. ↑ Lu, Brittany; Shiri, Abbas; Wernsing, Keith; Carbajo, Sergio (2024-02-01). "High-efficiency, single-stage tunable optical parametric amplifier for visible photocathode applications". Optics Letters. 49 (3): 450–453. Bibcode:2024OptL...49..450L. doi:10.1364/OL.509766. ISSN   1539-4794. PMID   38300028.
  26. ↑ Liu, Wei; Robinson, Joseph; Fry, Alan; Carbajo, Sergio (2018-05-13). "4D Pulse Shaping of Discretized Beam Arrays" . Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (2018), Paper JTh2A.169. Optica Publishing Group: JTh2A.169. doi:10.1364/CLEO_AT.2018.JTh2A.169. ISBN   978-1-943580-42-2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  27. ↑ Cesar, D.; Anakru, A.; Carbajo, S.; Duris, J.; Franz, P.; Li, S.; Sudar, N.; Zhang, Z.; Marinelli, A. (2021-11-29). "Electron beam shaping via laser heater temporal shaping". Physical Review Accelerators and Beams. 24 (11): 110703. arXiv: 2106.04022 . Bibcode:2021PhRvS..24k0703C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.24.110703.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  28. ↑ Grünbein, Marie Luise; Gorel, Alexander; Foucar, Lutz; Carbajo, Sergio; Colocho, William; Gilevich, Sasha; Hartmann, Elisabeth; Hilpert, Mario; Hunter, Mark; Kloos, Marco; Koglin, Jason E.; Lane, Thomas J.; Lewandowski, Jim; Lutman, Alberto; Nass, Karol (2021-03-15). "Effect of X-ray free-electron laser-induced shockwaves on haemoglobin microcrystals delivered in a liquid jet". Nature Communications. 12 (1): 1672. Bibcode:2021NatCo..12.1672G. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21819-8. ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   7960726 . PMID   33723266.
  29. ↑ Carbajo, Sergio (2021-01-01). "Light by Design for Next-Generation Electron Beams Sources and X-ray Free Electron Lasers". APS. 2021: H71.252. Bibcode:2021APS..MARH71252C – via Astrophysics Data System.
  30. ↑ Tang, Jingyi; Lemons, Randy; Liu, Wei; Vetter, Sharon; Maxwell, Timothy; Decker, Franz-Josef; Lutman, Alberto; Krzywinski, Jacek; Marcus, Gabriel; Moeller, Stefan; Huang, Zhirong; Ratner, Daniel; Carbajo, Sergio (2020-03-30). "Laguerre-Gaussian Mode Laser Heater for Microbunching Instability Suppression in Free-Electron Lasers". Physical Review Letters. 124 (13): 134801. Bibcode:2020PhRvL.124m4801T. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.134801 . PMID   32302180.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  31. ↑ Varma, Ravi; Lemons, Randy; Carbajo, Sergio (2023). "Bessel-Gaussian laser heater mode for microbunching instability suppression in free-electron lasers". In Dudley, Angela; Laskin, Alexander V. (eds.). Laser Beam Shaping XXIII. Vol. 12667. p. 14. doi:10.1117/12.2676222. ISBN   978-1-5106-6548-4.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  32. ↑ Salamin, Yousef; Carbajo, Sergio (2023-05-05), Electron acceleration by exponentially-chirped laser pulses, Optica Open, doi:10.1364/opticaopen.22766891.v1 , retrieved April 3, 2025
  33. ↑ Ibrahim, Mohamed; Fransson, Thomas; Chatterjee, Ruchira; Cheah, Mun Hon; Hussein, Rana; Lassalle, Louise; Sutherlin, Kyle D.; Young, Iris D.; Fuller, Franklin D.; Gul, Sheraz; Kim, In-Sik; Simon, Philipp S.; de Lichtenberg, Casper; Chernev, Petko; Bogacz, Isabel (2020-06-09). "Untangling the sequence of events during the S2 → S3 transition in photosystem II and implications for the water oxidation mechanism". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (23): 12624–12635. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2000529117 . PMC   7293653 . PMID   32434915.
  34. ↑ Yong, Haiwang; Zotev, Nikola; Ruddock, Jennifer M.; Stankus, Brian; Simmermacher, Mats; Carrascosa, Andrés Moreno; Du, Wenpeng; Goff, Nathan; Chang, Yu; Bellshaw, Darren; Liang, Mengning; Carbajo, Sergio; Koglin, Jason E.; Robinson, Joseph S.; Boutet, Sébastien (2020-05-01). "Observation of the molecular response to light upon photoexcitation". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 2157. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.2157Y. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15680-4. ISSN   2041-1723. PMC   7195484 . PMID   32358535.
  35. ↑ Ishigami, Izumi; Carbajo, Sergio; Zatsepin, Nadia; Hikita, Masahide; Conrad, Chelsie E.; Nelson, Garrett; Coe, Jesse; Basu, Shibom; Grant, Thomas; Seaberg, Matthew H.; Sierra, Raymond G.; Hunter, Mark S.; Fromme, Petra; Fromme, Raimund; Rousseau, Denis L. (2023-10-18). "Detection of a Geminate Photoproduct of Bovine Cytochrome c Oxidase by Time-Resolved Serial Femtosecond Crystallography". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 145 (41): 22305–22309. Bibcode:2023JAChS.14522305I. doi:10.1021/jacs.3c07803. ISSN   1520-5126. PMC   10814876 . PMID   37695261.
  36. ↑ "Invited Speakers | Optica". www.optica.org. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  37. ↑ Ahr, Frederike; Jolly, Spencer W.; Matlis, Nicholas H.; Carbajo, Sergio; Kroh, Tobias; Ravi, Koustuban; Schimpf, Damian N.; Schulte, Jan; Ishizuki, Hideki; Taira, Takunori; Maier, Andreas R.; Kärtner, Franz X. (2017-06-01). "Narrowband terahertz generation with chirped-and-delayed laser pulses in periodically poled lithium niobate". Optics Letters. 42 (11): 2118–2121. Bibcode:2017OptL...42.2118A. doi:10.1364/OL.42.002118. ISSN   1539-4794. PMID   28569860.
  38. ↑ Carbajo, Sergio; Schulte, Jan; Wu, Xiaojun; Ravi, Koustuban; Schimpf, Damian N.; Kärtner, Franz X. (2015-12-15). "Efficient narrowband terahertz generation in cryogenically cooled periodically poled lithium niobate". Optics Letters. 40 (24): 5762–5765. Bibcode:2015OptL...40.5762C. doi:10.1364/OL.40.005762. ISSN   1539-4794. PMID   26670506.
  39. ↑ Li, Zairui; Carbajo, Sergio; Sims, Wesley; Mitchell Allen Jordan Coney Gabrielle Bell Team (2023-01-01). "Development of Attosecond Cross-Correlator for Evaluation of High-Harmonic Generation". APS. 2023: S71.012. Bibcode:2023APS..MARS71012L.
  40. 1 2 "2024 Young Investigator Award Recipients". Office of Naval Research. 2023-09-27. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  41. ↑ "Directed Energy Weapons: Ultra-Short Pulse Laser and Atmospheric Characterization". Office of Naval Research. 2022-03-18. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  42. ↑ "UCLA Engineering Professors Receive Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Awards". UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.
  43. ↑ "Sergio Carbajo: The 2021 Early Career Achievement Award". spie.org. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  44. ↑ "Office of Director of Diversity | Samueli Electrical and Computer Engineering" . Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  45. ↑ Lloyd, Jay (2025-03-03). "Nurturing Deeper Ways of Knowing in Science". Issues in Science and Technology. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  46. ↑ "All-gender restrooms at SLAC | Employee Resource Groups". web.slac.stanford.edu. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Pride Month Wrap-Up | Employee Resource Groups". web.slac.stanford.edu. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
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