Sergio Carbajo

Sergio Carbajo holds joint appointments as an Associate Professor in the Electrical & Computer Engineering and Physics & Astronomy Departments at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and is a Visiting Professor at Stanford University’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He is the Founder and Director of the Quantum Light-Matter Cooperative, a multi-institutional research consortium dedicated to advancing light-driven science and technology.

His research is focused on pioneering new methods to understand and control light-matter interactions at ultrafast and quantum scales. His work includes the development of novel approaches to visualizing quantum dynamics—often termed “quantum filmmaking”—and the creation of compact, high-brightness sources across the spectrum. These contributions have advanced fundamental science and enabled applications in quantum information, molecular imaging, and energy research. He also leads initiatives in adaptive quantum sensing and scalable photonic quantum architectures.

Carbajo is deeply engaged in advancing equity and critical interdisciplinarity in STEM as Director of Inclusive Excellence for the UCLA Electrical & Computer Engineering Department and founder of the Queered Science and Technology Center.

He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, has spun off startups in the photonics, quantum, and energy spaces, holding multiple patents, and serves in advisory roles for US and international scientific agencies. Carbajo’s contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the Adolph Lomb Medal, Nature LSA Rising Star Award, the Humboldt Fellowship, and Young Investigator awards from the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.