People

Cristian Panda

cpanda [at) arizona.edu

I obtained my B.A. in Physics at Reed College followed by a PhD at Harvard. During my PhD, I looked for Physics Beyond the Standard Model by measuring the electron’s electric dipole moment with a record precision enabled by the amazingly high electric field available in the thorium monoxide molecule. As a post doc at UC Berkeley, I developed the lattice atom interferometer which can now interfere Caesium atoms after 70 seconds of hold in an optical lattice, probing the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity. Outside of the lab, I enjoy playing video games, cycling and traveling.

Paola Luna

paolaluna [at) arizona.edu

I love discovering how our world works, and bridging this knowledge to applications across different disciplinary fields is what motivated me to pursue a PhD in Optical Sciences. When not in the lab, I enjoy being involved in community outreach and science communication. Otherwise, you will often find me biking, reading a book or trying something new. 

Andrei Zhukov

azhukov [at) arizona.edu

I recently moved to Tucson for the PhD program in Optical Sciences after completing my BS in Physics with a specialization in Optics at Stony Brook University in Spring 2024. I am excited to build a new lattice atom interferometer and find the limits of what it can sense. Outside of the lab, I love the outdoors and look forward to exploring what Arizona has to offer!

Kenneth Nakasone

kennethnakasone [at) berkeley.edu

I am a physics major at UC Berkeley working on ECORE, where we use lasers to detect biopotentials via an electrochromic film. It has been a lot of fun setting up optics, making electronics, designing PCBs, and doing data analysis. At home, I’m working on a conveyor belt 3D printer and fixing my electric bike.