Carl Padgett

Biography

Carl Padgett grew up in the Chicago area and attended the University of Chicago as an undergraduate. There, he worked with Professor Jon Simon on building optical cavities for experiments that use engineered interactions between photons to examine condensed matter phenomena like the fractional quantum Hall effect. This experience spurred an interest in solid state physics and led him to pursue a PhD in physics at UCSB in the group of Professor Ania Jayich. Carl’s work at UCSB focuses on utilizing the interactions of defect center spins in diamond with crystal strain to study spin squeezing and entanglement detection in spin ensembles. Studies of these phenomena, conventionally undertaken with cold atoms, are within reach of the proposed spin-mechanical systems and stand to benefit from the solid state setting in which they will be conducted. In his spare time, Carl enjoys riding his bike, surfing, and being with friends and loved ones.