Hettel

Will grew up in Half Moon Bay, California. While pursuing a B.S. in Physics at UC Santa Barbara, he began his optics career as an intern at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. There he studied high-temperature superconductors with optical pump-probe, synchrotron, and terahertz spectroscopy systems. After graduating in 2017, he developed phased laser arrays for the Breakthrough Starshot program and extensively traveled North America as a touring musician. Will started his Ph.D. in Physics at CU Boulder in Fall 2020 and currently develops stable, coherent, application-ready ultrafast mid-infrared and soft X-ray light sources. In addition to laser science, he has a passion for music, photography, games and snowboarding.