Meet Dr. Spencer Gessner ‘09 (CCS Physics): Assistant Professor in the Particle Physics and Astrophysics department at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University
This alumnus committed to building community and staying engaged with his alma mater
Dr. Spencer Gessner is a 2009 College of Creative Studies (CCS) physics graduate who went on to pursue a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University. As an undergraduate on campus, this dedicated physicist conducted research in Professor of Physics Claudio Campagnari’s lab and fondly remembers his study sessions into the night at CCS. The College connected with Spencer, recently appointed Assistant Professor in the Particle Physics and Astrophysics department at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University. Spencer is currently coordinating the US 10 TeV Wakefield Collider Design Study and is broadly involved in research on future colliders from Higgs Factories to future Energy Frontier machines. He is committed to staying engaged with the UCSB community and having positive impact, including mentoring undergraduate physics students on visits to campus, a member of the UCSB Innovators Circle, supporter of the Francesc Roig Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Fund, and speaker of the 2025 UCSB Department of Physics in early February, invited by Professor of Physics Claudio Campagnari. During his February visit to campus, Spencer will continue his dedication to meeting with physics students to provide insights into graduate programs and career paths.
“I’m very thankful to be a graduate of CCS and UCSB. Best decision I ever made. Go Gauchos!”
—Spencer Gessner '09 (CCS Physics)
CCS: How did you find out about the College? What was your major and graduation year?
Spencer Gessner (SG): I grew up on the East Coast and had never heard of UCSB or CCS when I started looking at universities. While in high school, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work as an intern in the lab of Dr. John Kirtley [‘71, ‘73, ‘76 College of Letters & Science (L&S) Physics] at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center. Dr. Kirtley is a member of the UCSB alumni community and recommended that I check out the school. I only learned about UCSB when I arrived for the campus visit. My major was physics and I graduated in 2009.
CCS: Why did you choose to come to CCS?
SG: After my campus visit, Professor Francesc Roig called me to explain why I should choose CCS. He highlighted the unique CCS lecture series, opportunities for undergraduate research, and high placement rates into graduate physics programs. It was a hard choice because I had been accepted by some excellent schools on the East Coast, but Professor Roig was very convincing and I am glad I took his advice! The beach didn’t hurt. . .
CCS: What was your favorite aspect or experience while at CCS? Does a memorable moment stand out from your time at CCS?
SG: My favorite experience from CCS was the late-night study sessions during my freshman year. We would meet most nights in a small room at the college and work on problem sets for hours with brief interruptions to grab grilled cheese sandwiches at the DLG. My classmates were academically excellent, and I felt like I was playing catch up the whole year. I learned a ton that year and had a lot of fun too.
CCS: Has CCS had an impact on your life personally or professionally?
SG: CCS and UCSB have had a tremendous impact on my life. I met my wife Kathleen [‘10 L&S Geography] at UCSB and we now have a family with two little kids! I still see Dr. Kirtley on a regular basis and I’m thankful that he suggested I consider UCSB for college. I was sad to hear that Professor Roig passed away this past August. I also have him to thank for the fact that I attended CCS.
“CCS helped propel me into research with its Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, receiving a fellowship the summer following my sophomore year.”
—Spencer Gessner '09 (CCS Physics)
CCS helped propel me into research with its Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, receiving a fellowship the summer following my sophomore year. My undergraduate advisor was Professor Claudio Campagnari in High Energy Physics. The first question he asked me when I approached him about working in his group was if I was a CCS physics major. I stuck with Professor Campagnari’s group for almost 3 years, including a summer in Milan, Italy and Geneva, Switzerland when I was on a DOE-INFN summer research grant, working on a project at CERN [European Organization for Nuclear Research]. Professor Campagnari has been incredibly supportive of me throughout my research career, and we remain in touch.
CCS: If you attended graduate school, where and what did you study as a graduate student? Did your CCS education help you as a graduate student?
SG: I attended graduate school in physics at Stanford University from 2010-2016. I studied accelerator physics and my Ph.D. thesis was titled: “Demonstration of the Hollow Channel Plasma Wakefield Accelerator.” My thesis research was conducted at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy lab adjacent to Stanford.
Heading into graduate school, I was intimidated by my classmates from MIT, Harvard, Caltech, and other universities, but it quickly became clear that my CCS education had prepared me well for the graduate-level courses. I took graduate-level physics courses while at UCSB and that was important preparation too.
CCS: What have you been doing professionally post-CCS? Does it relate to what you studied at CCS? If so, how?
SG: Following graduation from CCS and UCSB and before I pursued a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford, I returned to CERN in the summer of 2010 to work on the ATLAS experiment. At Stanford, I switched my focus from High Energy Experimental Physics to the related topic of Accelerator Physics. After I finished my Ph.D. at Stanford in 2016, I went back to CERN as a Fellow to work on the AWAKE Experiment from 2016-2019. I then took a position at SLAC as a Staff Scientist. This year, I started a new position as Assistant Professor in the Particle Physics and Astrophysics department at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University.
CCS: What advice would you give to current and future CCS students?
SG: The things I value most about my CCS education were the interactions with my classmates over the first two years of the program and the support for undergraduate research. My advice is to work closely with your classmates and learn as much as you can from them, and to take advantage of SURF!
CCS: How do you see the direction of higher education in 3, 5, 10+ years unfolding? This is important to CCS as we plan for educating our future artists, experts, and leaders. Any thoughts/ideas?
“...[My] personal experience is that students can learn how to use these new tools [AI] to their advantage.”
—Spencer Gessner '09 (CCS Physics)
SG: There is a lot of handwringing in the media about AI, and I understand the challenge it poses to educators, but my personal experience is that students can learn how to use these new tools to their advantage. For example, I supervised an undergraduate student two summers ago through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Summer Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program. We discussed that student’s summer project, and that student got working on it immediately using ChatGPT to write the code for the project. I was skeptical of this approach, to say the least! The student went on to have the most productive summer of any student I have ever supervised. They used ChatGPT as a tool rather than a replacement for intellectual effort. We ended up hiring the student as a paid intern to continue work on the project during the year. I ended up learning a lot from this student!
CCS: Anything else?
SG: I am very thankful to be a graduate of CCS and UCSB. Best decision I ever made. Go Gauchos!
CCS is thankful to its alumni, including Spencer, who remain connected to the broader UCSB mission to stay connected and build community. Thank you, Spencer!