Team

Principal Investigator

Tom Hopper

Assistant Professor and Group Leader, Hopper Ultrafast Control Lab
Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida (2024 - Present)
Postdoctoral Scholar in Photon Science, Non-Periodic Ultrafast X-ray Imaging Group
PULSE Institute, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (2023 - 2024)
TomKat Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainable Energy, Lindenberg Group
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University (2021 - 2023)
EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellow, Ultrafast Optoelectronics Group
Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London (2020 - 2021)
Graduate Student, Ultrafast Optoelectronics Group
Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London (2016 - 2020)

Tom received his Ph.D. from Imperial College London in 2020, and conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford University / SLAC National Lab between 2021 - 2024. He started his own 'ultrafast control lab' at UCF in December 2024. Outside the lab, Tom enjoys indulging in all-things spooky and science fiction.

Tom Hopper is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida. After completing a Masters degree in Chemistry at Newcastle University (2016), he became the first graduate student of Artem Bakulin at Imperial College London, which began with building a brand new femtosecond laser suite for the Chemistry department, and culminated in numerous awards for his thesis on ultrafast photophysics in organic, hybrid and nanoscale materials and devices. Following an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship in the same lab, Tom moved to Stanford University (2021) as a TomKat Postdoctoral Fellow in Sustainable Energy, continuing research into energy transport in emerging photovoltaics in the group of Aaron Lindenberg. Tom then joined SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (2023) full time as a Postdoctoral Scholar in Photon Science. Working with Adi Natan and Kelly Gaffney, Tom developed pulse sequences to exert coherent control of photochemical structural and solvation dynamics, and image these processes with the world’s brightest X-rays at the LCLS free electron laser. Since December 2024, Tom has led a research group at UCF, focusing on ultrafast laser control tools to advance the materials & device science of molecular and nanoscale systems for novel energy, optoelectronic and quantum technologies.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Konnor Jones

Postdoctoral Researcher

Konnor earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 2025 and completed postdoctoral research at the UCF's College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL) before joining the Hopper Lab in 2026. He is particularly interested in instrument development as well as harnessing laser light to probe the complex dynamics of advance materials. Outside the lab, Konnor enjoys spending time outdoors and exploring new trails on his mountain bike.

Graduate Students

Kashvi Modi

Chemistry Ph.D. (2025 - Present)

Kashvi joined the lab as a volunteer over the summer of 2025 and is especially interested in how nanomaterials can be used to explore the quantum mechanics of energy transfer, excited states, and electron delocalization. Outside the lab, Kashvi enjoys art, reading different genres, and lifting weights.

Yarin Camacho Aparicio

Optics & Photonics Ph.D. (2025 - present)

Yarin joined the lab in fall 2025 after earning a B.S. in Physics from Johns Hopkins, where they worked with Dr. Chris Overstreet on PDH-locked laser systems. Now a CREOL PhD student, Yarin studies ultrafast laser science and multi-pulse Floquet engineering of quantum materials. Outside the lab, Yarin enjoys cycling, social dancing, and video games.

Undergraduates

Brandon Ruiz

Chemistry B.S. (class of 2027)

Brandon joined the lab in the spring 2026 and is helping the group conduct spectroscopy experiments on photoactive & nanoscale materials with the goal of expanding the knowledge of them. Outside the lab, Brandon enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling to new places.

Lee Lyday

Physics B.S. (class of 2028)

Lee joined the lab Spring 2026 and is interested in understanding how probing different nanomaterials reveals their electronic structure. Outside of the lab, Lee is a competitive dancer and enjoys theatre.

Alumni

Alex Richards

Chemistry B.S. (class of 2026)

Alex joined the lab in the summer of 2025 and is helping the group organize the lab in preparation for the arrival of the femtosecond laser system. Besides a passion for chemistry, Alex really enjoys teaching and aspires to become a chemistry college professor, maybe even overseas somewhere!

Brandon Miller

Chemistry B.S. (class of 2025)

Brandon joined the lab in the summer of 2025 and is performing linear and non-linear optical characterizations of molecular & nanoscale materials. When not in the lab, Brandon enjoys fishing, swimming and going to the beach.

Join us!

We are a newly formed group looking to expand! Please get in touch if you have skills and/or interests in ultrafast optics, advanced (such as non-linear, multidimensional, multi-modal) spectroscopies/microscopies, and their deployment toward the chemistry/physics/engineering of materials and devices for energy, optoelectronic and quantum applications. We particularly welcome students and postdocs that are motivated to pursue external funding, and have a clearly defined vision for how their research acumen and interests complement the group.

Postdoc inquiries here

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