From Laser Labs to Autonomous Trucks: How SCU Physics Prepares Students for What’s Next
Santa Clara University physics alumni Craig Benko ’10 and Bryan Berggren ’17 reflect on how hands-on research, mentorship, and technological fearlessness in the Physics Department prepared them to lead in the rapidly evolving field of photonics.
By Kate Vander Vort ’27
When Craig Benko ’10 arrived at Santa Clara University, he wasn’t planning to become a physicist. He began as an electrical engineering major, inspired by family members who had followed that path before him. But everything changed after taking a Modern Physics course with Professor Philip Keston.
“After Professor Keston’s class, my fate was sealed,” he recalls. “I switched my major to physics.”
That decision would eventually lead Craig into the world of photonics, the science of generating, controlling, and using light, and into a career shaping autonomous trucking technology.
Photonics, he explains, is “the manipulation and use of light to perform various tasks,” from data transfer to medical diagnostics. Today, Craig works at Aurora Innovation, where he develops photonic systems that allow semi-trucks to operate autonomously. The technology is safety-critical. “It must work all the time,” he says.
But the foundation for that responsibility began in SCU’s Physics Department. As one of the first students in Professor Chris Weber’s lab, Craig helped build an optics experiment nearly from scratch. A defining moment came when he and Professor Weber rebuilt and aligned a donated Ti:Sapphire laser system, piece by piece.
“The moment we first saw it mode lock… was very memorable. I don’t know who was more surprised, Professor Weber or myself.”
That hands-on experience did more than teach technical skills. It built what Craig calls “technological fearlessness.” He learned not to be intimidated by complex systems, to listen closely to mentors, and to adapt creatively when experiments didn’t behave as expected.
Bryan Berggren ’17, another SCU physics alumnus who worked in Weber’s lab, and is now a physicist and optical engineer had a similar experience. Drawn to physics for its mathematical depth and connection to the natural world, Bryan discovered his interest in photonics through research.
“In electronics, you control electricity,” Bryan explains. “In photonics, you use light to improve the speed or capabilities of technology.”
As a research assistant to Professor Weber, Bryan worked on topological semimetals, using pulsed lasers to study how electrons behave inside exotic materials. A research trip to Okinawa turned into a year-long internship, shaping his academic direction and deepening his problem-solving skills.
“My undergraduate research taught me how to actually test a scientific question. It’s important to connect what you see in the lab to the answers you’re looking for.”
Both alumni point to research as the moment they realized SCU had prepared them well. Graduate school brought intense demands, but they found themselves equipped to design experiments, think critically, and persist through setbacks.
Beyond technical knowledge, what stands out most is mentorship. “The Physics Department gave me a level of attention that I think is rare,” Craig says. “They invested significant time and resources so I could have a unique undergraduate experience.”
Bryan echoes that sentiment. Upper-division classes and research required sustained focus and effort. “I learned how to really spend lots of concerted time and effort on a goal,” he says.
At Santa Clara, physics is not just about equations or experiments. It is about learning how to think, how to build, and how to persist. Whether in graduate labs across the world or in cutting-edge industries reshaping transportation, SCU physics alumni carry that foundation with them.