Dr. Fabián Peña

Education

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, 2018
• M.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, 2016
• M.Sc. in Physics, Texas A&M University-Commerce, 2014
• B.Sc. in Physics, Texas A&M University-Commerce, 2011

Professional Appointments

• Assistant Professor, Baylor University, 2025 - present
• Senior Atomic Fabrication Scientist, Silicon Quantum Computing Pty Limited, Sydney, Australia, 2022 - 2025
• Research Staff, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 2022 - 2025
• Postdoctoral Appointee, Sandia National Laboratories, 2019 - 2021
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, The University of Texas at Dallas, 2018 - 2019

Biography

Dr. Fabián Peña earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The University of Texas at Dallas in 2018. He then served as a postdoctoral appointee in the Advanced Materials Sciences Department at Sandia National Laboratories from 2019 to 2021, followed by appointments as a Senior Scientist from 2022 to 2025 at the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology in the School of Physics at the University of New South Wales and at Silicon Quantum Computing Pty Ltd. In August 2025, Dr. Peña joined Baylor University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics.

Research Areas

Surface Science, Thin Film Deposition, Atomic Scale Processing, Semiconductor Quantum Dot Qubits

Research Focus

Our research leverages surface-sensitive spectroscopies to probe and control chemical reactivity at the nanoscale, with applications in semiconductor processing, nanotechnology, and quantum information science. Complementary methods, including infrared absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, are integrated with thin-film deposition reactors to enable in situ investigation of interfacial chemistry. Current efforts center on semiconductor surface functionalization, the mechanisms and control of atomic and molecular layer deposition, and semiconductor-superconductor interfaces for quantum science and technology.