My name is Said Ortega, currently a student at California State University Long Beach.

Focused on nanoelectronics research at the Hall of Science under Dr. Claudia Ojeda-Aristizabal.

Currently a Senior studying Physics, I am passionate about exploring the potential of nanoelectronics and its applications in modern technology. After graduating, I plan to continue my studies at CSULB for a Master's degree in either Electrical Engineering or Physics.

More about my current projects, interests, and ongoing experiments can be found on the /now page.

2026-10-16 Presented at CSULB's Laura Kingsford College of Natural Sciences Symposium

Presented today at the California State University, Long Beach's Laura Kingsford College of Natural Sciences Symposium. On my research about fabricating graphene and h-Bn heterostructures. I was able to present my findings and answer questions from the audience, which was a great experience. This year I added Liquid Phase Exfoliation of graphene to my research, which I hope by the end of the year I will have found a 80kHz sonicator to reproduce the results found in a paper I am following. If anyone reading this has any leads on where to find one, please reach out to me.

2026-09-30 Figuring out Liquid Exfoliation of Graphene

I've been trying to reproduce results found on a paper regarding LPE of graphene. Although, sourcing the 80kHz sonicator is proving to be a challenge, but I am working with the 45kHz sonicator available in the lab to atleast reproduce the negative results of the test as a proof of concept, until I can acquire the necessary equipment. The image shows my inital attempt with PtTe2 which was succesful, my subsequent attempt with graphene didnt prove as successful. The yield was very low and the flakes were on average much too thick, I was able to fix the yield by lowering the ethanol solution as suggested by a lab mate (Narith Chan), the average thickness still needs improvement which would only come with a better sonicator most likely.

2025-10-17 Recorded Trainings for the new Apreo 2C at CSULB

Came to CSULB to attend and record the training sessions for the new Apreo 2C SEM. The sessions were highly informative, the ThermoScientific technician was amazing and extremely knowledgeable, providing valuable insights into capabilities and best practices for using the Apreo 2C. He even allowed us to operate the SEM under his guidance, which was an invaluable hands-on experience. Very excited to use it again in the future if opportunities arise.

Black Hole Simulation
Simulated Black Hole using Python for my Computational Physics class.

I used the same principles that a pin hole camera uses to simulate it visually with python. Created a 'state' function to create a simulated photon and calculated its motion based on gravitational forces of the black hole, using RK4 for caluculations of the equations of motion.

View Presentation

Graphene and h-BN Heterostructure Fabrication
CNSM Research Symposium project at the CSULB Nanotechnology Lab.

I used a mechanical method of exfoliation to obtain monolayer graphene and h-BN flakes, which were then characterized using Raman spectroscopy. I currently am in the process of perfecting Liquid Exfoliation techniques to obtain similar monolayer flakes but with less bulk and more uniformity.

View poster (PDF)

Concentration of BPA in everyday items
KURE Summer Research Project

We measured BPA in various everyday items using Emerson Reaction to determine the levels of BPA present in each sample. Worked out the absorption values to calculate the risk of BPA exposure.

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