Dr Mark Mitchison is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Proleptic Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics, King's College London.

Mark is a theoretical physicist interested in quantum technologies, which exploit the bizarre quantum-mechanical behaviour of tiny particles – like electrons, atoms, and photons – to create ultra-precise sensors and faster computers. Mark's research focusses on the role of random noise in quantum technologies: can noise be suppressed to improve performance, or perhaps even harnessed to beneficial effect? Tackling these questions requires pulling together concepts from atomic & mesoscopic physics, non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, and quantum information theory.

Born and raised in London, Mark obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Leeds in 2011 and his PhD from Imperial College London in 2016. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Ulm (2016-2018) and then at Trinity College Dublin (2018-2021), before joining the faculty of Trinity’s School of Physics in 2021. In 2022, he was awarded a University Research Fellowship and the Horizon Europe consortium grant ASPECTS, making him the first researcher in Ireland to lead an EU Quantum Flagship project. Mark moved back home to join King’s in 2025.

Mark is an Editor for two open-access journals: Quantum and New Journal of Physics. He enjoys public outreach and the art-science interface, with activities including the organisation of a quantum science communication hackathon and co-writing a children's book. His work frequently attracts coverage from the scientific and national press, including New Scientist, Physics World, Nature Physics, and The Irish Times.

Research:

• Open quantum systems
• Quantum thermodynamics
• Quantum metrology
• Quantum chaos and thermalisation
• Stochastic processes and non-equilibrium physics

Mark works on the theory and applications of open quantum systems: controlled quantum systems that are influenced by some uncontrolled environment. In that context, he especially likes questions at the intersection of thermodynamics – the study of energy and entropy – and metrology –the science of measurement. Mark also tries to push the boundaries of open quantum systems theory into new territory, especially situations with strong interactions that are more traditionally studied in quantum many-body or condensed-matter physics. He maintains a keen interest in working with experimentalists, and his research has inspired or directly contributed to experiments on ultracold atoms, trapped ions, and nanoelectronic devices.

Publications

• Current Fluctuations in Open Quantum Systems: Bridging the Gap Between Quantum Continuous Measurements and Full Counting Statistics
• Taking the temperature of a pure quantum state
• In Situ Thermometry of a Cold Fermi Gas via Dephasing Impurities
• Spin Heat Engine Coupled to a Harmonic-Oscillator Flywheel
• Quantum thermal absorption machines: refrigerators, engines and clocks 

 Further Information

• Mark's BlueSky Profile
• Theory of Controlled Quantum Systems