Biography:Mark Saffman
Mark Saffman | |
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| Thesis | Self-Organized Formation of Image Representations in Photorefractive Oscillations (1994) |
| Doctoral advisor | Dana Anderson |
Mark Saffman is the Johannes Rydberg Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Chief Scientist for Quantum Information at Infleqtion (formerly ColdQuanta)[1]. From 2019-2026 he was the Director of the Wisconsin Quantum Institute. He is known for his work on neutral-atom quantum computing using Rydberg interactions. In 2008, he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his contributions to atomic and optical physics[2] , and in 2014 he was named a Fellow of Optica for his contributions to neutral-atom quantum computing with Rydberg-state interactions[3] . In 2025, he was co-awarded the 9th John Stewart Bell Prize for pioneering contributions to quantum simulation and quantum computing with neutral atoms[4]. He is also the recipient of the 2026 Norman F. Ramsey Prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to atomic, molecular, and optical physics[5] .
Education and career
Saffman earned a BSc in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1981 and a PhD in physics from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1994.[6] After positions in industry and at Risø National Laboratory in Denmark, he joined the UW–Madison faculty in 1999, where he became associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2007.[6] He has served as director of the Wisconsin Quantum Institute and has held editorial roles with Physical Review journals.[6]
Saffman has concurrently held an industry role as Chief Scientist for Quantum Information at ColdQuanta/Infleqtion since 2018.[6][7]
Research
Saffman’s research is in atomic physics, quantum optics, and quantum information processing with neutral atoms, especially using the Rydberg blockade mechanism to implement entangling quantum gates.[1] His review article “Quantum information with Rydberg atoms” (with T. G. Walker and K. Mølmer) in Reviews of Modern Physics helped consolidate the field.[8] His group reported deterministic entanglement of two neutral atoms via Rydberg blockade and a neutral-atom CNOT gate in 2010.[9]
Honors and awards
- Norman F. Ramsey Prize (APS), 2026.[5]
- 9th John Stewart Bell Prize, 2025 [4]
- WARF Professorship (UW–Madison), 2022.[10]
- Fellow, Optica (class of 2014).[3]
- Fellow, American Physical Society (2008).[2]
- Sloan Research Fellowship, (2001)
Selected publications
- Saffman, Mark; Walker, T. G.; Mølmer, Klaus (2010). "Quantum information with Rydberg atoms". Reviews of Modern Physics 82 (3): 2313–2363. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.82.2313. Bibcode: 2010RvMP...82.2313S. https://pages.physics.wisc.edu/~tgwalker/092.RydbergRMP.pdf.[8]
- Zhang, X. L.; Isenhower, L.; Gill, A. T.; Walker, T. G.; Saffman, Mark (2010). "Deterministic entanglement of two neutral atoms via Rydberg blockade". Physical Review A 82 (3). doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.82.030306. Bibcode: 2010PhRvA..82c0306Z. https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.030306.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Mark Saffman". https://www.physics.wisc.edu/directory/saffman-mark/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "APS Fellowship Search: Mark Saffman". https://www.aps.org/funding-recognition/aps-fellowship?q=saffman&af=true.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "2014 Fellows". The Optical Society (Optica). https://www.optica.org/get_involved/awards_and_honors/fellow_members/elected_fellows/2014_fellows/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Browaeys, Lukin, and Saffman Awarded the 9th Bell Prize". University of Toronto. https://cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/bell-prize-winners/browaeys-lukin-and-saffman-awarded-the-9th-bell-prize/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Norman F. Ramsey Prize in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, and in Precision Tests of Fundamental Laws and Symmetries". https://www.aps.org/funding-recognition/prize/norman-ramsey.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Curriculum Vitae – Mark Saffman". September 2019. https://www.physics.wisc.edu/directory/saffman-mark/msaffman_cv.pdf.
- ↑ "About Infleqtion – Leaders in Quantum Technology". https://infleqtion.com/about/.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Saffman, Mark; Walker, T. G.; Mølmer, Klaus (2010). "Quantum information with Rydberg atoms". Reviews of Modern Physics 82 (3): 2313–2363. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.82.2313. Bibcode: 2010RvMP...82.2313S. https://pages.physics.wisc.edu/~tgwalker/092.RydbergRMP.pdf.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Zhang, X. L.; Isenhower, L.; Gill, A. T.; Walker, T. G.; Saffman, Mark (2010). "Deterministic entanglement of two neutral atoms via Rydberg blockade". Physical Review A 82 (3). doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.82.030306. Bibcode: 2010PhRvA..82c0306Z. https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.030306.
- ↑ "Mark Saffman named WARF Professor". 19 May 2022. https://chicagoquantum.org/news/mark-saffman-named-warf-professor-wisconsin-uw-madison-quantum-midwest.
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