Mark S. Hillery

Timeline

1. 1975–1984

   From Berkeley to New Mexico

   He studies at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1975 to 1980. He then works briefly at the Optical Science Center of the University of Arizona and, until 1984, at the Institute of Modern Optics of the University of New Mexico.

2. 1985–1993

   Professor at Hunter College

   He joins Hunter College of the City University of New York in 1985 and receives the title of professor in September 1993.

3. 1996

   A universal quantum copier

   With Vladimír Bužek, he posts 'Quantum Copying: Beyond the No-Cloning Theorem' in 1996. The paper describes a universal quantum copying machine that approximately copies states of a two-level system with output quality independent of the input, and a second machine that produces good copies of states near a chosen state.

4. 1998

   Quantum secret sharing

   In 1998, he, Vladimír Bužek and André Berthiaume show how to split a message into several parts using GHZ states, so that only the full set of parts can read it. An eavesdropper introduces errors, which makes the intrusion detectable.

5. 2012

   A workshop for his 60th birthday

   In May 2012, a workshop on quantum information and quantum optics celebrates his 60th birthday, with the rector of the University of Pécs and the president and provost of Hunter College as sponsors. Its topics include programmable quantum processors, quantum copying, secret sharing and quantum walks.

6. 2014

   The Quantum Theory of Nonlinear Optics

   In 2014, Cambridge University Press publishes The Quantum Theory of Nonlinear Optics, written with Peter D. Drummond. Its twelve chapters run from classical nonlinear optics and field quantization to quantum information.

7. 2019

   A Slovak Academy of Sciences prize

   In 2019, the Slovak Academy of Sciences presents him with its International Prize in Bratislava. His collaboration with the SAS Institute of Physics, begun in 1993 through his acquaintance with Vladimír Bužek, has produced more than 50 publications.

8. As of October 2026

   Quantum state learning at Hunter

   In 2024, he coauthors 'State learning from pairs of states', which shows how the two unknown pure states behind a sequence of qubits can be determined when each qubit arrives with a copy. The experimental follow-up, 'Experimental quantum state learning with pairs of photons', lists him among its authors in 2026. He and Nada Ali post 'Teleportation of a programmable gate' in October 2026, working in the Department of Physics at Hunter College and the Physics Program at the CUNY Graduate Center.