Sebastian Deffner

Sebastian Deffner is an Associate Professor and Chair of Admissions for the Physics Graduate Program at UMBC. He earned his doctorate from the University of Augsburg, Germany (2011) and Master's in Physics from the same institution (2008). Previously, Deffner was a Research Associate at the University of Maryland, College Park (2011-2014) and a Director's Funded Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2014-2016).

Deffner's research focuses on quantum thermodynamics, nonequilibrium properties of nanosystems, and quantum information processing. His group employs tools from statistical physics, open quantum dynamics, quantum information theory, quantum optics, condensed matter theory, and optimal control theory to investigate quantum systems operating far from thermal equilibrium.

His publications span quantum computing, quantum metrology, condensed matter physics, and quantum foundations. Recent work addresses quantum error correction, quantum algorithms, quantum thermometry, and the thermodynamics of quantum information. Deffner has contributed to developing quantum annealing applications and quantum control techniques for minimizing dissipation.