Bio: Mitchell A. Cox
Some extra information about Mitch, one of the OC Lab Principle Investigators
I received my PhD in “Improving the Resilience of Free-Space Optical Links using Structured Modes of Light” in 2020, under the supervision of professors Andrew Forbes and Ling Cheng. From a very young age, I was an avid electronics hobbyist, a passion that guided me to complete an undergraduate degree in Electrical and Information Engineering with distinction. My professional path took a brief detour into the automation and process control industry before an enticing opportunity led me back to academia—an MSc in Physics in collaboration with a team at CERN, focusing on high data throughput computing with ARM processors for the ATLAS detector.
Now, as a Senior Lecturer at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa, I co-founded and lead the Wits OC Lab. My work has not only earned me the title of Optica (formerly The Optical Society / OSA) Ambassador but also an NRF P-rating (2025), The Royal Society of South Africa's Meiring Naude Medal in 2024 and the prestigious Friedel Sellschop Award in 2023, recognizing my emerging leadership in optics and photonics. I’m a Senior Member of the IEEE, serve as the Wits-Optics 足球竞彩app排名 Chapter advisor, participate in several conference committees, and act as an associate (topical) editor for Optica Applied Optics.
At the Wits OC Lab, we are at the forefront of developing long-range, low-cost free-space optical communications—envisioning a world connected without the physical constraints of fibre. Our unique approach includes hacking off-the-shelf components to create cutting-edge, cost-effective solutions. My background as a resourceful hobbyist now plays a critical role in tackling the resource-constrained challenge of connecting the unconnected. With a deep-rooted passion for both engineering and applied physics, and a knack for cross-disciplinary fertilisation (what some call lateral thinking), I exploit structured light using digital holography and other cutting-edge techniques to explore and implement novel photonic solutions to various problems. Are these light patterns the key to overcoming atmospheric turbulence? Can we use structured light for optical computation?
My research has been published in top-tier journals like Nature Photonics, Nature Communications, and Proceedings of the IEEE. While these publications are important, what truly drives me is the potential impact of my work and the excitement of pushing the limits of photonic technologies in creative, innovative ways.
As a lifelong electronics and software hobbyist and pop-science enthusiast, I am fortunate that my career in academia seamlessly blends my professional expertise with my personal passions. Beyond my primary focus, I’m deeply interested in a wide range of scientific and technological fields. From electronics and computing in high-energy physics to cutting-edge photonics, and from exploring Wikipedia to delving into home automation and machine learning, my wide array of scientific and technical interests often leads to unexpected connections and insights in my work. I try to channel what might start as naivety in a new field into serendipitous discoveries in the lab…
Why not join me at the lab? We’re looking for passionate individuals eager to push the boundaries of photonic technologies. If you’re a prospective postgraduate interested in pioneering new applications of structured light, or an innovator focused on advancing free-space optical communications, your contributions will be crucial. Together, we can transform taxpayer (and other) money into groundbreaking photonic solutions. These efforts will not only bridge the digital divide but also pioneer new avenues in optical research. Let’s discover the future of photonics together!
