Prof. David N. Jamieson is the Director of the Microanalytical Research Centre (MARC). The Centre is in the University of Melbourne School of Physics. MARC is the victorian node of the Australian Research Council funded Centre of Excellence - Centre for Quantum Computer Technology

The University of Melbourne is recognize internationally for excellence in teaching and research, and is located centrally in Melbourne, a vibrant centre of Australian intellectual and cultural life.

The School of Physics is a dynamic research and teaching department
that attracts considerable research funds in the areas of Materials Science and Condensed Matter Physics, X-ray, Visible, Atom and Neutron Optics; Experimental Particle Physics; Theoretical Physics; High Resolution Electron Microscopy; Astrophysics and Nuclear Physics. The School of Physics has extensive experimental facilities in these areas and also has a major program in experimental particle physics at CERN, Switzerland and KER, Japan. The School is also a node of the Special Research Centre for Quantum Computer Technology. More information about the School of Physics and details of these positions, can be found at http://www.ph.unimelb.edu.au

MARC was founded by Dr George Legge in the 1980s to house the Melbourne Nuclear Microprobe. This is used to perform nuclear microscopy on a wide range of materials. Nuclear microscopy allows us to investigate fundamental questions regarding the structure of materials.

In the 1990s MARC greatly expanded its analytical capabilities thanks to the activities of Assoc. Prof. Steven Prawer who added a confocal Raman spectrometer, an ultra-high vacuum Atomic Force Microscope and, in 2001, a laser ablation synthesis facility. The Centre is also obtaining a Focused Ion Beam in 2002.

The MARC group is now one of the largest research groups in the School of Physics and, in addition to the Quantum Computer project, works on a diverse range of research projects funded by the Australian Research Council, Industry and the CSIRO.