Daine Danielson

Daine Danielson envisions a world in which a global network of neutrino-based nuclear monitoring technologies is used to root out clandestine weapons manufacturing, reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and war.

An Eckhardt Graduate Scholar in the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, Daine’s research explores the phenomenology of fundamental particles and fields, developing novel applications toward nuclear security and nonproliferation, and deepening our understanding of the natural world.

He began his research career while a junior in high school, building quantum-tunneling devices for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has since produced results in the analysis of experimental sensitivities to the neutrino mass hierarchy, the prediction and first observation of variable quantum degeneracy in inertial confinement fusion, multiple first measurements of critical nuclear cross sections for neutrino physics, and the construction of multiple new detectors in particle physics. He also has pioneered new methods in nuclear nonproliferation.

Daine is the cofounder and chief architect of Whitekoat, Inc., a medical education platform powered by machine learning that helps students grasp medical concepts faster and easier. He holds a BS in computational physics with a minor in mathematics from the University of California, Davis.

He has authored articles in Nature Physics, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review D, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, among others. Daine was awarded Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Distinguished Student Award in 2018. In 2019, he received the US Department of Energy’s Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Award for his development of a new method for the remote detection of clandestine nuclear reactors using antineutrino emissions.

Daine grew up in San Francisco as the son of professional musicians. A prolific pianist and composer, he has trained in classical and improvisational piano since age four. At his company Whitekoat, he is known for nourishing a culture of mutual compassion, unrelenting inquiry, and gratitude as a foundational principle.