Daine Danielson

Daine Danielson envisions a future in which insight into physical principles, aided by precision measurements, unifies our understanding of space, time, information, and quantum theory.

Beginning fall 2025, Daine will be a postdoctoral fellow with dual appointments between the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics, and the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University.

The two best-tested descriptions of the empirical world—quantum field theory and Einstein’s general relativity—are mutually incompatible as fundamental theories. To address this, Daine’s theoretical work aims to motivate the first experimental test of a quantum-gravitational phenomenon, expected to be realizable within the next 20 years. That test is likely to come in the form of the observation of gravitationally mediated entanglement between optically levitated nanoparticles, a phenomenon that Daine’s research has shown would constitute the first indirect experimental evidence for the existence of the graviton: a quantum constituent of the fabric of
space and time.

This work carries profound theoretical implications, such as showing that due to the mere presence of a black hole or cosmological horizon, any quantum state in our universe will eventually decay into an effectively classical state. In calculating the rate of this new, fundamental source of quantum-gravitational decoherence, Daine has shown that our own cosmological horizon and all black holes within it, in effect, harvest quantum information about all forms of quantum matter in the universe. This ongoing work has earned awards from the Gravity Research Foundation and the American Physical Society.

Outside quantum gravity, Daine’s research addresses the fundamental physics of the Standard Model of particle physics, and ways in which it can be applied to monitor for the covert production of nuclear weapons—work recognized by the Department of Energy’s Innovations in Nuclear Technology R&D Award. His research in nuclear theory has also shed light on the emergence of quantum states of matter in inertial confinement fusion experiments and has appeared in Nature Physics.

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