Yonatan Frederick Kahn

Yonatan Frederick Kahn is a theoretical physicist and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto (since December 2024). Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) from 2019, where he was also a Compton Faculty Fellow and a core faculty member at the Illinois Center for Advanced Study of the Universe. His research focuses on dark matter detection strategies, particularly exploring unconventional particle candidates like axions and sub-GeV dark matter through collaborations with condensed matter systems. Kahn holds a Ph.D. in Physics from MIT (2015), a B.A. in Music and Physics from Northwestern University (2009), and a Distinction in the Mathematical Tripos from the University of Cambridge (2010), supported by a Churchill Scholarship. He has contributed to pioneering experiments such as the Cosmic Axion Spin Precession (CASPEr) project and the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS) at Fermilab.

• Education:
• Ph.D., MIT, 2015 (Advisor: Jesse Thaler)
• B.A. Physics, B.Mus. Music, Northwestern University, 2009
• Part III Mathematical Tripos, University of Cambridge, 2010
• Research Highlights:
• Proposed novel dark matter detection methods using superfluid helium-3 and organic crystals
• Developed frameworks for light dark matter interactions in condensed matter systems
• Co-authored Conquering the Physics GRE, a widely used exam preparation text
• Awards:
• Churchill Scholarship, 2010