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I am a Trottier Space Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I obtained my bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2020, and I completed my PhD at Brown University in May 2025, where I was advised by Stephon Alexander.
Broadly speaking, I am interested in general relativity, early universe cosmology, modified theories of gravity, dark matter, gravitational waves, quantum gravity, and machine learning. Much of my current research revolves around probing corrections to general relativity using gravitational waves, astrophysical systems such as neutron stars, black holes or dark matter halos, cosmological observables and epochs such as power spectra and cosmic inflation, as well as how certain dark matter models fare in related contexts. I am also currently working on a project investigating a model of spontaneous baryogenesis in the early universe.
As an undergraduate, my astrophysics research in Germany, Japan and at MIT involved a good deal of machine learning. In the summer of 2021, I was a research intern at Microsoft working with Jaron Lanier, one of the pioneers of virtual reality, to investigate how our universe could learn its own physical laws -- a project at the intersection of theoretical physics, mathematics, and machine learning. During my PhD at Brown, I utilized the experience I gained as an undergraduate, while developing new skills and interests in theoretical physics and cosmology. My portfolio has continued to develop and broaden in my current postdoctoral role at McGill.
Outside of physics, I am a percussionist, world traveler and marathon runner. I have been to 88 countries across six continents, I can speak 11 different languages, and I routinely run daily distances greater than a half marathon (13.1 miles, or 21.1 kilometers). Additionally, I recently started a band called The God Particle, and I write music for and conduct my own orchestra, which is a global initiative by Ivy League musicians in the United States to bring the world together through music. You can learn more about the Tatsuya Daniel (TD) Orchestra here, which works with government agencies globally and has been featured in news segments and interviews around the world.