Justin Khoury Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Justin Khoury has been named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Khoury joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy in 2009, served as the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs from 2014 to 2018, and is the current co-director of the Penn Center for Particle Cosmology.

Khoury’s research interests lie at the intersection of particle physics and cosmology. Renowned for developing and investigating novel theories of dark matter, dark energy, and the early universe, Khoury’s most notable scholarly contributions include co-developing the ekpyrotic model of the early universe, the chameleon mechanism for dark energy, and the concept of dark matter superfluidity.

Over the course of his academic career, Khoury has published more than 100 articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, such as Physical Review Letters and the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. His work has been recognized with several honors, including an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, the 2017 Buchalter Cosmology Prize, and the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. He has also received a number of significant, multi-year research grants from grant-makers such as the U.S. Department of Energy, NSF, NASA, the Kaufman Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, and the Keck Foundation.

Khoury’s service includes participation on the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) Personnel Committee, the SAS Graduate Education Committee, the selection committee for the President’s Innovation Prize, and the selection committee for the Goldwater Scholarship.

The Kahn chairs were established through a bequest by Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn. Edmund Kahn was a 1925 Wharton graduate who had a highly successful career in the oil and natural gas industry. Louise Kahn, a graduate of Smith College, worked for Newsweek and owned an interior design firm. They supported many programs and projects at Penn, including Van Pelt Library, the Modern Languages College House, and other initiatives in scholarship and the humanities.