Hello! My name is Tobias Kühn. I’m a postdoctoral researcher currently working at the interface of neuroscience and theoretical physics.
My current position is at the Institut de la Vision in Paris, France, where I work with Ulisse Ferrari in the group of Olivier Marre on the analysis of electrophysiological data from the retina with tools from statistical physics.
Previously I have carried out postdoctoral work on field theory and soft matter with Frédéric van Wijland at the Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes of Université de Paris, and with Remi Monasson on positional information encoded in disordered systems at the Laboratoire de Physique of École Normale Supérieure.
I did my PhD with Moritz Helias at the Institut of Computational and Systems Neuroscience of the Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany, working on the adaptation of techniques from statistical physics to neuroscience, as well as their further development. During my undergraduate studies at RWTH Aachen (Germany), I had focused on theoretical condensed matter, finishing with my master thesis under the supervision of Carsten Honerkamp.
I am fascinated by how theoretical physics connects seemingly disparate phenomena and thereby deepens their understanding. My works on diagrammatics of non-Gaussian theories, for example (with M. Helias and F. van Wijland), help to reveal the common grounds of objects as diverse as simple liquids and neural networks. These connections mean in particular that theoretical physics is not only beautiful, but - lucky me - might also be useful in the real world!