Our Team

I am an experimental physicist working at the interface of soft, active, 
and biological matter, with a focus on quantitative methods to measure, 
manipulate, and understand complex systems. In teaching, I emphasize 
clear physical concepts and intuitive explanations as the basis for 
deeper understanding.

My research combines advanced microscopy and light-scattering techniques 
with tailored optical fields, image and data analysis, physical 
modeling, and simulations. We use these approaches to probe and control 
microscopic dynamics and interactions, and to understand how they give 
rise to transport, collective behaviour, and emergent phenomena.

I am an experimentalist working in the physical chemistry of colloids. My expertise lies in the phase behavior and dynamics of concentrated suspensions of soft colloids (microgels), which I investigate using a combination of scattering techniques and rheology. My interests also cover interfacial behavior of colloids and stabilization of Pickering emulsions.

In my current project, I study the dynamics of active Janus particles in soft tunable environments consisting of microgels. My goal is to identify and characterize the interplay of the motion of active particles and the microstructure of their soft environment. This work is funded by the DFG Walter Benjamin Program (Project Nr. 576130641).

I am an experimental soft matter physicist and postdoctoral researcher 
in the Experimental Bioactive Matter group at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf.

My research focuses on the dynamics and phase behavior of proteins, 
including liquid–liquid phase separation, crystallization and 
proteins-protein interactions. I also have experience with the dynamics 
of colloidal and granular systems and their rheology. I combine 
brightfield, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, 3D-DLS, SANS, SAXS 
and rheometry to understand my systems' behavior affected by electric 
field, external potentials, temperature or additives.

I am an experimental soft matter physicist. I completed my PhD at 
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in March 2026 and have since 
continued here as a postdoctoral researcher. During my PhD, I studied 
the dynamics and transport of colloidal particles in periodic light 
fields, which remain the focus of my postdoctoral research.
I combine optical microscopy, laser-generated potentials, and particle 
tracking to investigate how external forces influence particle motion.
I also have experience working with active matter systems from my 
master's research.

I am an experimental soft matter physicist and postdoctoral researcher 
at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, working in the Bio Active 
Matter Group.

My research lies at the interface of soft condensed matter physics, 
statistical physics, and active matter. I focus on understanding how 
microscopic interactions shape the collective behaviour of complex soft 
matter systems, including colloidal suspensions, glass-forming 
materials, viscoelastic fluids, and active matter, giving rise to 
emergent phenomena such as self-organization, pattern formation, 
dynamical arrest, glass transitions, and nonequilibrium dynamics. My 
experimental approach combines optical microscopy, holographic optical 
tweezers, laser light fields, dynamic light scattering, and rheology

I was born in India and earned my PhD from the University of Mainz in 
July 2026. During my doctoral research, I studied how active colloids 
move through complex and crowded environments, with a particular focus 
on how interactions with their surroundings shape their motion. Since 
November 2025, I have been a postdoctoral researcher at Heinrich Heine 
University Düsseldorf, where I investigate oscillating active Brownian 
particles and interactions between pairs of Quincke rollers. My broader 
research interests include active colloids driven by chemical 
reactions, light, and electric fields. By studying how these particles 
behave under different conditions, I hope to deepen our understanding 
of motion and interactions in active matter.

I am a PhD student, with a background in Physics and Physical 
Chemistry, currently working on colloidal and biological systems. With a 
custom-built horizontal microscope, I measure the electrophoretic 
velocity of charged microparticles, microgels, and giant unilamellar 
vesicles (GUVs) under electric fields. My biological focus is on GUVs, 
phospholipid bilayer vesicles that closely resemble biological cells in 
their simplest form. I am studying their membrane fluidity, their 
deformation under AC electric fields, and their motion during 
electrophoresis.

I am from Jalpaiguri, India, and I am currently a Ph.D. student in the Experimental
Bioactive Matter Group since September 2023.
My current research explores how active colloids behave in crowded and 
complex environments. To study this, I use bright-field microscopy and 
particle tracking, manipulate colloids with holographic optical 
tweezers, along with synthesis of Janus colloids in the lab.

I got my B.Sc in bio engineering and biomedical engineering in Korea and 
M.Sc in biomedical engineering in Germany. Since April 2024, I joined 
this group as a Ph.D. student on a ANR, DFG-project APPOLLO, working on 
mechanical and structural properties of lipid monolayers when 
microparticles and biological substances are doped. My research is 
focused on a Langmuir monolayer combined with fluorescence and 
brightfield imaging and interfacial rheology, a fabrication  and analyze 
of Janus particles' behavior at water-air interface.

Hello, I am from China, and I did both my B.Sc. and M.Sc. in physics at 
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, specializing in experimental 
colloidal physics. Since March 2026, I have been a Ph.D. student in this group. 

My current research is focused on the rotational dynamics of microspheres in two-dimensional colloidal 
monolayers, especially in crowded systems. I specialize in the 
computational analysis of blurry microscopy images and in data 
processing, and I am also exploring ways to combine artificial 
intelligence with colloid science.

I’m currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Physics. In my thesis, I 
study liquid interfaces populated with lipids and microparticles, 
focusing on their organization and interaction on the interface.

I am a Master’s student in Physics at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, currently working on my Master’s thesis in the Bio Active Matter group.

My current project focuses on the characterization of lysozyme solutions using Differential Dynamic Microscopy (DDM) and light scattering techniques. In particular, I use DDM to determine hydrodynamic properties and quantify protein–protein interactions, comparing the results with established light scattering methods.

I am a Master's student in Physics at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. As part of my Master's thesis, I am conducting research within this group on the collective hydrodynamic behavior of colloidal particles in highly concentrated suspensions. My research centers on spatial correlations arising from fluid-mediated particle interactions in quasi-two-dimensional systems, with particular emphasis on evaluating the results in the context of existing theoretical models and experimental observations.

My name is Christian and I am a chemical biology Master student from TU Dortmund working on my Master´s Thesis here. My project is oriented towards the fabrication and optimization of active Janus particles with an enzymatically driven motor. In simpler terms, I study the chemical linking of enzymes onto silica microparticles and afterwards their movement mainly using brightfield microscopy. Additionally, I use UV-vis spectroscopy to measure the catalytic activity of those enzymatically modified particles.

I’m Güniz, a Medical Physics student, and my MSc project focuses on investigating and analyzing the enhanced diffusion of silica particles at the nanoscale, with particular emphasis on the influence of particle size on their diffusive behavior. In addition, I evaluate the reliability and reproducibility of the particle detection and tracking methods used in the analysis.

Analyzing the influence of contrast mechanisms in digital Fourier Microscopy

I am a Master's student in Medical Physics. I will fabricate giant 
unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) made from DOPC, subject them to AC electric 
fields, track their motion and calculate their velocity.

I am a Bachelor's student in Medical Physics at Heinrich-Heine 
University Düsseldorf and currently working on my Bachelor's thesis.

My project focuses on the dynamics of electrically driven Janus 
particles in random potential energy landscapes. In particular, I 
investigate how the interplay between active particle motion induced by 
an external electric field and spatial disorder affects their transport 
and diffusion behavior.

My name is Ebru Sevimli. As a bachelor’s student, my research focuses on the transport of colloidal particles in periodic optical potential landscapes.

My name is Mareike Weimann, and I’m a bachelor’s student in Medical Physics. I’m currently investigating the phase behavior of protein solutions under environmental stresses like salt and temperature variations. To analyze protein interactions and solution boundaries, I’m using bright-field microscopy.

Research in Colloidal Physics - My research focuses on investigating the dynamics of active and passive particles in periodic fields, with particular emphasis on their motion, transport behavior, and interactions with spatially periodic environments. The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental physical mechanisms governing particle dynamics under periodic conditions.

I am a Bachelor's student in Physics at Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, and currently working on my Bachelor's thesis.

My project focuses on electric microswimmers in the field of active matter. Specifically, I work on the fabrication and investigation of self-propelled microparticles (such as Janus particles) that mimic the behavior of living microorganisms.

I am a Bachelor's student in Physics. In my project, I study active colloids, focusing on the behavior and motion of Janus particles in complex media.