News
Philip receives the R. W. Pohl medal for outstanding teaching
Philip was awarded the R. W. Pohl medal for outstanding teaching in physics for the lecture "Introduction to Physics of Complex Systems."
Torben wins an IMPRS Excellence Fellowship
Torben Sunkel has been awarded a competitive Excellence Fellowship by the IMPRS for the Physics of Biological and Complex Systems — a wonderful distinction!
A minimal, mechanically consistent model of dividing cells
A minimal particle model of smoothly dividing disk-shaped cells that stays mechanically consistent through division, in npj Systems Biology and Applications.
Meet us at IdeenExpo 2026 in Hannover
Our group and the MPI-DS are at IdeenExpo in Hannover (June 20–28) — come and try our interactive 3D exhibit and Game of Life!
Torben takes first place at the GGNB Science Slam
Torben won the Science Slam at the GGNB Science Day with his talk "Neither shaken nor stirred" on mixing dynamics in spheroidal cell colonies.
Growth-driven phase separation in mixtures of active matter
New work in Physical Review Research shows that motile cells embedded in a proliferating background can spontaneously condense into clusters — driven purely by growth-and-removal fluctuations.
CAFE-BIO is under way — PhD positions opening
The CAFE-BIO doctoral network has officially started (2026–2030). Project descriptions and application details for prospective PhD students are available at cafe-bio.org.
Our "emergence" exhibit opens at Forum Wissen
As part of the MPI-DS centennial, our interactive 3D visualization exhibit joins the Forum Wissen exhibition "Like magic – How our world organizes itself".
Our science on the "Wissen to listen" podcast
A new episode of the Forum Wissen podcast features our work on self-organizing cells, computer models, and basic research.
3D shape analysis of nuclei enables in vivo force inference
A collaboration combining multiscale nuclear-shape analysis with elastic stress sensors to infer forces in living tissue, in the Biophysical Journal.
Meet us at the Göttingen Night of Knowledge
Our group takes part in Göttingen's Nacht des Wissens with an interactive "Game of Life" exhibit on emergent dynamics — come and play!
Particle tip shape controls nematic order in growing colonies
A subtle geometric detail — the tip shape of a growing cell — turns out to decide the mesoscale nematic structure of expanding colonies, in Soft Matter.
A motility-induced mixing transition in growing spheroids
In growing 3D spheroids, cells stay lineage-confined below a motility threshold and mix above it — a sharp transition, in Communications Physics.
CAFE-BIO doctoral network funded by the EU
Our Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network CAFE-BIO has been selected for EU funding — twelve European institutions building a coherent analysis framework for emergence in biological systems.
Active filaments cage themselves in virtual confinement
A collaboration on how self-propelled filaments collectively trap themselves — without any physical walls — published in Nature Communications.