Research fields

Projects since 2012

General scope: Experimental analysis, theoretical classification and numerical simulation for pattern formation in non-equilibrium systems

• Diversity of complex reaction patterns of an autocatalytic reaction embedded in a gel or microemulsion
• Excitation waves and their external control by periodic light signals
• Mechanistic studies on chemical and biochemical oscillations (Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, glycolysis, etc.)
• Nonlinear dynamics in frontal polymerization: oscillatory evolution of the front propagation velocity and formation of spin modes on extended front surfaces.
• Extremum principles of entropy production far from thermodynamic equilibrium
• Effect of electric fields on self-organizing processes in neuronal systems
• Runge pictures by applying reactive drops onto a paper matrix containing a reactant; observation of crystal growth in peripheral areas, characterization of the fractal dimension of the edges
• Understanding complex structures in precipitation processes (Liesegang rings): Helices and 'zig-zag' patterns based on an appropriate reaction-diffusion system
• The Leidenfrost phenomenon: quantitative analysis of oscillating water droplets on a heated substrate – measuring surface temperature and internal flow fields
• Measurement of reactions on droplet surface with a ultra high-speed camera to reveal short-lived front instabilities