Abstract
Artificial microparticles that exhibit active propulsion when exposed to ultrasound have great potential for practical applications in fields such as medicine and materials science. For example, these acoustically propelled microparticles could - resembling remote-controlled micro-submarines - be used for targeted drug delivery or microinvasive surgery. Furthermore, materials based on such particles constitute active materials that can exhibit extraordinary properties not found in conventional materials. In this talk, I will give an overview of our investigation of the fundamental properties of these particles, our first steps toward their potential applications, and our planned future steps to turn these applications into reality.
Brief Bio
Raphael Wittkowski is Assistant Professor for the “Theory of Active Soft Matter” at the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the University of Munster. Since age 23, he holds a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and B.Sc., M.Sc., and Dr. degrees in physics. He leads a working group at the Center for Soft Nanoscience and investigates active matter systems to reveal their fundamental properties and establish important practical applications. His research has a particular focus on sound-propelled microparticles and their relevance for medicine and materials science. He also deals with Statistical Physics, which he applies to a wide range of fields within and outside of physics. His methodological focus is on modeling incl. method development and computer simulations incl. software development. His research resulted in the discovery of several new effects and materials properties of active matter, invention of refractive light-propelled microparticles, derivation of some of the most important models of active matter physics, further development of important methods of statistical physics, and development of new scientific software such as AcoDyn for orders of magnitude faster acoustofluidic simulations.