Prof. Dr. Raphael Wittkowski
With his research group, he investigates systems of active soft matter to explore their fundamental properties and develop important practical applications. Current research focuses include sound- or light-driven microrobots, acoustofluidics, microfluidics, computational fluid dynamics simulations, ultrasound, programmable and intelligent materials, 3D printing, and artificial neural networks, as well as their applications in medicine and engineering. The group's methodological focus lies in modeling, method development, computer simulations, and software development.
Details on research activities
Curriculum Vitae
Detailed Curriculum Vitae of Prof. Wittkowski
Raphael Wittkowski is a Professor of "Theory of Active Soft Matter" at the DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials and in the Department of Physics of RWTH Aachen University. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics (2009), a Bachelor's degree in Physics (2009), a Master's degree in Physics (2010), and a PhD in Physics (2012) from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. After completing his doctorate, he conducted research stays with Prof. Dr. Hartmut Löwen at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and with Prof. Dr. Michael E. Cates at the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). He then became a research group leader (2016) and Assistant Professor (2017) in the Department of Physics at the University of Münster. Later, he obtained a professorship in Theoretical Physics at RWTH Aachen University (2025).
Publications
| Titel/Autoren | DOI-LINK | Magazine | Jahre | |
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3d Multiscale Shape Analysis of Nuclei and in Vivo Elastic Stress Sensors Allows Force Inference
A. Jurado, J. Isensee, A. Hofemeier, L. J. Krüger, R. Wittkowski, R. Golestanian, P. Bittihn and T. Betz
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2025.07.015 | Biophysical Journal | 2025 | |
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Anomalous grain dynamics and grain locomotion of odd crystals
Z. Huang, M.T. Vrugt, R. Wittkowski, & H. Löwen
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https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2511350122 | Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. | 2025 | |
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Bio-Inspired Ultrasound-Driven Ultrafast Soft Microgripper
Chengxi Zhong; Vincent Winderol; Khemraj Gautam Kshetri; Cornel Dillinger; Tommaso Bianchi; Zhan Shi; Song Liu; Justus Schnermann; Raphael Wittkowski; Nitesh Nama et al.
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https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.30.667446 | biorxiv.org | 2025 | |
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Metareview: A Survey of Active Matter Reviews
M. te Vrugt and R. Wittkowski
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https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-024-00466-z | The European Physical Journal E | 2025 | |
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Technology Roadmap of Micro/Nanorobots
X. Ju, C. Chen, C. M. Oral, S. Sevim, R. Golestanian, M. Sun, N. Bouzari, X. Lin, M. Urso, J. S. Nam, Y. Cho, X. Peng, F. C. Landers, S. Yang, A. Adibi, N. Taz, R. Wittkowski, D. Ahmed, W. Wang, V. Magdanz, M. Medina-Sánchez, M. Guix, N. Bari, B. Behkam, R. Kapral, Y. Huang, J. Tang, B. Wang, K. Morozov, A. Leshansky, S. A. Abbasi, H. Choi, S. Ghosh, B. Borges Fernandes, G. Battaglia, P. Fischer, A. Ghosh, B. Jurado Sánchez, A. Escarpa, Q. Martinet, J. Palacci, E. Lauga, J. Moran, M. A. Ramos-Docampo, B. Städler, R. S. Herrera Restrepo, G. Yossifon, J. D. Nicholas, J. Ignés-Mullol, J. Puigmartí-Luis, Y. Liu, L. D. Zarzar, C. W. I. V. Shields, L. Li, S. Li, X. Ma, D. H. Gracias, O. Velev, S. Sánchez, M. J. Esplandiu, J. Simmchen, A. Lobosco, S. Misra, Z. Wu, J. Li, A. Kuhn, A. Nourhani, T. Maric, Z. Xiong, A. Aghakhani, Y. Mei, Y. Tu, F. Peng, E. Diller, M. S. Sakar, A. Sen, J. Law, Y. Sun, A. Pena-Francesch, K. Villa, H. Li, D. E. Fan, K. Liang, T. J. Huang, X.-Z. Chen, S. Tang, X. Zhang, J. Cui, H. Wang, W.
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https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c03911 | ACS Nano | 2025 | |
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Ultrasound-Driven Programmable Artificial Muscles
Z. Shi, Z. Zhang, J. Schnermann, S. C. F. Neuhauss, N. Nama, R. Wittkowski and D. Ahmed
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09650-3 | Nature | 2025 | |
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Ultrasound-driven programmable artificial muscles
Z. Shi, Z. Zhang, J. Schnermann, S. C. F. Neuhauss, N. Nama, R. Wittkowski and D. Ahmed
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09650-3 | Nature | 2025 | |
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A Review of Active Matter Reviews
M. te Vrugt and R. Wittkowski
Dies ist eine externe Publikation.
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https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2405.15751 | arxiv.org | 2024 | |
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Analytical Method for Reconstructing the Stress on a Spherical Particle from its Surface Deformation
L. J. Krüger, M. te Vrugt, S. Bröker, B. Wallmeyer, T. Betz, and R. Wittkowski
Dies ist eine externe Publikation.
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2024.01.017 | Biophysical Journal | 2024 | |
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Collective Dynamics and Pair-Distribution Function of Active Brownian Ellipsoids in Two Spatial Dimensions
S. Bröker, M. te Vrugt, and R. Wittkowski
Dies ist eine externe Publikation.
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-024-01674-x | Communications Physics | 2024 | |
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Intelligent Matter Consisting of Active Particles
J. Jeggle and R. Wittkowski
Dies ist eine externe Publikation.
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Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Matter | 2024 | ||
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Microscopic Derivation of the Thin Film Equation Using the Mori-Zwanzig Formalism
M. te Vrugt, L. Topp, R. Wittkowski, and A. Heuer
Dies ist eine externe Publikation.
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https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0217535 | Journal of Chemical Physics | 2024 |
Abschlussarbeiten
Job offers
Projects
Team
Teaching
Regular teaching activities are offered for Master’s students in Physics. Typically, the semester program includes:
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Lecture: Theory of Microfluidics and Acoustofluidics
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Seminar: Microrobotics
Both courses can be taken as a compulsory elective subject within the “Condensed Matter Theory” track of study.