Ruprecht Karls Universität Heidelberg



Falko Ziebert

Research Interests

Nonlinear dynamics and non-equilibrium physics in soft matter and biological systems

    • processes:
    • - dynamics; especially pattern formation, active systems and self-propulsion
      - collective effects, confinement effects
    • systems:
    • - cellular biophysics: cells, bacteria, viruses
      - soft matter: complex fluids, liquid crystals, polymers, membranes

Publications

      69.
      Physical phase field model for phagocytosis
      B. Winkler, M. Abu Hamed, A. A. Nepomnyashchy and F. Ziebert
      submitted to New. J. Phys. (2023)

      68.
      The role of the nucleus for cell mechanics: an elastic phase field approach
      R. Chojowski, U. S. Schwarz and F. Ziebert
      submitted to Soft Matter (2023)

      67.
      Coarse-graining the vertex model and its response to shear
      G. Triguero-Platero, F. Ziebert and L. L. Bonilla
      Phys. Rev. E 108, 044118 (2023)

      66.
      Optogenetic control of migration of contractile cells predicted by an active gel model
      O. M. Drozdowski, F. Ziebert and U. S. Schwarz
      Comms. Phys. 6, 158 (2023)

      65.
      Two-fluid variable length model for cell crawling
      R. Gonzalez-Albaladejo, F. Ziebert and A. Carpio
      to appear in: Proceedings of the XVIII International Conference on Hyperbolic Problems:
      Theory, Numerics, Applications (HYP2022) (2023)

      64.
      Physics of self-rolling viruses
      P. A. Soria Ruiz, F. Ziebert and I. M. Kulic
      Phys. Rev. E 105, 054411 (2022)

      63.
      Spontaneous polarization and cell guidance on asymmetric nanotopography
      C. Herr, B. Winkler, F. Ziebert, I. S. Aranson, J. T. Fourkas and W. Losert
      Comms. Phys. 5, 114 (2022)

      62.
      Emergent conformational properties of end-tailored transversely propelling polymers
      K. R. Prathyusha, F. Ziebert and R. Golestanian
      Soft Matter 18, 2928 (2022)

      61.
      Optogenetic control of intracellular flows and cell migration:
      a comprehensive mathematical analysis with a minimal active gel model
      O. M. Drozdowski, F. Ziebert & U. S. Schwarz
      Phys. Rev. E 104, 024406 (2021)

      60.
      How Influenza's Spike motor works
      F. Ziebert & I. M. Kulic
      Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 218101 (2021)

      59.
      Reversible elastic phase field approach and application to cell monolayers
      R. Chojowski, U. S. Schwarz & F. Ziebert
      Eur. Phys. J. E 43, 63 (2020)

      58.
      Dynamics of Fiberboids
      A. Bazir, A. Baumann, F. Ziebert & I. M. Kulic
      Soft Matt. 16, 5210 (2020)

      57.
      Nonlinear patterns shaping the domain on which they live
      M. Ruppert, F. Ziebert & W. Zimmermann
      New. J. Phys. 22, 052001 (2020)

      56.
      Dynamics of particle uptake at cell membranes
      F. Frey, F. Ziebert & U. S. Schwarz
      Phys. Rev. E 100, 052403 (2019)

      55.
      Confinement and substrate topography control cell migration in a 3D computational model
      B. Winkler, I. S. Aranson & F. Ziebert
      Commun. Phys. 2, 82 (2019)

      54.
      Stochastic Dynamics of Nanoparticle and Virus Uptake
      F. Frey, F. Ziebert & U. S. Schwarz
      Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 088102 (2019)

      53.
      Rotating lamellipodium waves in polarizing cells
      C. Reeves, B. Winkler, F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Commun. Phys. 1, 73 (2018)

      52.
      Frustriert in Bewegung (`Motion by frustration', in German)
      F. Ziebert & I. M. Kulic
      Physik Journal (Wiley-VCH), 11/2018

      51.
      Continuous-time random-walk approach to supercooled liquids:
      Self-part of the van Hove function and related quantities
      J. Helfferich, J. Brisch, H. Meyer, O. Benzerara, F. Ziebert, J. Farago & J. Baschnagel
      Eur. Phys. J. E 41, 71 (2018)

      50.
      Motorizing fibres with geometric zero energy modes
      A. Baumann, A. Sanchez-Ferrer, L. Jacomine, P. Martinoty, V. Le Houerou, F. Ziebert & I. M. Kulic
      Nat. Mater. 17, 523 (2018)

      49.
      When tissues collide
      U. S. Schwarz & F. Ziebert
      Nat. Mater. (News & Views) 16, 972 (2017)

      48.
      Relaxing non-equilibrated polymers in thin films at temperatures slightly above the glass transition
      M. Chowdhury, S. Al-Akhrass, F. Ziebert & G. Reiter
      J. Polym. Sci. B, 55, 515, (2017)

      47.
      Intrinsic stresses in thin glassy polymer films revealed by crack formation
      M. Chowdhury, X. Sheng, F. Ziebert, A. C.-M. Yang, A. Sepe, U. Steiner & G. Reiter
      Macromolecules 49, 9060 (2016)

      46.
      Semiflexible Chains at Surfaces: Worm-Like Chains and beyond
      J. Baschnagel, H. Meyer, J. Wittmer, I. Kulic, H. Mohrbach, F. Ziebert, N.-K. Lee, G.-M. Nam & A. Johner
      Polymers 8, 286 (2016)

      45.
      Computational approaches to substrate-based cell motility
      F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson;
      npj Computational Materials 2, 16019 (2016)

      44.
      Editorial to the Special Issue 'Nonlinear Models in Molecular and Cell Biology'
      F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Physica D 318-319, 1 (2016)

      43.
      On complex, curved trajectories in microtubule gliding
      P. Gosselin, H. Mohrbach, I. M. Kulic & F. Ziebert
      Physica D 318-319, 105 (2016)

      42.
      Membrane tension feedback on shape and motility of eukaryotic cells
      B. Winkler, I. S. Aranson & F. Ziebert
      Physica D 318-319, 26 (2016)

      41.
      Macroscopic model of substrate-based cell motility
      F. Ziebert, J. Löber & I. S. Aranson
      in I. S. Aranson, Ed.: Physical Models of Cell Moility, Springer (DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24448-8_1) 2016

      40.
      A nonequilibrium power balance relation for analyzing dissipative filament dynamics
      F. Ziebert, H. Mohrbach & I. M. Kulic
      Eur. Phys. J. E 38, 129 (2015)

      39.
      Emergence of Stable Branched Patterns in Anisotropic Inhomogeneous Systems
      B. Kaoui, A. Guckenberger, A. Krekhov, F. Ziebert & W. Zimmermann
      New J. Phys. 17, 103015 (2015)

      38.
      Why Microtubules run in Circles - Mechanical Hysteresis of the Tubulin Lattice
      F. Ziebert, H. Mohrbach & I. M. Kulic
      Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 148101 (2015)

      37.
      Collisions of deformable cells lead to collective migration
      J. Löber, F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Sci. Rep. 5, 9172 (2015)

      36.
      Glass formers display universal non-equilibrium dynamics on the level of single-particle jumps
      J. Helfferich, K. Vollmayr-Lee, F. Ziebert, H. Meyer & J. Baschnagel
      EPL 109, 36004 (2015)

      35.
      Phase-field description of substrate-based motility of eukaryotic cells
      I. S. Aranson, J. Löber & F. Ziebert
      In A. Mikhailov and G. Ertl, editors: Engineering of Chemical Complexity II,
      World Scientific Lecture Notes in Complex Systems, Singapore, 2014, pp. 93-104

      34.
      Reply to comment by Baohua Ji
      F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Eur. Phys. J. ST 223, 1407 (2014)

      33.
      Comment on Falcke et al., Polymerization, bending, tension: What happens at the leading edge of motile cells?
      F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Eur. Phys. J. ST 223, 1431 (2014)

      32.
      Modular approach for modeling cell motility
      F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Eur. Phys. J. ST 223, 1265 (2014)

      31.
      Continuous-Time Random Walk Approach to supercooled liquids:
      II. Mean-Square Displacements in polymer melts
      J. Helfferich, F. Ziebert, S. Frey, H. Meyer, J. Farago, A. Blumen & J. Baschnagel
      Phys. Rev. E 89, 042604 (2014)

      30.
      Continuous-Time Random Walk Approach to supercooled liquids:
      I. Different definitions of particle jumps and their consequence
      J. Helfferich, F. Ziebert, S. Frey, H. Meyer, J. Farago, A. Blumen & J. Baschnagel
      Phys. Rev. E 89, 042603 (2014)

      29.
      Modeling crawling cell movement on soft engineered substrates
      J. Löber, F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Soft Matt. 10, 1365 (2014)

      28.
      Electro-hydrodynamic instability of stressed viscoelastic polymer films
      F. Closa, E. Raphaël & F. Ziebert
      Eur. Phys. J. E 36, 124 (2013)

      27.
      Effects of adhesion dynamics and substrate compliance on the shape and motility of crawling cells
      F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      PLOS ONE 8, e64511 (2013)

      26.
      Segmental Relaxations Have Macroscopic Consequences in Glassy Polymer Films
      M. Chowdhury, P. Freyberg, F. Ziebert, A. C.-M. Yang, U. Steiner & G. Reiter
      Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 136102 (2012)

      25.
      Effects of in-plane elastic stress and normal external stress on viscoelastic thin film stability
      F. Closa, F. Ziebert & E. Raphaël
      Math. Model. Nat. Phenom. 7, 6 (2012)

      24.
      Model for self-polarization and motility of keratocyte fragments
      F. Ziebert, S. Swaminathan & I. S. Aranson
      J. R. Soc. Interface 9 (70), 1084 (2012)

      23.
      A Planar Lipid Bilayer in an Electric Field: Membrane Instability, Flow Field, and Electrical Impedance
      F. Ziebert & D. Lacoste
      In Ales Iglic, editor: Advances in Planar Lipid Bilayers and Liposomes, Vol. 14,
      Burlington: Academic Press, 2011, pp. 63-95

      22.
      Viscosity of bacte-rial suspensions: Hydrodynamic interactions and self-induced noise
      S. Ryan, B. M. Haines, L. Berlyand, F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Phys. Rev. E 83, 050904(R) (2011)

      21.
      Interplay of internal stresses, electric stresses and surface diffusion in polymer films
      F. Closa, F. Ziebert & E. Raphaël
      Phys. Rev. E 83, 051603 (2011)

      20.
      Motor-mediated microtubule self-organization in dilute and semi-dilute filament solutions
      S. Swaminathan, F. Ziebert, I. S. Aranson & D. Karpeev
      Math. Model. Nat. Phenom. 6, 119 (2011)

      19.
      A Poisson-Boltzmann approach for a lipid membrane in an electric field
      F. Ziebert & D. Lacoste
      New J. Phys. 12, 095002 (2010)

      18.
      Patterns and intrinsic fluctuations in semi-dilute motor-filament systems
      S. Swaminathan, F. Ziebert, I. S. Aranson & D. Karpeev
      EPL 90, 28001 (2010)

      17.
      Effective zero-thickness model for a conductive membrane driven by an electric field
      F. Ziebert, M. Z. Bazant & D. Lacoste
      Phys. Rev. E 81, 031912 (2010)

      16.
      Simple view on fingering instability of debonding soft elastic adhesives
      T. Vilmin, F. Ziebert & E. Raphaël
      Langmuir 26, 3257 (2010)

      15.
      Dewetting of thin polymer films: Influence of interface evolution
      F. Ziebert & E. Raphaël
      EPL 86, 46001 (2009)

      14.
      Collective alignment of polar filaments by molecular motors
      F. Ziebert, M. Vershinin, S. P. Gross & I. S. Aranson
      Eur. Phys. J. E 28, 401 (2009)

      13.
      Motor-mediated alignment of microtubules in semi-dilute mixtures
      S. Swaminathan, F. Ziebert, D. Karpeev & I. S. Aranson
      Phys. Rev. E 79, 036207 (2009)

      12.
      Dewetting dynamics of stressed viscoelastic thin polymer films
      F. Ziebert & E. Raphaël
      Phys. Rev. E 79, 031605 (2009)

      11.
      Instabilities in a two-dimensional polar filament-motor system
      V. Rühle, F. Ziebert, R. Peter & W. Zimmermann
      Eur. Phys. J. E 27, 243 (2008)

      10.
      Pattern formation in active cytoskeletal networks
      R. Peter, V. Schaller, F. Ziebert & W. Zimmermann
      New J. Phys. 10, 035002 (2008)

      09.
      Rheological and structural properties of dilute active filament solutions
      F. Ziebert & I. S. Aranson
      Phys. Rev. E 77, 011918 (2008)

      08.
      Effects of crosslinks on filament-motor organization
      F. Ziebert, I. S. Aranson & L. S. Tsimring
      New J. Phys. 9, 421 (2007)

      07.
      Molecular motor-induced instabilities and crosslinkers determine biopolymer organization
      D. Smith, F. Ziebert, D. Humphrey, C. Duggan, M. Steinbeck, W. Zimmermann & J. Käs
      Biophys. J. 93, 4445 (2007)

      06.
      Macroscopic dynamics of polar nematic liquid crystals
      H. R. Brand, H. Pleiner & F. Ziebert
      Phys. Rev. E 74, 021713 (2006)

      05.
      On Cytoskeletal Patterns and Intrinsic Disorder Effects
      F. Ziebert, M. Hammele & W. Zimmermann
      Nonlinear Phenomena in Complex Systems, 9 (2), 198 (2006)

      04.
      Nonlinear competition between asters and stripes in filament-motor-systems
      F. Ziebert & W. Zimmermann
      Eur. Phys. J. E 18, 41 (2005)

      03.
      Stripe-hexagon competition in forced pattern forming systems with broken up-down symmetry
      R. Peter, M. Hilt, F. Ziebert, J. Bammert, C. Erlenkämper, N. Lorscheid, C. Weitenberg,
      A. Winter, M. Hammele & W. Zimmermann
      Phys. Rev. E 71, 046212 (2005)

      02.
      Comment on T. Liverpool et al., Instabilities of Isotropic Solutions of Active Polar Filaments
      F. Ziebert & W. Zimmermann
      Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 159802 (2004)

      01.
      Pattern formation driven by nematic ordering of assembling biopolymers
      F. Ziebert & W. Zimmermann
      Phys. Rev. E 70, 022902 (2004)

Short Vita

    since 2019
    Akad. Rat (staff) at Heidelberg University, Institute for Theoretical Physics
    2019
    Group leader at the 'Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-organization', Göttingen, Germany,
    in the Department of 'Living Matter Physics' (Prof. R. Golestanian)
    since July 2018
    Privatdozent in Physics at Heidelberg University, Germany
    2017 - 2019
    senior postdoc at Heidelberg University, Institute for Theoretical Physics, in the group of Prof. U. S. Schwarz
    Dec 2014
    Habilitation in Physics at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany
    2014 - 2017
    Eigene Stelle (DFG) at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany
    2011 - 2013
    joint postdoc in the group 'Experimental Polymer Physics' (with Prof. G. Reiter, University of Freiburg)
    and in the group 'Theory and Simulation of Polymers' (with Prof. J. Baschnagel, Institut Charles Sadron, Strasbourg, France)
    2008 - 2010
    postdoc, Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles (ESPCI), France, with Dr. E. Raphaël and Dr. D. Lacoste
    2006 - 2007
    postdoc, Argonne National Lab, U.S., with Dr. I. S. Aranson
    2006
    PhD in physics, Universität Bayreuth, Germany, with Prof. W. Zimmermann
    2002
    Diploma in physics, Universität des Saarlandes, Germany, with Prof. W. Zimmermann

Current (Co-)supervisions / team

  • Robert Chojowski, Santiago Gomez Melo, Leon Lettermann (PhD)
  • Nils Winkler (MSc)
  • Sarah Seibert, Ceren Ayeri (BSc)

  • Earlier (Co-)Supervisions:

    in Heidelberg:
      • Enej Caf (MSc 2023)
      • Michelle Emmert (internship/MoBi 2023)
      • David Gonzalez-Calatayud (internship/Erasmus 2023)
      • Gerrit Niederhoff (BSc 2023)
      • Gloria Triguero Platero (MSc 2022)
      • Junjie Liu (MSc 2022)
      • Ruth Kaiser (BSc 2022)
      • Linus von Klitzing (BSc2022)
      • Benjamin Raach (MSc 2021)
      • Pedro Antonio Soria Ruiz (MSc 2021)
      • Juraj Majek (Erasmus+ 2021)
      • Frederik Kortkamp (BSc 2021)
      • Margareta von Samson Himmelstierna (BSc 2021)
      • Alexander Baum (BSc 2021)
      • Hanchen Li (BSc 2021)
      • Jakob Dolgner (BSc 2020)
      • Sophia Baum (BSc 2020)
      • Henri Schmidt (BSc 2020)
      • Oliver Drozdowski (MSc 2020)
      • Robert Chojowski (MSc 2019)
      • Marius Brockhoff (BSc 2019)
      • Dennis Wagner (BSc 2019)
      • Leander John (BSc 2018)
    elsewhere:
      • Benjamin Winkler (Freiburg, PhD 2019)
      • Antony Bazir (Strasbourg, MSc 2017)
      • Mirko Ruppert (Bayreuth, MSc 2016)
      • Christian König (Bayreuth, MSc 2016)
      • Louis Mores (Freiburg, BSc 2015)
      • Julian Helfferich (Freiburg, PhD 2015)
      • Kornelius Sücker (Bayreuth, MSc 2015)
      • Mirko Ruppert (Bayreuth, BSc 2014)
      • Fabien Closa (ESPCI Paris, PhD 2012)
      • Victor Rühle (Bayreuth, Dipl 2006)
      • Alexander Benedix (Saarbrücken, Dipl 2004)

Teaching activities

I teach the following courses on a regular basis:
    • Lecture `Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation'
    • Lecture `Introduction to Nonequilibrium Physics'
    • Seminar `Cell Motility' with U. Schwarz, C. Selhuber-Unkel & F. Frischknecht
    • Seminar `From Soft Matter to Synthetic Biology' with K. Göpfrich
    • Seminar `Physics of Viruses' with U. Schwarz & F. Graw
    • Tutorial `Introduction to the Physics of Complex Systems' within the Max-Planck-School `Matter to Life'
    • Participation in the lecture series `Biophysics' for B. Sc. students in Molecular Biotechnology


Address

Priv.-Doz. Dr. Falko Ziebert
Institute for Theoretical Physics
Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg
Philosophenweg 19
69120 Heidelberg, Germany

email: f.ziebert at thphys.uni-heidelberg.de
phone: +49-(0)6221-54-9443
fax: +49-(0)6221-54-9331
http://www.thphys.uni-heidelberg.de/~biophys
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