Dr. Jos Zwanikken

Research Theme(s): Theoretical and computational aspects of Single-molecule biophysics, Synthetic biology and Cell biology

Research Interests: Dissipative structures in ensembles of self-propelled particles, the emergence of timescales and periodic events in reaction networks, coupling between Min protein oscillations and the geometry of the cell boundary, persistent random walks and the mechanics of polymers, and more.

Biography

Jos Zwanikken obtained his masters degree at the Universiteit Utrecht in theoretical physics, and obtained his PhD thanks to the mentorship of René van Roij, and the collaborations with the groups at the Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science and the department for colloid chemistry. After a postdoctoral position at Northwestern University with Monica Olvera de la Cruz, he received a research faculty position in her group, in the department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2011, before accepting a tenure track at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2015, in the department of Physics and Applied Physics. At UMass Lowell, many courses were taught and developed, leading to a Teaching Excellence Award in 2017. In February 2021 he started a Van Rijn position at the TU Delft with a focus on education, and theoretical research in the department of Nanobiology, within the Faculty of Applied Sciences. His research is theoretical and computational, and has been applied to colloidal suspensions, oil-water interfaces, the effects of electrolytes on a great variety of systems and phenomena, phase behavior of charged polymers, the self-assembly of self-propelled particles, the evolution of reaction networks, and more.