项目介绍

2026年2月7日

You will join an interdisciplinary research project at the frontier of soft matter and active matter physics, investigating how forces emerge, propagate, and organize in active polymer-like systems. As a PhD candidate, you will work on a cutting-edge research programme that combines precision experiments on living systems with coarse-grained simulations, aiming to uncover the mechanical principles underlying collective behavior in active matter.

You will be embedded in the Soft Matter Group at the Institute of Physics (IoP), within a vibrant and collaborative research environment that brings together experimentalists, theorists, and computational physicists. You will receive close supervision, strong technical support, and ample freedom to develop your own scientific ideas within the scope of the project.

Scientific context

A grand challenge in active matter physics is to understand how collective mechanical properties emerge from the interactions of self-driven constituents. While classical models successfully describe point-like active particles (e.g. flocking models), many real active systems, including worms, ants, cytoskeletal networks, and robotic swarms, are composed of elongated, flexible units with internal degrees of freedom. These systems can align, deform, and entangle, giving rise to collective behaviors and mechanical responses that have no equilibrium counterpart.

Recent work has shown that living Tubifex tubifex worms behave as centimeter-scale active polymers: individual worms act as self-propelled filaments, while groups form highly entangled, dynamic aggregates with unusual, activity-dependent mechanical properties. However, the microscopic origins of these collective forces, from single-worm mechanics to pairwise interactions and many-body entanglement, remain largely unexplored.

This is what you will do

You will investigate the mechanics of active polymer-like matter using a hierarchical approach, progressing from individual active filaments to interacting pairs and finally to dense, entangled collectives. Your work will directly contribute to answering how activity, flexibility, and interactions generate novel mechanical properties far from equilibrium.

In practice, you will:

• Design and perform precision experiments to measure forces and deformations in living Tubifex tubifex worms, using micro-mechanical manipulation and high-resolution imaging.
• Quantify single-worm mechanics, pairwise interaction forces, and collective resistance in entangled aggregates.
• Develop and run coarse-grained simulations of active polymers, closely calibrated to experimental data, to disentangle passive elasticity from active force generation.
• Combine experimental and numerical results to build a coherent physical picture of force transmission and emergence in active polymer systems.
• Analyze and interpret data using tools from soft matter physics, statistical mechanics, and non-equilibrium physics.
• Present your results at group meetings, national and international conferences, and publish them in leading peer-reviewed journals.

You will be encouraged to take intellectual ownership of your project, propose new ideas and directions, and shape the research as it develops. Throughout the PhD, you will be supported through regular supervision, training opportunities, and close interaction with researchers across the Institute of Physics.

What we ask of you

You are curious about physical mechanisms behind complex, non-equilibrium systems and enjoy working at the interface of experiments and theory. When research becomes challenging or results are unexpected, you stay engaged, organized, and motivated to understand what is happening. You like working both independently and as part of a collaborative research team, and you are comfortable discussing ideas and results with others.

Your experience and profile:

• You hold (or are about to obtain) a Master’s degree in Physics or a closely related field.
• You are interested in soft matter physics, active matter, statistical mechanics, or non-equilibrium systems.
• You enjoy quantitative analysis and are motivated to learn advanced experimental and/or computational techniques.
• You communicate clearly in English, both orally and in writing, and are willing to further develop your scientific communication skills.
• You take responsibility for your research tasks and follow through on experiments, simulations, and data analysis.
• Experience in supporting tasks and the willingness to take the responsibility for administrative tasks, such as organisation and coordination of university education, outreach and research;
• You are a motivational teacher, with an encouraging teaching style.

A plus:It is considered an advantage if you have prior experience with one or more of the following: numerical simulations (e.g. molecular dynamics or Brownian dynamics), experimental work in soft or biological matter, image or data analysis, or interdisciplinary research at the interface of physics and biology.

This is what we offer you

We offer a temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week ranges between € 3,059 to € 3,881 (Scale P). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD candidate is applicable. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants.

The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. This employment should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.