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Soft condensed matter and biological physics

Research group studying the physics of polymers and biological systems using theoretical and computational techniques headed by Kristian Müller-Nedebock.

We work on:

  • polymer and filament networks,
  • active systems,
  • and physics of biological structures at cellular and sub-cellular length-scales. 

This work is mainly theoretical but done in connection with wonderful partners in experimental fields and other theorists.

The group functions within the theoretical physics environment Department of Physics at Stellenbosch University, located in Stellenbosch, South Africa. We have close connections and research collaborations with other groups  at Stellenbosch including the Stellenbosch Photonics Institute, the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science and the Department of Physiological Sciences.

Our research activities are generously supported through grants, participation and scholarships from various organisations.  Students, research associates, and research projects have been funded by the National Research Foundation, but, amongst others, also by the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World, the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, the Deutsche Akademischer Austauschdienst, the Harry Crossley Foundation, the Claude Leon Foundation, and the Newton programme.  We are greatly appreciative of the support by all of these organisations.

Current members

  • Kristian Müller-Nedebock:
    Kristian is professor of physics at Stellenbosch University. He works on the theoretical physics of polymer and biopolymer networks, properties of the cytoskeleton, and the physics of organelles in cells. Kristian completed his PhD in Physics in the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, and worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany.
  • Fameno Rakotoniaina (PhD student)
  • Marcus Schmid (MSc Student)

Collaborators

  • In Stellenbosch: Prof. Ben Loos (Physiological Sciences)
  • Prof. Taniemola Liverpool (Univ. of Bristol), Dr Rhoda Hawkins (Univ. of Sheffield), Prof. Buddhapriya Chakrabarti (Univ. of Kansas), Dr Verena Kriechbaumer (Oxford Brookes Univ.), Prof. Giuseppe Pellicane (Univ. of Messina), Prof. Stanley Botchway (Rutherford Appleton Lab.)

News

  • March 2026: Visit by collaborator, Giuseppe Pellicane (University of Messina)
  • March 2026: Visit by collaborator, Rhoda Hawkins (Sheffield University)
  • March 2026: paper by Nadine du Toit, Giuseppe Pellicane and Kristian Müller-Nedebock on dynamical properties of networks: to appear in the European Physical Journal E  
  • February 2026: Delighted to be part of the project "A Soft Matter Physics approach to tuning soil acidity in sub-Saharan Africa", with Kislon Voitchovsky (Durham), Margarita Staykova (Durham), Halim Kusumaatmaja (Edinburgh), Yonas Gizaw (Dedan Kimathi University), Dorah Muthee (Embu); please also see the postdoctoral fellow at https://padlet.com/su_research/postdoctoral-fellowship-opportunities-globq2v84ww0cm8/wish/YBl3Z2OL4d6gWv16
  • January 2026: Welcome to new group member, Marcus Schmid
  • January 2026: Superb research visit with Marcus Schmid, Nicola Vahrmeijer (Physiological Sciences), and Ben Loos (Physiological Sciences) to Erwin Frey's Group at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich under SU-LMU exchange programme.
  • December 2025: Congratulations to Dr Nadine du Toit on her PhD!
  • December 2025: Visit from collaborators from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Erwin Frey, Jan Willeke, Beatrice Nettuno, and Davide Toffenetti.
  • Paper by Nadine du Toit and Kristian Müller-Nedebock on dynamical networking: European Physical Journal E 48 (2025) art.no. 27