Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

Welcome to the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

What we want
No matter how well we understand how a single droplet of water is formed in the laboratory, we cannot predict how countless droplets form clouds that substantially affect the Earth’s climate. And although we can accurately characterize a single neuron’s impulse, we do not yet understand how billions of them form a single thought. In such systems, animate or inanimate, processes of self-organization are at work: Many interacting parts organize themselves independently, without external control, into a complex whole. At our institute we explore the mechanisms underlying these processes in order to gain a detailed understanding of complex systems. Also the major challenges of the 21st century, from climate change and economic crises to problems in energy supply and transport, are closely linked to these scientific questions. Without a deep understanding of dynamics and self-organization in complex and highly networked systems we cannot face these challenges. With our basic research not only do we want to deepen our understanding of nature, but also want to contribute to a sustainable existence on this planet.

News


New insights into broken symmetries

New insights into broken symmetries

November 27, 2023
The Lorentz reciprocal theorem can now be applied to fluids with broken symmetries. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) in Göttingen have found a way to accommodate this classical theorem also in fluids with odd viscosities. Their discovery opens a new way to explore systems with broken symmetries.
The fuel economy of a microswimmer

The fuel economy of a microswimmer

October 12, 2023
The amount of power a microswimmer needs to move can now be determined more easily.

Research Departments

Fluid Physics, Pattern Formation and Biocomplexity

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Eberhard Bodenschatz

We are investigating the dynamics of a variety of complex nonlinear systems both experimentally and theoretically. Our interests are currently focused on biocomplexity in cell-biology, Lagrangian properties of fully developed turbulence, pattern formation and spatio-temporal chaos, and the Geodynamics of the earth's crust.

Living Matter Physics

Prof. Dr. Ramin Golestanian

The department of Living Matter Physics is engaged in a wide range of theoretical research aimed at a multi-scale understanding of the dynamics of living systems from a physical perspective. The aim is to understand the complex dynamics of living matter well enough to be able to make it from the bottom-up; i.e. from molecules to systems.

Max Planck Research Groups

BiomedicalPhysics
Prof. Dr. Stefan Luther
Complex SystemsTheory
Prof. Dr. Viola Priesemann
Theory of BiologicalFluids
Dr. David Zwicker

In a nutshell

Dates

Seminar: Mathematical models of molecular mechanisms of vesicle docking and fusion

Manon Berns
04.12.2023 14:00 - 15:30
Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS), Room: SR 0.79

LMP Seminar: Defect Solutions of the Non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard Model: Spirals and Targets

Dr. Navdeep Rana
05.12.2023 14:00 - 15:30
Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS), Room: Riemannraum 1.40 & ZOOM Meeting ID: 997 1155 2453 Passcode: 771001

MPI-DS Colloquium: TBD

Dr. Klaus Frieler
13.12.2023 14:15 - 15:15
Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS), Room: Prandtl Lecture Hall and Zoom Meeting ID: 959 2774 3389 Passcode: 651129

MPIDS Seminar: Mike Shelley: TBD

Prof. Michael Shelley
11.03.2024 14:15 - 15:15
Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS), Room: Prandtl Lecture Hall
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