Alexander is working within the SFB1313 on modeling of bacterial transport,biofilm formation and calcite precipitation in close collaboration with Christoph Lohrman. He will also be involved in modeling catalytic reactions in
nano-confinement within the CRC1333.
Alexander's research is at the the interface between chemical physics, physical chemistry and statistical physics and covers questions from biology to material science using computer simulations and statistical mechanics as principal tools, in close touch with experiments. His main research interests are the effects of nano-confinement and interfaces on simple and complex fluids. More in detail, the fluid's interfacial properties can strongly influence the interaction between surfaces, which is not only relevant for industrial applications like lubrication, but also is fundamental for biological systems where physiology relies on well-defined membrane separations. Such surface effects also strongly influence the transport properties in nano-confinement and thus pose a fundamental optimization problem for many applications like catalysis, chromatography, battery technology or oil recovery. Using simulations on a molecular scale these processes can be analyzed in detail and incorporated into effective models using continuum methods and statistical mechanics.
Starting from January 2021, Alexander will hold an independent junior research group leader position within the SimTech cluster of excellence.