Prof. Dr. Stefan Karpitschka

• Living matter: cell to culture level - active matter, self-organization, emergence
• Soft matter: chemistry to mechanics - elasto-capillarity, shape memory, rheology & singularities
• Fluid physics: micro to macro scale - complex fluids, phase separation, wetting & lubrication    

Preprints

Kurjahn, M.; Abbaspour, L.; Papenfuß, F.; Bittihn, P.; Golestanian, R.; Mahault, B.; Karpitschka, S.: Collective self-caging of active filaments in virtual confinement, arXiv 2403.03093

Essink, M. H.; Karpitschka, S.; Khattak, H. K.; Dalnoki-Veress, K.; van Brummelen, H.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Wetting ridge dissipation at large deformations, arXiv 2402.06344

Nasirimarekani, V.; Ramìrez-Soto, O.; Karpitschka, S.; Guido, I.: Pattern formation under mechanical stress in active biological networks confined inside evaporating droplets, arXiv 2305.07099

2023

Kurjahn, M.; Deka, A.; Girot, A.; Abbaspour, L.; Klumpp, S.; Lorenz, M.; Bäumchen, O.; Karpitschka, S.: Quantifying glidingforces of filamentouscyanobacteria by self-buckling, eLife 10.7554/eLife.87450

Jeon, H.; Chao, Y.; Karpitschka, S.: Moving wetting ridges on ultrasoft gels, Physical Review E 108 (2), 024611

Flapper, M. .; Pandey, A.; Essink, M. .; van Brummelen, E. .; Karpitschka, S. A.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Reversal of Solvent Migration in Poroelastic Folds, Physical Review Letters 130, 228201 

Abbaspour, L.; Malek, A.; Karpitschka, S.; Klumpp, S.: Effects of direction reversals on patterns of active filaments, Physical Review Research 5 (1), 013171 

Essink, M. H.; van Limbeek, M. A. J.; Pandey, A.; Karpitschka, S.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Adhesive creases: bifurcation, morphology and their (apparent) self-similarity, Soft Matter 19, S. 5160 - 5168

2022

Baumgartner, D. A.; Shiri, S.; Sinha, S.; Karpitschka, S.; Cira, N. J.: Marangoni spreading and contracting three-component droplets on completely wetting surfaces, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119, e2120432119

Chao, Y.; Ramírez-Soto, O.; Bahr, C.; Karpitschka, S.: How liquid–liquid phase separation induces active spreading, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119 (30), e2203510119

Khattak, H. K.; Karpitschka, S.; Snoeijer, J. H.; Dalnoki-Veress, K.: Direct force measurement of microscopic droplets pulled along soft surfaces, Nature Communications 13, 4436

Mokbel, D.; Aland, S.; Karpitschka, S.: Stick-slip contact line motion on Kelvin-Voigt model substrates, Europhysics Letters 139, 33002

Ramírez-Soto, O.; Karpitschka, S.: Taylor dispersion in thin liquid films of volatile mixtures: A quantitative model for Marangoni contraction, Physical Review Fluids 7, L022001

2021

Essink, M. H.; Pandey, A.; Karpitschka, S.; Venner, C. H.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Regimes of soft lubrication, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 915, A49

Hack, M. A.; Kwieciński, W.; Ramírez-Soto, O.; Segers, T.; Karpitschka, S.; Kooij, E. S.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Wetting of Two-Component Drops: Marangoni Contraction Versus Autophobing, Langmuir 37, S. 3605 - 3611

Molina, A.; Kumar, S.; Karpitschka, S. A.; Prakash, M.: Droplet tilings for rapid exploration of spatially constrained many-body systems, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, e2020014118

Thoraval, M.-J.; Schubert, J.; Karpitschka, S. A.; Chanana, M.; Boyer, F.; Sandoval-Naval, E.; Dijksman, J. F.; Snoeijer, J. H.; Lohse, D.: Nanoscopic interactions of colloidal particles can suppress millimetre drop splashing, Soft Matter 17, S. 5116 - 5121

van Limbeek, M. A. J.; Essink, M. H.; Pandey, A.; Snoeijer, J. H.; Karpitschka, S. A.: Pinning-Induced Folding-Unfolding Asymmetry in Adhesive Creases, Physical Review Letters 127, 02800

van Limbeek, M. A. J.; Ramírez-Soto, O.; Prosperetti, A.; Lohse, D.: How ambient conditions affect the Leidenfrost temperature, Soft Matter 17, S. 3207 - 3215

2020

Böddeker, T. J.; Karpitschka, S. A.; Kreis, C. T.; Magdelaine, Q.; Bäumchen, O.: Dynamic force measurements on swimming Chlamydomonas cells using micropipette force sensors, Interface: Journal of the Royal Society 17, 20190580

Bäuerle, F.; Karpitschka, S. A.; Alim, K.: Living System Adapts Harmonics of Peristaltic Wave for Cost-Efficient Optimization of Pumping Performance, Physical Review Letters 124, 098102

Pandey, A.; Andreotti, B.; Karpitschka, S. A.; van Zwieten, G. .; van Brummelen, E. .; Snoeijer, J. .: Singular Nature of the Elastocapillary Ridge, Physical Review X 10, 031067

Ramírez-Soto, O.; Sanjay, V.; Lohse, D.; Pham, J. T.; Vollmer, D.: Lifting a sessile oil drop from a superamphiphobic surface with an impacting one, Science Advances 6 (34), eaba4330

van Gorcum, M.; Karpitschka, S. A.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Spreading on viscoelastic solids: Are contact angles selected by Neumann's law?, Soft Matter 16, S. 1306 - 1322

2019

Marin, A.; Karpitschka, S.; Noguera-Marin, D.; Cabrerizo-Vilchez, M. A.; Rossi, M.; Kahler, C. J.; Valverde, M. A. R.: Solutal Marangoni flow as the cause of ring stains from drying salty colloidal drops, Physical Review Fluids 4 (4), 041601

Perrin, H.; Eddi, A.; Karpitschka, S. A.; Snoeijer, J. H.; Andreotti, B.: Peeling an elastic film from a soft viscoelastic adhesive: Experiments and scaling laws, Soft Matter 15, S. 770 - 778

2018

Karpitschka, S. A.: The value of a fading tracer, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 856, S. 1 - 4

van Gorcum, M.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J. H.; Karpitschka, S. A.: Dynamic solid surface tension causes droplet pinning and depinning, Physical Review Letters 121 (20), 208003

Bruning, M. A.; Costalonga, M.; Karpitschka, S.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Delayed coalescence of surfactant containing sessile droplets, Physical Review Fluids 3 (7), 073605

Hack, M.A.; Costalonga, M.; Segers, T.; Karpitschka, S. A.; Wijshoff, H.; Snoeijer, J.H.: Printing wet-on-wet: Attraction and repulsion of drops on a viscous film, Applied Physics Letters 113, 183701

Karpitschka, S. A.; Das, S.; van Gorcum, M.; Perrin, H.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Soft wetting: Models based on energy dissipation or on force balance are equivalent, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115 (31), E7233

2017

Karpitschka, S. A.; Eggers, J.; Pandey, A.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Cusp-shaped elastic creases and furrows, Physical Review Letters 119 (19), 198001

Karpitschka, S.; Liebig, F.; Riegler, H.: Marangoni contraction of evaporating sessile droplets of binary mixtures, Langmuir 33, S. 4682 - 4687

Pandey, A.; Karpitschka, S.; Lubbers, L. A.; Weijs, J. H.; Botto, L.; Das, S.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Dynamical theory of the inverted cheerios effect, Soft Matter 13 (35), S. 6000 - 6010

Tress, M.; Karpitschka, S.; Papadopoulos, P.; Snoeijer, J. H.; Vollmer, D.; Butt, H. J.: Shape of a sessile drop on a flat surface covered with a liquid film, Soft Matter 13, S. 3760 - 3767

2016

Karpitschka, S.; Pandey, A.; Lubbers, L. A.; Weijs, H. J.; Botto, L.; Das, S.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Liquid drops attract or repel by the inverted Cheerios effect, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113 (27), S. 7403 - 7407

Karpitschka, S.; van Wijngaarden, L.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Surface tension regularizes the crack singularity of adhesion, Soft Matter 12, S. 4463 - 4471

Pandey, A.; Karpitschka, S.; Venner, C.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Lubrication of soft viscoelastic solids, The Journal of Fluid Mechanics 799, S. 433 - 447

2015

Jehanin, M.; Charton, S.; Karpitschka, S.; Zemb, T.; Möhwald, H.; Riegler, H.: Periodic precipitation patterns during coalescence of reacting sessile droplets, Langmuir 31, S. 11484 - 11490

Karpitschka, S.; Das, S.; van Gorcum, M.; Perrin, H.; Andreotti, B.; Snoeijer, J. H.: Droplets move over viscoelastic substrates by surfing a ridge, Nature Communications 6, 7891

Karpitschka, S.; Weber, C.; Riegler, H.: Spin casting of dilute solutions: Vertical composition profile during hydrodynamic-evaporative film thinning, Chemical Engineering Science 129, S. 243 - 248

Soulie, V.; Karpitschka, S.; Lequien, F.; Prené, P.; Zemb, T.; Möhwald, H.; Riegler, H.: The evaporation behavior of sessile droplets from aqueous saline solutions, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 17, S. 22296 - 22303

2014

Cisternas, J.; Karpitschka, S.; Wehner, S.: Travelling fronts of the CO oxidation on Pd(111) with coverage-dependent diffusion, The Journal of Chemical Physics 141, 164106

Karpitschka, S.; Hanske, C.; Fery, A.; Riegler, H.: Coalescence and noncoalescence of sessile drops: Impact of surface forces, Langmuir 30, S. 6826 - 6830

Karpitschka, S.; Riegler, H.: Sharp transition between coalescence and noncoalescence of sessile drops, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 743, 743 R1

2012

Karpitschka, S.; Dietrich, E.; Seddon, J. R. T.; Zandvliet, H. J. W.; Lohse, D.; Riegler, H.: Nonintrusive optical visualization of surface nanobubbles, Physical Review Letters 109, 066102

Karpitschka, S.; Riegler, H.: Non-coalescence of sessile drops from different but miscible liquids: Hydrodynamic analysis of the twin drop contour as self stabilizing, traveling wave, Physical Review Letters 109, 066103

2011

Borcia, R.; Menzel, S.; Bestehorn, M.; Karpitschka, S.; Riegler, H.: Delayed coalescence of droplets with miscible liquids: Lubrication and phase field theories, The European Physical Journal E 34, 24

2010

Karpitschka, S.; Riegler, H.: Quantitative experimental study on the transition between fast and delayed coalescence of sessile droplets with different but completely miscible liquids, Langmuir 26, S. 11823 - 11829

Wehner, S.; Karpitschka, S.; Burkov, Y.; Schmeisser, D.; Küppers, J.: Stochastic aspects of pattern formation during the catalytic oxidation of CO on Pd(111) surfaces, Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena 239, S. 746 - 751

2009

Karpitschka, S. A.; Wehner, S.; Küppers, J.: Reaction hysteresis of the CO + O → CO2 reaction on palladium(111), The Journal of Chemical Physics 130, 054706

since May 2023

Professor at the University of Konstanz

May 2017-April 2023 

Research Group Leader Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization at the University of Göttingen

March 2016-December 2016

Postdoctoral Researcher at the Stanford University. ­Advisor: Prof. Manu Prakash

January 2014-February 2016

Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Twente. ­Advisors: Prof. Jacco H. Snoeijer and Prof. Detlef Lohse

January 2013-November 2013

Postdoctoral Researcher Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces at the University of Potsdam. ­Advisors: Prof. Helmuth Möhwald and Dr. Hans Riegler

September 2008-December 2012

Dr. rer. nat. in Physics (summa cum laude), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, at the University of Potsdam with the thesis: “Dynamics of Liquid Interfaces with Compositional Gradients”. Advisors: Prof. Helmuth Möhwald and Dr. Hans Riegler

November 2007-March 2008

Research Assistant at the University of Bayreuth. Advisors: Prof. J. U. Küppers and Prof. S. Wehner

October 2002-November 2007

Diploma in Physics (with distinction) at the University of Bayreuth with the thesis: “Reaction Hysteresis of the CO Oxidation Reaction on Pd(111) Surfaces”. Advisors: Prof. J. U. Küppers and Prof. S. Wehner