Activities

The Institute's scientific activities are centered around four to six main thematic programmes per year complemented by several workshops and individual lectures organized on short notice. Participation in thematic programmes and workshops is by invitation only.

To support the scientific education of graduate students and young researchers, the ESI regularly offers lecture courses at advanced graduate level held by so-called Senior Research Fellows. In addition, there are summer and winter schools in research areas of topical interest.

In 2012, the ESI has moreover initiated the Research in Teams programme offering individual visiting positions for teams of two to four researchers on application basis.

Since June 2016 the Junior Research Fellowship Programme supports external or local graduate students and recent postdocs.

For more information on the individual programmes and the application procedure, please select the activity you are interested in in the above menu.

On the right hand side you can find a list of all current and upcoming activities. To see the past activities, please use the link at the bottom.

Current and Upcoming

Microstructures in Materials Nov. 16, 2026 — Nov. 20, 2026 Workshop
New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses Nov. 30, 2026 — Dec. 4, 2026 Workshop
Mathematical Analysis of Interfaces in Cell Biology Dec. 14, 2026 — Dec. 18, 2026 Workshop
Research in Teams: Advances in the Mathematical Theory of Wind-drift Ocean Currents Jan. 4, 2027 — Feb. 3, 2027 Research in Teams
Functional Analysis, Higher Categories and Quantum Field Theory Jan. 11, 2027 — Jan. 15, 2027 Workshop
Dynamics across Scales: Bridging Kinetic Theory and Fluid Mechanics Jan. 25, 2027 — Jan. 29, 2027 Workshop
Infrared Triangels beyond Lorentz Symmetry: Superfluids, Memory Effects, and Universality Feb. 1, 2027 — Feb. 28, 2027 Research in Teams
Particle Systems and Nonlinear PDEs: Analytical and Numerical Approaches Feb. 15, 2027 — Feb. 19, 2027 Workshop
Defects and Singularities Across Scales: Mathematical Advances and Future Directions March 8, 2027 — March 12, 2027 Workshop
Modern Representation Theory and Algebraic Geometry March 15, 2027 — May 7, 2027 Thematic Programme
Dmitry Shepelsky (NASU, Kharkiv): Riemann-Hilbert problems and their applications to integrable partial differential equations April 1, 2027 — May 1, 2027 SRF Course
Dynamics beyond the Pisot Condition May 10, 2027 — June 25, 2027 Thematic Programme
Mathematical and Numerical Analysis for Fractional Cross-diffusion Systems May 31, 2027 — Dec. 17, 2027 Research in Teams
Marta Lewicka (U of Pittsburgh ): Introduction to Convex Integration June 7, 2027 — July 10, 2027 SRF Course
Impossibility Results in Mathematics June 28, 2027 — Aug. 13, 2027 Thematic Programme
Summer School on Computer Simulation across the Scales: Molecular Dynamics, Continuum Methods Machine Learning Aug. 23, 2027 — Sept. 3, 2027 Graduate School
Inequalities in Differential and Convex Geometry Sept. 20, 2027 — Sept. 23, 2027 Workshop
Non-regular Spacetime Geometry: from Synthetic Geometry to Mathematical Physics Oct. 4, 2027 — Nov. 26, 2027 Thematic Programme
Michael Dumbser (DICAM, U of Trento): Advanced Numerical Methods for Hyperbolic Equations Oct. 25, 2027 — Nov. 26, 2027 SRF Course
Emerging Topics in Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations Dec. 13, 2027 — Dec. 17, 2027 Workshop
Water Waves March 6, 2028 — March 10, 2028 Workshop
Advances in Mixture Models in Physics and Biology March 20, 2028 — March 24, 2028 Workshop

Nov 16. 2026

Rank-one connections and microstructure in single crystals and polycrystals John Ball (Heriot-Watt U, Edinburgh) Nov 16. 2026, 09:30 - 10:15 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
On the formation of microstructure and the occurrence of vortices in a singularly perturbed energy related to helimagnetism Janusz Ginster (WIAS, Berlin) Nov 16. 2026, 10:15 - 11:00 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Relaxation of a two-well problem in elastoplasticity Carolin Kreisbeck (KU Eichstätt) Nov 16. 2026, 11:30 - 12:15 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Derivation of the Flamant solution for a nonlinear elastic wedge Ian Tobasco (U of Michigan, Ann Arbor) Nov 16. 2026, 14:00 - 14:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
From kale-leaf frills to non-density in W^{2,2} isometric immersions of hyperbolic surfaces Cy Maor (HU of Jerusalem) Nov 16. 2026, 14:45 - 15:30 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
A Discrete Model for Nuclear Fission with Inspiration from Gamow’s Liquid Drop Model. Rustum Choksi (McGill U) Nov 16. 2026, 16:00 - 16:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).

Nov 17. 2026

Old and new results on thin elastic sheets Heiner Olbermann (UCLouvain) Nov 17. 2026, 09:15 - 10:00 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Carbon nanotubes and computer-assisted proofs Benedikt Wirth (U Münster) Nov 17. 2026, 10:00 - 10:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Solid-solid phase transitions with space-dependent wells Elisa Davoli (TU Wien) Nov 17. 2026, 11:30 - 12:15 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Lower bounds of the bending energy of surfaces Raz Kupferman (HU of Jerusalem) Nov 17. 2026, 14:00 - 14:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Plasticity in pollycrystalline NiTi Barbora Benešová (Charles U, Prague) Nov 17. 2026, 14:45 - 15:30 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).

Nov 18. 2026

A discrete phase-field approximation of sharp-interface energies accounting for lattice symmetry Sergio Conti (U Bonn) Nov 18. 2026, 09:15 - 10:00 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Optimal dislocation structures Florian Theil (U Warwick) Nov 18. 2026, 10:00 - 10:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of a T3 structure in linearized elasticity Antonio Tribuzio (Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila) Nov 18. 2026, 11:30 - 12:15 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Quasistatic evolution of cohesive-type fracture Manuel Friedrich (JKU, Linz) Nov 18. 2026, 12:15 - 13:00 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).

Nov 19. 2026

An Adaptive Variational Dual Scheme for equation solving Amit Acharya (Carnegie Mellon U, Pittsburgh) Nov 19. 2026, 09:15 - 10:00 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Energy scaling laws for thin elastic sheets with topological defects David Padilla-Garza (HUJI Jerusalem) Nov 19. 2026, 10:00 - 10:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Variational models for partial defects Adriana Garroni (U Roma 1, Sapienza) Nov 19. 2026, 11:30 - 12:15 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Relaxation of integral functionals on planar Sobolev homeomorphisms. Martin Kružík (Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague) Nov 19. 2026, 14:00 - 14:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Fractal minimizers for a branched transport problem Michael Goldman (CNRS & Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau) Nov 19. 2026, 14:45 - 15:30 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
From Frank's Tensor to Intrinsic Boundary Kinematics in Incompatible Elasticity Nicolas Van Goethem (Universidad de Lisboa) Nov 19. 2026, 16:00 - 16:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).

Nov 20. 2026

Curvotaxis of floating sheets and shells Joseph Paulsen (St. Olaf College) Nov 20. 2026, 09:15 - 10:00 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Linearizing finite-strain viscoelasticity: the microstructure that isn’t there Patrick Dondl (U of Freiburg) Nov 20. 2026, 10:00 - 10:45 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
Uniqueness and radial symmetry of magnetic skyrmions Theresa Simon (U Münster) Nov 20. 2026, 11:30 - 12:15 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).
On the Modeling of Geodynamical Processes in Solid Earth Alexander Mielke (WIAS, Berlin) Nov 20. 2026, 12:15 - 13:00 Part of Microstructures in Materials (Workshop).

Nov 30. 2026

Non-universality of Jamming in Cellular Monolayers Roberto Cerbino (U of Vienna) Nov 30. 2026, 14:00 - 14:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Topological glasses in active polymer melts Christos Likos (U of Vienna) Nov 30. 2026, 14:40 - 15:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Avalanche statistics in dense active matter Peter Sollich (Georg-August-U, Göttingen) Nov 30. 2026, 15:30 - 16:10 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Aging dynamics in active and biological glasses Soumitra Kolya (Tata IFR, Hyderabad) Nov 30. 2026, 16:10 - 16:30 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Fluctuation-Response Theory of Non-Equilibrium Complex Fluids Ryota Takaki (MPI Dresden) Nov 30. 2026, 16:30 - 16:50 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).

Dec 01. 2026

First-passage statistics of active dynamics in complex media Christina Kurzthaler (PKS-MPG, Dresden) Dec 01. 2026, 09:00 - 09:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
How nonreciprocal interactions affect metastable states in disordered systems Thomas Suchanek (U Leipzig) Dec 01. 2026, 09:40 - 10:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Equilibrium and driven dynamics of a Brownian ideal gas in a Gaussian quenched-random potential energy landscape Vincent Krakoviack (ENS de Lyon) Dec 01. 2026, 10:40 - 11:20 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
X-ray driven glasses Giulio Monaco (UP) Dec 01. 2026, 11:20 - 11:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Cage formation and dynamics in repulsive and attractive colloidal glasses probed by high frequency rheology George Petekidis (U of Crete) Dec 01. 2026, 11:40 - 12:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
What happens after you hit submit? the role of an editor at a nature portfolio journal Saswati Ganguly (Springer Nature) Dec 01. 2026, 12:00 - 12:10 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Nonlinear Rheology and Nonequilibrium Phase Transition near the Jamming Transition Kunimasa Miyazaki (Nagoya U) Dec 01. 2026, 13:55 - 14:35 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Does plasticity have an effect on vibrational and thermal transport in glasses? Anne Tanguy (École Polytechnique, Palaiseau) Dec 01. 2026, 14:35 - 15:15 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Intensity countoscope : Quantifying dynamics from intensity correlations in real space Sophie Hermann (U of Vienna) Dec 01. 2026, 15:50 - 16:10 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).

Dec 02. 2026

Uncovering a hidden symmetry constraint in disordered solids Florian Vogel (ENS Paris) Dec 02. 2026, 09:00 - 09:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Connected network model for the mechanical loss of amorphous materials Joerg Rottler (U of BC, Vancouver) Dec 02. 2026, 09:40 - 10:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
A unified mean-field model of glasses Makoto Suda (Tohoku U) Dec 02. 2026, 10:00 - 10:20 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Shear-rate dependent surface tension of glass-forming fluids Linnea Heitmeier (RUC) Dec 02. 2026, 11:00 - 11:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Replica symmetry breaking (rsb) and soft-glasses of charged dna-rods in external fields. Kyongok Kang (FZ Jülich) Dec 02. 2026, 11:40 - 12:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
From shear-induced fickian non-gaussian diffusion to yielding in athermal jammed matter Raffaele Pastore (Naples U) Dec 02. 2026, 12:00 - 12:20 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Quantum Aspects of Glassy Dynamics Matthias Sperl (DLR, Köln) Dec 02. 2026, 13:55 - 14:35 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Topological defects cause melting of 2d amorphous systems Peter Keim (Universität Düsseldorf) Dec 02. 2026, 14:35 - 15:15 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
The sphere packing problem in high dimensions: A physicist’s view Francesco Zamponi (U Roma 1, Sapienza) Dec 02. 2026, 15:50 - 16:30 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Three-dimensional observation of local melting in a colloidal bath Andreas Zumbusch (U Konstanz) Dec 02. 2026, 16:30 - 16:50 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).

Dec 03. 2026

Introducing non-orthogonal projection operators to coarse-grain far-from-equilibrium dynamics Gerhard Jung (U of Innsbruck) Dec 03. 2026, 09:00 - 09:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
"Space-resolved viscoelastic moduli and stability of the CMD approach to obtain them" Alexander Semenov (U Strasbourg) Dec 03. 2026, 09:40 - 10:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Dynamic coupling effects in highly charged colloids Daniel Weidig (U of Rostock) Dec 03. 2026, 10:00 - 10:20 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Rigidity and flow in the proximity of jamming Bulbul Chakraborty (Brandeis U) Dec 03. 2026, 11:00 - 11:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Agitated, amorphous, athermal: On the rheology of granular fluids Olfa D'Angelo (U of Amsterdam) Dec 03. 2026, 11:40 - 12:20 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Structure and dynamics of granular suspensions Antonio Puertas (UAL) Dec 03. 2026, 13:55 - 14:35 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
When and why does glassy dynamics set in? Daniele Coslovich (U Trieste) Dec 03. 2026, 14:35 - 15:15 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
The mechanical response of deeply supercooled glassforming liquids Jürgen Horbach (U of Düsseldorf) Dec 03. 2026, 15:50 - 16:30 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
From diffusion to migration and recoil: attraction-controlled dynamics in crowded media José Rafael Bordin (UFPEL) Dec 03. 2026, 16:30 - 16:50 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).

Dec 04. 2026

Characterizing time and temperature regimes in a supercooled liquid model Tommaso Rizzo (CNR-ISC) Dec 04. 2026, 09:00 - 09:40 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Light-induced caging: tuning the colloidal glass transition with periodic external fields Abolfazl Ahmadirahmat (U Innsbruck) Dec 04. 2026, 09:40 - 10:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Microscopic Theory of a Fluctuation-Induced Dynamical Crossover in Supercooled Liquids Grzegorz Szamel (CSU, Fort Collins) Dec 04. 2026, 10:40 - 11:20 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).
Non-monotonic dynamical correlations at the glass crossover Corentin Laudicina (TU Eindhoven) Dec 04. 2026, 11:20 - 12:00 Part of New Frontiers in Nonequilibrium Statistical Physics of Glasses (Workshop).

[past activities]