People

Christina Kurzthaler

Group Leader

Email: ckurzthaler[at]pks.mpg(dot)de

Office: 1B14

Phone: 0049 (0)351 871 1214

google scholar

since May 2022  Max Planck Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS) 

2019-2022   Postdoctoral Research Associate, Complex Fluids Group (adviser: Prof. Dr. Howard A. Stone), Princeton University

Fall 2021      Lecturer, Keller Center, Princeton University

2017-2018   PostDoc,  Universität Innsbruck

Education

2017   PhD in Physics (adviser: Prof. Dr. Thomas Franosch), Universität Innsbruck

2013   MSc in Mathematics in Biosciences, Technische Universität München

2011   BSc in Technical Mathematics, Universität Innsbruck


PhD Students

Yanis Baouche

PhD Student

Email: baouche[at]pks.mpg(dot)de

Office: 1D6

since October 2022  PhD Student, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS) 

2020-2022   MSc in Physics, "Physics of Complex Systems" Université Paris-Cité

2017-2020   BSc in Physics, Université Paris-Diderot

Sagnik Garai

PhD Student

since February 2023  PhD Student, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS) 

2019-2022   Engineer, UR Rao Satellite Center, Indian Space Research Organization

2014-2019   Dual Degree, B. Tech Engineering Physics and MS in Solid State Physics, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Trivandrum

Leif Peters

PhD student

Email: lpeters[at]pks.mpg(dot)de

Office: 1D07

since February 2025 PhD student, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS)

April 2021 - Jan 2025 M.Sc. in Physics, Study focus: Theoretical physics, University of Göttingen

Oct 2017- March 2021 B.Sc. in Physics, University of Potsdam

Ramita Mondal

PhD student

Email: rmondal[at]pks.mpg(dot)de

Office: 1B23

since October 2025 PhD student, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS) 

2020-2025 Integrated BS-MS in Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Fabian Henn

PhD Student

Email:  henn[at]pks.mpg(dot)de 

Office: 1 B25

since April 2026 PhD Student, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS)

2023 - 2025 MSc in BioPhysics, Technical University of Munich

2020 - 2023 BSc in Physics, Technical University of Munich


PostDocs

Pallabi Das

PostDoc - Humboldt Fellow

since December 2022  PostDoc, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS) 

2015-2022   PhD in Computational Physics (adviser: Prof. Dr. Srikanth Sastry), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR)

2012-2014   MSc in Physics, Jawaharlal Nehru University

2009-2012   BSc in Physics, Presidency College (Kolkata)

Akhil Varma

PostDoc - Humboldt Fellow

2022-present   Postdoc, MPI-PKS, Germany

2021-2022   Postdoc, UC San Diego, USA

2016-2019   PhD in Fluid Mechanics, École polytechnique, France

2013-2015   MTech in Applied Mechanics, IIT Madras, India

2009-2013   BTech in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum, India

Mirko Residori

PostDoc

Email: mire@pks.mpg.de
Office: 0G6

since May 2024 PostDoc, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS)

2021-2024 PostDoc, TU-Dresden, Germany

2017-2021 PhD in Mathematics, University of Innsbruck, Austria

2014-2017 MSc in Mathematics, University of Verona, Italy

2011-2014 BSc in Applied Mathematics, University of Verona, Italy

Mathis Guéneau

PostDoc

since 2025 Postdoc, MPI-PKS, Germany

2022-2025 PhD in Theoretical Physics, Laboratoire de physique théorique et hautes énergies (LPTHE), Sorbonne Université, France (Supervisor: Grégory Schehr)

2021-2022 MSc (ICFP Theoretical Physics Track), École normale supérieure Paris, France

2018-2022 Postgraduate Engineering Degree, École polytechnique, France

2015-2018 BSc in Fundamental Physics (PMCP - Magistère de physique fondamentale d'Orsay), Université Paris-Saclay, France

Alumni

Ursy Makanga (Postdoc 2023-2025; now PostDoc at Flatiron Institute, NY)
Anish Pandya (Summer Intern 2024; now graduate student at U of Pennsylvania)
Lea Gelo (Summer Intern 2024)