We are a research group at the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), University of Freiburg. We develop and apply simulation methods for solids that deform and fluids that flow, from the single atom to the continuum.
We have a particular obsession with friction, adhesion and wear: how they emerge at the smallest scales, and what that means for the behaviour of engineering components.
Visitor address: Georges-Köhler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg (Germany)
Recent publications
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Ladecký, M., Pultarová, I., Bignonnet, F., Jödicke, I., Zeman, J., & Pastewka, L. (2026). Jacobi-accelerated FFT-based solver for smooth high-contrast data. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 461, 119269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2026.119269
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Birks, F., Ghanem, I., Pastewka, L., Kermode, J., & Buze, M. (2026). Resolving structural avalanches in amorphous carbon with arclength continuation. Physical Review Letters, 136(20), 206101. https://doi.org/10.1103/6n5m-rxc1
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Pastewka, L., Vakis, A. I., Eder, S. J., Aghababaei, R., Almqvist, A., Carbone, G., Chandross, M., Dini, D., Ehrich, H. J., Ewen, J. P., Menga, N., Molinari, J.-F., Moras, G., Nicola, L., Paggi, M., Putignano, C., Scaraggi, M., Yastrebov, V. A., & Müser, M. H. (2026). Modeling in tribology: recent advances, applications, and open questions. Tribology International, 218, 111326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2025.111326
Team
We are currently 10 people from 5 countries, trained in physics, engineering and mathematics — plus the administrative and IT staff without whom none of it would run. People who do a PhD here almost always leave behind code that stays open source.
Research
We investigate the mechanics and physics of surfaces and interfaces. Our work combines atomistic simulations, continuum modeling and data-driven methods into tools that capture material interactions across scales — from the Ångström to the arm’s length.
Understanding these mechanisms is what enables the design of low-friction, wear-resistant surfaces: a direct contribution to more sustainable engineering.
Software
We build and maintain open-source software for simulations across scales — from interatomic potentials through FFT-accelerated continuum solvers to the analysis of measured surface topographies. All of it freely available on GitHub and PyPI.
Teaching
All material for our courses is online under a CC BY 4.0 licence. It can be used, adapted and shared by teachers at other universities as freely as by our own students. We regularly teach: