I am assistant professor („Juniorprofessor“) of theoretical physics at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. Previously, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge in the group of Prof. Michael E. Cates. I have done a PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Münster in the group of Prof. Raphael Wittkowski, and in parallel a PhD in philosophy of science supervised by Prof. Ulrich Krohs and Dr. Paul M. Näger.
My research interests include (but are not limited to):
- Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics
- Soft and active matter
- Biological physics
- Philosophy of physics
Selected publications:
- Michael te Vrugt, Jens Bickmann and Raphael Wittkowski, Effects of social distancing and isolation on epidemic spreading modeled via dynamical density functional theory, Nature Communications 11, 5576 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19024-0
Selected as Editor’s Highlight
Selected for coverage in Physik Journal
Press reports: WWU Münster, Ruhr-Nachrichten, MyScience, Newsbeezer, Pediatric Radiology, News Bioon, Wemp.App, Osel, Tekk.tv, Heilpraxis.net, Healthcare Hygiene Magazine, Informationsdienst Wissenschaft, Research in Germany, DE24-News, Today Headline, MedicalXpress, Dorstener Zeitung, The Diet World,Avalanches, Wissen.Newzs,Abitur-und-Studium.de, Laborpraxis, Stadt40, Sciende Daily, Münsterland-Zeitung, Deutsches Ärzteblatt - Michael te Vrugt, Hartmut Löwen and Raphael Wittkowski, Classical dynamical density functional theory: From fundamentals to applications, Advances in Physics 69, 121-247 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1080/00018732.2020.1854965
Press reports: WWU Münster, HHU Düsseldorf, Informationsdienst Wissenschaft - Michael te Vrugt, Sabine Hossenfelder and Raphael Wittkowski, Mori-Zwanzig formalism for general relativity: a new approach to the averaging problem, Physical Review Letters 127, 231101 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.231101
Press reports: WWU Münster, FIAS Frankfurt, Innovations Report, Pro-Physik - Michael te Vrugt, Tobias Frohoff-Hülsmann, Eyal Heifetz, Uwe Thiele and Raphael Wittkowski, From a microscopic inertial active matter model to the Schrödinger equation, Nature Communications 14, 1302 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35635-1
Selected as Editor’s Highlight
Press reports: WWU Münster - Stephan Bröker, Jens Bickmann, Michael te Vrugt, Michael E. Cates and Raphael Wittkowski, Orientation-dependent propulsion of active Brownian spheres: from self-advection to programmable cluster shapes, Physical Review Letters 131, 168203 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.168203
Press reports: WWU Münster - Michael te Vrugt, How to distinguish between indistinguishable particles, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 76, 449-475 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1086/718495
Covered in BJPS Short Reads
Podcast coverage on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible - Zhi-Feng Huang, Michael te Vrugt, Raphael Wittkowski and Hartmut Löwen, Anomalous grain dynamics and grain locomotion of odd crystals, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 122, e2511350122 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2511350122
Press reports: JGU Mainz, HHU Düsseldorf, RWTH Aachen, Ingenieur.de - Max Philipp Holl, Alina Barbara Steinberg, Michael te Vrugt and Uwe Thiele, Motility-induced crystallization and rotating crystallites, Physical Review Letters 135, 158301 (2025), https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/m3dy-53yc
Contact: tevrugtm@uni-mainz.de
How to pronounce my last name: Read „te frücht“ as if it were a German word. (If you’re not German: It’s difficult to explain. In any case, „Michael“ is fine.)