Simply Complex Lab

Simply Complex Lab embodies a unique blend of characteristics from its scientific approach to methodological breadth and conceptual depth. At the heart of our work lies a commitment to understanding the emergence, evolution, and organisation of complex systems, ranging from physical and biological systems to hybrid and artificial constructs.

Our research has a deep intradisciplinary focus, where we delve into the intrinsic mechanisms governing structure, dynamics, and self-organisation far from thermodynamic equilibrium, seeking a quantitative understanding that enables us to steer system behaviour toward desired outcomes.

Our perspective is crossdisciplinary, bridging concepts, methods, and challenges across research fields. We draw on foundational insights from physics and mathematics, as well as from chemistry, biology, materials science, and engineering, where ideas and practices from one field catalyse progress in another.

Our team reflects this diversity of thought. Comprising physicists, chemists, biologists, mathematicians, and engineers, we work in a truly multidisciplinary environment with different disciplinary lenses. This coexistence fosters creative collisions that expand our understanding of complex phenomena.

More than just coexistence, we pursue an interdisciplinary integration of methods and knowledge. Our collaborations synthesise new experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches, allowing us to interpret and model system behaviours across scales, linking the microscopic and the macroscopic, the static and the dynamic, the deterministic and the stochastic.

Ultimately, our work aspires to a transdisciplinary ethos, transcending established boundaries to develop new conceptual frameworks and experimental paradigms. We seek not only to solve long-standing problems, but also to redefine how such problems are formulated in the first place. Our inquiries are driven by questions that often emerge outside the scope of individual disciplines, requiring holistic approaches and novel thinking.

Our work is made possible by the generous support of leading funding bodies. We are grateful to the European Research Council (ERC), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu (TÜBİTAK), the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (MKW), and the L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science Awards for their trust in our vision. Their support has been vital in advancing our research, fostering innovation, and sustaining scientific excellence.