Robijn F. Bruinsma

Robijn F. Bruinsma is a Full Professor of Physics at the University of California and holds the chair of Theoretical Physics for the Life Sciences at Leiden University. He is a Hans Fischer Senior Fellow at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Institute for Advanced Study (since 2010), hosted by Prof. Andreas Bausch. His research focuses on applying theoretical physics and numerical modeling to molecular biology, biophysics, and virology.

Education: BSc (Vrije University Amsterdam, 1974), MSc (Rijks University Utrecht, 1976), PhD (University of Southern California, 1976). Career highlights include postdoctoral roles at Harvard University and Brookhaven National Laboratory, as well as visiting positions at IBM Research and ESPCI Paris.

Research Interests: Biophysics of viral assembly, membrane proteins, neuronal networks, and statistical mechanics of biological systems. His work bridges physics and life sciences, with notable contributions to understanding capsid formation, protein interactions, and cellular dynamics.

Awards:

• 2001: Fellow of the American Physical Society
• 1999: Distinguished Lecturer, Collège de France
• 1996: Rothschild Foundation Fellowship
• 1994: Pierre et Marie Curie Visiting Professorship

Current Activities: Leads the Focus Group on Biophysics at TUM-IAS, collaborating on projects like polymer network phase diagrams and macromolecular aggregate elasticity. His TUM-IAS-funded research includes studies on semi-flexible polymers and colloidal crystal transitions.