We are especially interested in phenomena that occur when fluid dynamics is combined with other fields, e.g. to physicochemical hydrodynamics. Such situations naturally evolve at fluidic interfaces, for example when a liquid is in contact with an elastic wall or with microscopic surface features. At such small scales, effects like surface chemistry or surface charges typically have a large effect on the fluid behavior and can ultimately determine the macroscopic flow. These phenomena have the potential to significantly enhance practical applications, like to reduce drag or to increase the efficiency of steps in process engineering. Our aim is to understand the principles of these phenomena in order to optimize existing applications or to develop new methods.

Experimentally, we also employ and develop microscopy techniques for the investigation of near-surface phenomena, such as confocal microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and others.