Theory of Complex Systems and Neurophysics

BCCN

Professor
Benjamin Lindner

Benjamin Lindner
My interests lie in applications of methods from nonlinear dynamics, stochastic processes, and information theory to complex systems, in particular in neuroscience and cell biology. I focus on developing analytical frameworks for these problems, which does not exclude occasional (mostly happy) encounters with experimental data and serious attempts to understand them in theoretical terms.

030-2093-82492 or 030-2093-7934 | benjamin.lindner(at)physik.hu-berlin.de | Homepage

Secretary's Office

Nikola Schrenk

Nikola Schrenk
I joined the Theory of Complex Systems Group in 2011 and have been working in their Secretary's Office ever since, taking care of a wide variety of tasks. My background is in English and French Philology focusing on Cognitive Linguistics during my Master's. On the side, I have established my own Interior Design studio "spheriors" and have been working in this industry for a couple of years now.

030-2093-82490 or 030-2093-7896 | nikola.schrenk(at)bccn-berlin.de

Research Assistant
Michael Zaks

Michael Zaks
I am interested in collective dynamics in ensembles of coupled systems that model physical and biological effects, like onset and breakdown of synchronous oscillations, symmetry breaking and mechanisms of clustering. Starting from simplified models and proceeding to more realistic ones, I apply methods of nonlinear dynamics to study the effects of coupling patterns, heterogeneity and system size upon transitions between different types of behavior.

030-2093-7608 | zaks(at)physik.hu-berlin.de

PhD Students
Gregory Knoll

Gregory Knoll
Feedback alters a network's unperturbed activity and tunes its spectral statistics. Using networks of spiking neurons with recurrent inhibition, I aim to better understand how the properties of the feedback are reflected in their response distributions, whether synchrony is achieved and more information is transmitted as a result, and how this pertains to the electroreceptor circuits of the weakly electric fish.

030-2093-82498 | gregory.knoll(at)bccn-berlin.de

Lukas Ramlow

Lukas Ramlow
My research is dedicated to stochastic models of calcium spiking with special emphasis on cumulative refractoriness of the pulse generation.

030-2093-82499 | lukas.ramlow(at)bccn-berlin.de

Maria Schlungbaum

Maria Schlungbaum
In my PhD thesis I study the signal detection in sensory neurons which are subject to two competing periodic signals of distinct frequencies and amplitudes. This kind of problem arises if we want to understand how several weakly electric fish communicate in natural situations, e.g. during courtship behavior (one female and two competing male fish). In collaboration with the experimental lab of Jan Benda in Tübingen, I would like to understand how this cocktail-party problem is solved by the electro-sensory system of this species.

030-2093-82494 | maria.schlungbaum(at)bccn-berlin.de

Master Students

Simon Zoller

Simon Zoller
TBA

Bachelor Students

Guests
Yagmur Kati

Yagmur Kati
Jonas Ranft

Jonas Ranft
Meng Su

Meng Su

Alumni

Caroline Berlage
Davide Bernardi
Rinaldo Betkiewicz
Sven Blankenburg
Ian Clotworthy
Jens Doose
Felix Droste
Christoph Egerland
Leonidas Eleftheriou
Kirsten Engbring
George Farah
Jannik Franzen
Florian Fruth
Finn Müller-Hansen
Jordi Giner-Baldó

Nils Erik Greven
Konstantin Holzhausen
Richard Kullmann
Alexandra Kruscha
Jan Müggenburg
Tilo Schwalger
Lie June Shiau
Ludger Starke
Peter Thomas
Alexander van Meegen
Sebastian Vellmer
Sergej Voronenko
Günther Waldner
Stefan Wieland
Lucian Willareth