Sophie Hermann

Sophie Hermann

Postdoctoral Researcher

University of Vienna

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the SoMeX since August 2026, working with Roberto. My research interests lie in the are of soft matter and statistical physics, with a focus on statistical mechanics. As a theoretical physicist, I particularly enjoy analytical calculations and deriving exact identities as well as working on the experimental validation of my theoretical predictions.

I completed my PhD under the supervision of Matthias Schmidt at the University of Bayreuth, where my thesis explored the consequences of symmetries in statistical mechanics, inspired by Noether’s theorem. I derived and studied exact sum rules for thermal and active many-body systems. After my PhD, I continued working at University of Bayreuth as a postdoctoral researcher, investigating force correlations in bulk fluids and the phase behavior of active Brownian particles, the latter using power functional theory.

As a Marie Curie fellow in Paris, I collaborated with Sophie Marbach to quantify dynamic properties, such as diffusion coefficients, from intensity correlations. This led to the development of the intensity countoscope, where I derived theoretical predictions for the correlators and analyzed the corresponding microscope data.

In the SoMeX lab, I am currently exploring the similarities and differences between Differential Dynamic Microscopy (DDM) and the (intensity) countoscope. As a theoretical physicist in an experimental group, I aim to connect theoretical predictions with experimental measurements.

Interests
  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Active Matter
  • Statistical physics
  • Force correlations
Education
  • PhD in Physics, 2022

    University of Bayreuth (Germany)

  • M.Sc. in Physics, 2019

    University of Bayreuth (Germany)

  • B.Sc. in Physics (2017), 2017

    University of Bayreuth (Germany)

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