Prof. Etienne Fodor
Department of Physics and Materials Science (DPhyMS), University of Luxembourg
Profile
ACADEMIC HOST
Dr. Markovich Tomer
School of Mechanical Engineering
IAS Outstanding Junior Fellow
Academic Year 2026/2027
Education
- Ph.D. in Physics, University Paris Diderot, France (2016, summa cum laude)
- M.Sc. in Physics, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France (2013)
- Agrégation de Physique, ENS Cachan, France (2012)
- B.Sc./M.Sc. (1st year) in Physics, ENS Lyon, France (2009–2011)
Professional Experience
- Associate Professor, DPhyMS, University of Luxembourg (2025–present)
- Assistant Professor, DPhyMS, University of Luxembourg (2020–2025)
- Oppenheimer Research Fellow, DAMTP, University of Cambridge, UK (2017–2020)
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, DAMTP, University of Cambridge, UK (2016–2017)
Research, Supervision, and Teaching
- Supervises 8 postdocs, 6 PhDs, and multiple master’s students (2020–present)
- Teaches master’s courses in Physics at University of Luxembourg and University of Liège
- Extensive mentoring experience at Cambridge, Luxembourg, and Paris
Awards and Fellowships
- ATTRACT Fellowship, FNR Luxembourg (2020–2025)
- Oppenheimer Research Fellowship, University of Cambridge (2017–2020)
- PhD Prize, Institut des Systèmes Complexes, Paris (2017)
- Best Talk Prizes, SIAM-IMA Annual Conference, Cambridge (2017), Active Liquids, Lorentz Center, Leiden (2015)
Research Interests
- Physics of Active Matter
- Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics
- Collective motion and dissipative processes in biological and synthetic systems
- Thermodynamics of active field theories and stochastic systems
Faculty
Engineering
Framework of visit
IAS Outstanding Junior FellowsMethodology
Current YearSelected Publications
- Biased ensembles of pulsating active matter, W.D. Piñeros & EF, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 038301 (2025) | Editors’ suggestion
- Contraction waves in pulsating active liquids: From pacemaker to aster dynamics, T. Banerjee, T. Desaleux, J. Ranft, & EF, arXiv:2509.19024
- Irreversibility in scalar active turbulence: The role of topological defects, B.N. Radhakrishnan, F. Serafin, T.L. Schmidt, & EF, arXiv:2507.06073
- Active matter under control: Insights from response theory, L.K. Davis, K. Proesmans, & EF, Phys. Rev. X 14, 011012 (2024) | Highlight in Physics 17, 20 (2024)
- Thermodynamic control of activity patterns in cytoskeletal networks, A. Lamtyugina, Y. Qiu, EF, A.R. Dinner, & S. Vaikuntanathan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 128002 (2022)
- Irreversibility and biased ensembles in active matter: Insights from stochastic thermodynamics, EF, R.L. Jack, & M.E. Cates, Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys. 13, 215 (2022)
- Entropy production in field theories without time-reversal symmetry: Quantifying the non-equilibrium character of active matter, C. Nardini, EF, E. Tjhung, F. van Wijland, J. Tailleur, & M.E. Cates, Phys. Rev. X 7, 021007 (2017)
