Kerem Bozkurt and co-authors are awarded the Publication Prize 2025 of Faculty 2

Congratulations to Kerem Bozkurt and his colleagues! They received the Publication Prize 2025 of Faculty 2 of the University of Stuttgart for their outstanding publication

Intermittent flow paths in biofilms grown in a microfluidic channel

published in the journal Advances in Water Resources. The publication award is endowed with 2,500 € and is awarded regardless of career stage. The ceremony took place in the framework of the Day of Research of the University of Stuttgart on 1 July 2026. 

Authors

• Kerem Bozkurt (University Stuttgart, LH2)
• Christoph Lohrmann (University Stuttgart, ICP)
• Felix Weinhardt (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig)
• Daniel Hanke (Alumni, University of Stuttgart)
• Raphael Hopp (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig)
• Robin Gerlach (Montana State University)
• Christian Holm (University of Stuttgart, ICP)
• Holger Class (University of Stuttgart, LH2)

Abstract

Biofilms exposed to flow experience shear stress, which leads to a competitive interaction between the growth and development of a biofilm and shearing. In this study, Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilm was grown in a microfluidic channel and exposed to forced flow of an aqueous solution of variable velocity. It can be observed that under certain conditions preferential flow paths form with a dynamic, but quasi-steady state interaction of growth, detachment, and re-attachment. We find that the regimes for preferential flow path development are determined by nutrient availability and the ratio of shear stress versus the biofilm’s ability to resist shear forces. The intermittent regime of flow paths is mainly driven by the supply with nutrients, which we confirm by comparison with a numerical model based on coarse-grained molecular dynamics and Lattice Boltzmann hydrodynamics.