Simulating Biological Systems Group
Vision & Mission SimBioSys
What do we do? Physics-based simulations and sensing of transport processes in plant-based food systems and the human body
Why we do this? To reduce food loss in postharvest supply chains, individualize drug delivery systems, and design sustainable drying processes by understanding and steering these systems in-silico
How do we do this?
- Pioneering mechanistic modeling at multiple scales
- Bridging the virtual to the real world by multi-parameter sensing
- Creating digital twins that can live together with their real-world counterpart
Who are we? An interdisciplinary team of mechanical, biomedical and agricultural engineers, food scientists and environmental scientists.
Where are we at Empa? We are part of the Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles in Empa's Research Focal Area Health and Performance
Teaching & Outreach
- Course @ ETH Zurich on Simulations and Sensors in Agri-Food Supply Chains (full course, MSc, 3 ECTS credits)
- Coordinating Empa's Multiphysics Hub
Sustainable development goals
Group Leader SimBioSys
thijs.defraeye@empa.ch
+41 58 765 4790
A new PhD position on Physics-inspired machine learning for plant-based food supply chains
We are an awardee of the data.org Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge
Press release. Digital twins for cucumber
Defraeye T., Bahrami F., Ding L., Malini R.I., Terrier A., Rossi R.M. (2020), Predicting transdermal fentanyl delivery using mechanistic simulations for tailored therapy, Frontiers in Pharmacology (11) 585393. DOI preprint on bioRxiv.
Schudel S., Prawiranto K., Defraeye T. (2021), Comparison of freezing and convective dehydrofreezing of vegetables for reducing cell damage, Journal of Food Engineering 293, 110376. DOI
Iranshahi K., Martynenko A., Defraeye T. (2020), Cutting-down the energy consumption of electrohydrodynamic drying by optimizing mesh collector electrode, Energy, 118168. DOI