Profile
Rainer spent several years as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the USA, Hungary, Belgium and Germany before moving to Queen Mary University of London in 2004 as a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics. His research combines dynamical systems theory, nonequilibrium statistical physics and stochastic theory to understand complex systems, with applications to nanoscience and biology. He is interested in the emergence of fractal structures in chaotic transport processes such as diffusion. More recently he started to apply the theory of anomalous stochastic processes to understand the foraging of biological organisms. Examples are stochastic models of biological cell migration and bumblebee flights. His research in theoretical physics and applied mathematics thus stretches from mathematical foundations to experimental applications. For three years he was Director of Postgraduate Research Studies at the School of Mathematical Sciences. He is often teaching large first-year courses like Calculus. In 2019 he was on research leave at the Technical University of Berlin as a Mercator Visiting Professor.
Teaching
Essential Mathematical Skills (foundation year)
Undergraduate Teaching
Calculus 2, Calculus 1, Introduction to Analysis with Calculus, Differential Equations, Quantum Theory
Postgraduate Teaching
Introduction to Dynamical Systems (MSc), Applied Dynamical Systems (PhD)
Research
Research Interests:
See Rainer Klages' research profile pages including details of research interests, publications, and live grants.
Examples of research funding:
Office of Naval Research Global, Mercator Foundation, London Mathematical Laboratory, Max Planck Society, EPSRC, German Research Foundation, German Academic Exchange Service
Publications
Selected publications:
M.Giona, A.Cairoli, R.Klages, Extended Poisson-Kac theory: A unifying framework for stochastic processes with finite propagation velocity, Phys. Rev. X 12, 021004/1--24 (2022)
Y.Sato, R.Klages, Anomalous diffusion in random dynamical systems, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 174101/1--6 (2019)
R.Klages, S.S.G.Gallegos, M.Sarvilahti, J.Solanpaa, E.Rasanen, Normal and anomalous diffusion in soft Lorentz gases, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 064102/1--5 (2019)
A. Cairoli, R. Klages, A. Baule, Weak Galilean invariance as a selection principle for coarse-grained diffusive models, PNAS 115, 5714-–5719 (2018)
F.Lenz, T.Ings, A.V.Chechkin, L.Chittka, R.Klages, Spatio-temporal dynamics of bumblebees foraging under predation risk, Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 098103/1--5 (2012)
R. Klages, G.Radons, I.M.Sokolov (Eds.), Anomalous transport (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, July 2008), 584 pages
P.Dieterich, R.Klages, R.Preuss, A.Schwab, Anomalous dynamics of cell migration, PNAS 105, 459--463 (2008)
R.Klages, Microscopic Chaos, Fractals and Transport in Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics, monograph, Advanced Series in Nonlinear Dynamics Vol.24 (World Scientific, Singapore, June 2007), 456 pages
R.Klages, J.R.Dorfman, Simple maps with fractal diffusion coefficients, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 387-390 (1995)
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Klages R (2025). Bewegung aus Unordnung Physik Journal .
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Nava-Sedeno JM, Hatzikirou H, Klages R et al. (2025). Individual particle persistence antagonizes global ordering in populations of
nematically-aligning self-propelled particles Physical review E: Statistical, nonlinear, biological, and soft matter physics .
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Brevitt S, Schulz A, Pegler D et al. (2025). Singularity of Lévy walks in the lifted Pomeau–Manneville map Chaos An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science .
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Toivonen E, Kaipainen J, Molkkari M et al. (2025). Anomalous diffusion in the square soft Lorentz gas Physical review E: Statistical, nonlinear, biological, and soft matter physics .
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Klages R (2024). Toward a Second Law for Living Systems Physics .
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Brevitt S, Klages R (2024). Generalised Lyapunov stretching in a weakly chaotic open dynamical system Journal of Physics Conference Series .
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Watkins N, Calel R, Chapman S et al. (2024). The Challenge of Non-Markovian Energy Balance Models in Climate Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science .
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Klages R (2024). Cell migration: Beyond Brownian motion Biophysical Journal .
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Klages R, Yan J, Beck C et al. (2024). Transition to anomalous dynamics in a simple random map Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science .
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Watkins NW, Calel R, Chapman S et al. . Progess in non-Markovian (and Fractional) StochasticClimate Modelling: A GLE-based perspective .
View Profile Publication Page Supervision
5 postdocs, 7 PhD students, 17 masters students
