Michael Bonitz

Michael Bonitz (born 9 July 1960) is a German theoretical physicist and professor, holding the Chair of Statistical Physics at Kiel University's Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics.

He is known for advancing nonequilibrium quantum many‑body theory, most notably the nonequilibrium Green's function approach and path integral Monte Carlo methods. Among his research topics are strongly coupled classical systems, such as complex plasmas, strongly coupled quantum systems, including Wigner crystals and warm dense matter, as well as laser excitation of atoms, solids, and two-dimensional nanomaterials.

For his research results he received the Gustav Hertz Prize of the German Physical Society (2002) and the John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research of the American Physical Society (2021).

Education and academic career Michael Bonitz studied physics at M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University from 1981 to 1987, earning a Diploma with distinction under Yuri L. Klimontovich. He then moved to the University of Rostock, where he obtained his doctoral degree in theoretical physics in 1991 under Dietrich Kremp.

Since 2003 Bonitz has been professor and Chair of Statistical Physics at the Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Kiel University.

Research According to his public Google Scholar profile, Michael Bonitz's publications have been cited more than 17 000 times, giving him an h‑index of 72 as of June 2025.

Quantum kinetic theory Bonitz co‑developed the real‑time Kadanoff–Baym approach for correlated quantum systems out of equilibrium, including the electron gas, electron-hole plasmas, and dense quantum plasmas, a method that laid the groundwork for modern simulations of plasma oscillations in correlated systems and ultrafast dynamics following laser excitation or potential quenches. More recently, his group introduced a linear‑scaling algorithm — the G1-G2 scheme — that extends nonequilibrium Green's functions calculations to systems with thousands of orbitals and long simulation times.

Warm dense matter and the uniform electron gas To avoid the fermion sign problem in path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations of high density electrons, Bonitz and collaborators developed the configurational PIMC (CPIMC), which is the PIMC in Slater determinant space. By combining CPIMC and real-space PIMC, Bonitz and collaborators produced the first ab initio thermodynamic tables for the warm dense electron gas. The methodology underpins simulations of dense hydrogen and other high‑energy‑density systems, and was cited by the American Physical Society in awarding him the 2021 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research. and subsequent prediction of crystallization in two‑component Coulomb plasmas helped to understand the physical mechanisms of the phase transition and establish the critical parameters. His subsequent work on finite complex plasmas (Coulomb and Yukawa balls) helped establish complex plasmas as tunable laboratories for many‑body physics, a perspective summarised in his 2010 Reports on Progress in Physics article.

Service and outreach Conferences and scientific committees Since 1999 Bonitz has organized or co-organized a dozen international meetings, including the Progress in Nonequilibrium Green Functions series (Rostock 1999, Dresden 2002, Kiel 2005, Glasgow 2009, Jyväskylä 2012, Lund 2015, Frascati 2018, Örebro 2023), the Kinetic Theory of Non-Ideal Plasmas workshop (Kiel 2004), and the 2017 Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems conference in Kiel. He chaired program committees for the ongoing conference series Physics of Non-Ideal Plasmas and Progress in Nonequilibrium Green Functions, and served as chair of the executive committee of the Strongly Coupled Coulomb Systems series.

Editorial work and peer review Bonitz was editor-in-chief of the journal Contributions to Plasma Physics from 2014 to 2023, and since 2016 has edited the Springer book series Plasma Science and Technology. In 2023 he launched a digital Max Planck museum as an interactive online resource. To deepen public engagement, Bonitz and historian Oliver Auge founded the book series Kieler Beiträge zu Max Planck in 2024 and the first two volumes appeared that year. Bonitz and co-workers explore the historic Planck estate and work on its digitization, making it publicly freely accessible.

Science advocacy

In 2017 Bonitz organized the opening of the international March for Science in Kiel, an event to highlight academic freedom and the societal value of science. that was repeated in 2018 and 2019. Since then he regularly organizes a lecture series "Science and Alternative Facts," which invites scholars to discuss controversial topics of broad interest with a general audience. By 2025 the series had hosted more than 60 talks and produced nearly 50 videos.

Science outreach for children

Bonitz has offered computer experiments for female high school students to introduce them to quantum physics as part of the Physik Projekt Tage at Kiel University. He is also an author of science-based science fiction novels for children published with ifub-Verlag.

Honours 2002 – Gustav Hertz Prize of the German Physical Society, for his work on correlation effects in plasmas, optically excited semiconductors and low-dimensional systems. 2012 – Honorary doctorate (Doctor honoris causa) of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Bonitz refrained from holding the title in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 2021 – John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research of the American Physical Society, for "developing Monte Carlo methods that overcome the fermion sign problem." 1st edition, Teubner, Stuttgart, 1998. K. Balzer and M. Bonitz, "Nonequilibrium Green's Functions Approach to Inhomogeneous Systems", Lecture Notes in Physics, Springer, Heidelberg, 2013. M. Bonitz, N. Horing, and P. Ludwig (Eds.), "Introduction to Complex Plasmas", Springer Series "Atomic, Optical and Plasma Physics", Springer, Berlin, 2010. M. Bonitz and D. Semkat (Eds.), "Introduction to Computational Methods in Many-Body Physics", Rinton Press, Princeton, 2006. M. Bonitz, J. Lopez, K. Becker, and H. Thomsen (Eds.), "Complex Plasmas: Scientific Challenges and Technological Opportunities", Springer Series "Atomic, Optical and Plasma Physics", Springer, 2014.