Migratory birds flying south provide an impressive example of cooperative behaviour that saves power and energy. In the past it was impossible for scientists to study this phenomenon in a natural environment. Researchers who guided young Northern Bald Ibises to their wintering grounds have now succeeded for the first time in obtaining a comprehensive data […] Continue reading “No survival without teamwork”
In the context of an international research project and with funding from the Austrian Science Fund FWF, a research group from Vienna investigated how aerial images taken with thermal imaging cameras can improve our understanding of water flows in the ground. Their analyses are relevant to both agriculture and climate research. Continue reading “Everything flows – but where to?”
An interdisciplinary team of young researchers is investigating how large amounts of data can be used to simulate economic problems and sustainability issues. The project is being funded under a new programme of the Austrian Science Fund FWF. Continue reading “Shining a light into the data jungle”
In the context of an international collaborative project, space researcher Günter Kargl is conducting laboratory experiments in order to better understand the composition and behaviour of comets. One goal is the development of global standards for comet research. Continue reading “Bringing the cradle of the solar system to the laboratory”
Volatile organic hydrocarbons from road traffic, agriculture, refrigerants and solvents can turn into particles which lead to cloud formation. In Finland, Lukas Pichelstorfer is working on simulation models in order to understand how gases released by human activities react in the atmosphere and how this affects climate and air quality. Continue reading “Calculating a gap in atmospheric chemistry”
In politically sensitive regions of the West Balkans, the mineralogist and crystallographer Tamara Đorđević investigates mining waste contaminated with arsenic and other toxins. In order to understand how these ticking time bombs affect the environment, she examines their crystal structure with cross-disciplinary expertise from crystallography and chemistry. Continue reading “New materials discovered in toxic mining waste”
Wittgenstein Award winner Adrian Constantin is fascinated by the multifarious patterns of movement in the atmosphere and oceans of the Earth. Using the tools of his field of expertise, mathematician Constantin, who conducts research and teaches at the University of Vienna, wants to get to the bottom of these phenomena, which depend on innumerable factors. Continue reading “Understanding the Earth’s system of waves and currents”
Optical data processing, quantum information and intelligent buildings are areas of application for Elisa Davoli’s research. The mathematician and recipient of a 2020 START prize develops theories for modelling composite materials with the ability to adapt to their environment. Continue reading “Smart materials for the next generation”
The physicist and START Prize winner Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt has developed a way of generating UV light with special properties using ultrashort laser pulses. She hopes to use this to investigate the behaviour of trace gases in the atmosphere in greater detail. Continue reading “UV light to help in understanding climate change”
The START Award winner and materials scientist Aleksandar Matkovic is looking for materials of a single atomic layer in thickness, an aspect that gives them extraordinary magnetic properties and makes them suitable for new electronic applications. Talc seems to be a particularly promising candidate. Continue reading “A rare crystal as an ultrathin magnet”