In the Interview & Opinion column, renowned scientists and researchers talk about developments and perspectives in the world of science. They reflect on regional and European science policy as well as the support of talents and the importance of innovation in a highly competitive international environment.
In computer simulations of components of the coronavirus, an international team including the physicist Mateusz Sikora found its surface proteins to be unexpectedly flexible. The impressive 3D reconstructions are the first to show detailed information about the virus surface. This has an impact on current vaccine development, as Sikora explains in this interview. Continue reading “The surprising properties of the coronavirus envelope”
Tan Eng Chye, President of the National University of Singapore (NUS), considers finding the right balance between basic and applied research a constant struggle. For the mathematician, who graduated from Yale University in the US, the Covid-19 crisis is an opportunity for universities to demonstrate how valuable they are for their country. Continue reading ““Excellence and relevance are not mutually exclusive””
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”
Behavioural researcher and START Award winner Alice Auersperg investigates the behaviour and ecology of the Goffin’s cockatoo on the Indonesian Moluccas and compares the bird with close relatives. Exhibiting flexibility and dexterity in using tools similar to higher primates, this bird could corroborate theories that were established for the point when humans (and great apes) […] Continue reading “Why does the Goffin’s cockatoo use a hook?”
Robert Ganian wants to modify a well-proven theoretical computer science toolkit so it can be used for the booming field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. In order to extend the so-called parameterised complexity theory to this rapidly growing area of application, he needs to bring together expertise from various fields. At the end of […] Continue reading “Upgrading the toolkit for AI problems”
In her project “Poetry off the page”, the English studies scholar and START Award winner Julia Lajta-Novak examines the significance of poetry performance for recent British literary history, focusing on the potential of oral delivery and on performative genres such as poetry slam. Continue reading “The poetry of the spoken word”
Physics, computer science, artificial intelligence: science knows many systems able to produce surprising complexity on the basis of just a few rules. The theoretical physicist and START Award winner Gemma De las Cuevas wants to get to the bottom of this ability by comparing concepts from different scientific fields that demonstrate this complexity – and […] Continue reading “The surprising simplicity of complexity”