In the “Science in Motion” series, scilog opens a window to the many-faceted world of basic research. Internationally renowned researchers from Austria’s world of science report on current projects, insights and questions relating to their disciplines.
Michael Wagner’s interest and expertise lies in the study of microorganisms at the places where they actually occur. He is specifically concerned with nitrifiers and their impact on the environment. These microorganisms play an important part in the Earth’s nitrogen cycle. Wagner, the 2019 winner of FWF’s Wittgenstein Award, has also provided his expertise to […] Watch video “Understanding how life works”
Even as a small child Christiana Köhler liked digging in the sand, and she is still doing it. For many years this archaeologist has been conducting research in Helwan, a town south of Cairo, where a huge ancient necropolis was uncovered. The findings made there provide evidence of the first territorial state in world history. […] Watch video “The world’s first territorial state”
“For us, the ants have never lost their fascination,” says Birgit Schlick-Steiner, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Innsbruck. Together with her husband Florian Steiner she has been studying these animals and their extraordinarily cooperative behaviour for years. She has also observed how invasive species are increasingly crowding out the native fauna. Despite their […] Watch video “Ant migration”
From an early age, Gina Moseley was intrigued by caves and she has been climbing in them since the age of 13. At the moment, UK-born Moseley is conducting research at the University of Innsbruck, where she explores the climate history of the Arctic on the basis of deposits in caves – with funding by […] Watch video ““We need to understand climate change””
Virologist Christoph Steininger is exploring all aspects of viruses as well as the mechanisms that lead to the outbreak of a disease. This climbing enthusiast was able to use his expertise on how viruses work in the coronavirus pandemic. He made a significant contribution to the development of tests and launched a PCR self-test that […] Watch video ““Nothing in life is risk-free””
More than we realise, our everyday lives depend on complex IT systems. Hospitals, parliaments or companies depend on them. With the support of the FWF, the computer scientist Ruth Breu is working to make such IT landscapes secure and manageable. For this purpose, the native Bavarian develops living models which – not unlike urban planning […] Watch video “The IT landscape planner”
The sun is the oldest deity worshipped by humans for good reason. “It is the best and cleanest source of energy we know,” says physicist Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci. For the last 30 years, Sariciftci has been working on the question of how solar energy can be used in an efficient and eco-friendly way. In his […] Watch video “Organic solar cells for a better future”
The Croatian-Australian historian Dean Vuletic conducts research at the University of Vienna’s Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET). In recent years, Vuletic has been digging through countless Eurovision Song Contests (ESC), songs, files, papers and anecdotes in order to assess the importance of the ESC for Europe’s post-war history. In his FWF-funded project, […] Watch video “Post-war Europe as reflected by the ESC”
According to estimates, the universe contains several 100 billion stars and, thus, many planetary systems. With the support of the FWF, astrophysicist Manuel Güdel is exploring on which of these life would be possible. Güdel’s interest in astronomy was first awakened by the mission Apollo 11, the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. […] Watch video ““We are living on a fragile surface””
Artist, diplomat or researcher? Alice Vadrot considers her chosen career path – research – to be the “best of all worlds”. At the University of Vienna, the research interests of this political scientist and former FWF Schrödinger fellow include worldwide policy considerations on the protection of biodiversity, as well as the difficult question: who owns […] Watch video “The best of all worlds”