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.
Microbiologist Christa Schleper has dedicated her research career to archaea – the tiny unicellular organisms that counted among the first life forms on Earth. Not only has the 2022 Wittgenstein Award winner discovered numerous of these microorganisms, but she also pioneered in cultivating them in the laboratory. In addition to evolution, archaea also have an […] Watch video “Pioneer in archaea research”
As a result of climate change, extreme weather conditions such as droughts will occur more frequently in the future. The ecologist Michael Bahn has been conducting field experiments in the alpine region for many years to measure the response of soils and plants to these changing conditions. By simulating scenarios that may soon become reality, […] Watch video “Scenarios for the climate of the future”
It’s hard to overlook Monika Henzinger’s enthusiasm for her subject. The computer scientist has had a remarkable international career, including working in the private sector as director of research at Google. Back in academia, she moved from Switzerland to Vienna in 2009. Henzinger is involved in the development and analysis of algorithms, and has most […] Watch video “Changing the world with computer science”
Archaeologist Barbara Horejs explores the history of civilization. Her research centers on the Neolithic period, a formative era about 10,000 years ago when humans became sedentary. In her project, Horejs discovered one of the oldest sites in Turkey where pioneers from the east settled permanently, much earlier than previously thought. It is from there that […] Watch video “Civilization came in the wake of migration”
“There is no other animal about which humanity is so divided,” says Friederike Range in talking about wolves. The behavioural and cognitive researcher is investigating the nature of the wolf and its domesticated descendant, the dog. Range is a co-founder of the world-renowned Wolf Science Centre (WSC) in the Lower Austrian Ernstbrunn, where her work […] Watch video “Eye to eye with wolves”
She almost became a pianist. But when the young Jutta Horejs-Höck was unexpectedly accepted into the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, she realised: “This is not where I belong.” She chose medicine instead, and today she is a renowned immunologist. Horejs-Höck is working to discover how exactly immune system cells communicate with each other. Knowing this […] Watch video ““Our immune systeme does an incredible job””
Otmar Scherzer works between the poles of research and application. This applied mathematician pursues the goal of making things visible that we are unable to detect today, such as certain tumours. For this purpose he works on improving mathematical models for X-ray and ultrasound technologies. In mathematics, important discoveries are usually the result of spending […] Watch video “The maths detective”
Smart phones, sat navs, computers. We are surrounded by technology and want the devices to be as small, safe and efficient as possible. Such progress has been made possible by insights gained from physics. The physicist Alberta Bonanni also contributes to these developments. With the support of the FWF she is researching new quantum materials […] Watch video “The physics of everyday life”
What if? Using an innovative approach, the artist and researcher Ebru Kurbak traces the history of technology. Why was one thing invented while another thing was not? Where in this historiography do we find women’s knowledge and skills? At the interface of art and scholarly research, Kurbak unearths lost opportunities of the past in this […] Watch video “The museum of lost technology”
Adrian Constantin conducts research into natural phenomena such as waves and currents. Aspects he explores include the origina of tsunamis or the strength of the polar current. The mathematician succeeded in developing computational methods that include aspects of geophysical relevance previously not accounted for. This makes it easier to explain complex weather and climate changes. […] Watch video “Calculating the origin of the wave”