Members introduce themselves

With projects such as ClimLaw at the University of Graz and the AG KlimaSchutzRecht within CCCA, Eva Schulev-Steindl has played a pivotal role in advancing the synthesis of climate and legal issues in Austria. The current rector of BOKU University sees a shared language as a fundamental prerequisite for good interdisciplinary science and emphasises the need for new channels through which climate science can share its messages with the public. Her answers to further interesting questions can be found in the member introduction!

Since 1 January 2023, the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) and the Geological Survey of Austria (GBA) have been combining their expertise in the newly established GeoSphere Austria, Austria's Federal Institute for Geology, Geophysics, Meteorology and Climatology, which has been led since July 2023 by Dr Andreas Schaffhauser as Scientific Director General. He tells us about the biggest challenges of his diverse work and the most important levers for the next 5 years in the fight against the climate crisis in this interview!

The University of Graz, as a comprehensive university, sees itself as an international education and research institution with a mandate for socially relevant and socially beneficial research and teaching. Holger Hoff, Transdisciplinary Interface Manager in the subject area of Climate, Environment and Sustainability, Transdisciplinarity at the Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, takes on the questions from our colleague Laurenz Roither for the member introduction, shares insights into his field of work, and explains what good collaboration looks like to him in the shared fight against climate change. Read the interview here!

Why a systemic transformation is necessary and why climate communication plays one of the most important roles in this process — that's what Keywan Riahi, Director of the Energy, Climate and Environment (ECE) Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, IIASA, tells us about. His areas of expertise include energy, climate protection/mitigation, modelling and interfaces. Find out more about his work and views in the interview!

In a fascinating interview, Holger Ott, Chair of Reservoir Engineering and Head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at the Montanuniversität Leoben, tells us what fossil fuels can contribute to climate protection and what he considers to be the biggest challenges of the coming years.

The Vice-Rector for Research and Sustainability at PLUS, Nicola Hüsing, shares insights into the sustainability strategy for PLUS and how her particular field within chemistry — the production of new materials through sustainable synthesis routes — can be applied, for example, to the storage or saving of energy. Alongside CCCA's strong network, membership of the Alliance of Sustainable Universities in Austria also plays a significant role for her. Read about her thoughts on the biggest challenges in the member introduction!

Mariette Vreugdenhil is a Senior Scientist at the Vienna University of Technology and an expert in the field of remote sensing — a research area from which many exciting new findings and applications have emerged in recent years, including from Austria. Her research focuses on very specific processes within the climate system that nonetheless have direct and far-reaching impacts on human systems at both local and global levels. Mariette Vreugdenhil reveals, amongst other things, how inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration can be improved in the CCCA member introduction!

The University of Vienna aims to become climate-neutral by 2030. To this end, a sustainability strategy, a roadmap, a sustainability advisory board, and further structures have been established, which fall under the remit of Sustainability Coordinator Julia Gram. Find out what brings her the most joy in this broad working environment and where she personally sees the greatest opportunities in the fight against climate change in the interview for the CCCA member introduction!

Since 1 October 2021, Gabriel Felbermayr, a university professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), has been Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, WIFO. His research focuses on international trade theory and policy, labour market research, European economic integration, and environmental economics. Read his responses to questions about the bridging role between economic research and its policy application, as well as the societal mechanisms needed for a sustainable future, in the CCCA member introduction!