news 2023

On the path to a circular economy, Judith Deriu is developing natural color pigments from plants and uses them to make sustainable printing inks for industry in the laboratory at the Research Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics in Dornbirn. Natural dyes have been used by humans for centuries.

At Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in 2023, important discoveries were made, new insights gained and exciting information gleaned. An end-of-year review. TU Graz in Space In 2013, the small satellite TUGSAT-1 was Austria's first satellite in space. It was built at TU Graz and has been observing the earth from low earth orbit ever since.

Converting the climate-damaging CO2 into usable substances could offer an important approach to tackling the climate crisis. Promising methods have already been developed at the Johannes Kepler University Linz. A new discovery now brings industrial use within reach. Using special catalysts, Assoc. Prof. Wolfgang Schöfberger (JKU Institute of Organic Chemistry) developed a method years ago on a laboratory scale to convert CO2 into industrial alcohol.

"Chemistry is when it smokes and stinks" is an old saying. But green chemistry shows that things can be done differently . Green chemistry has been firmly established in research at TU Wien for more than a decade. With the inter-university Master's in Green Chemistry, it is now also gaining visibility in teaching.

Pleasant to wear, extremely unpleasant to recycle: elastane makes it difficult to reuse textiles. A solution has been found at TU Wien. Clothing is far too valuable to simply dispose of and burn. Starting in 2025, used textiles are to be collected and recycled throughout the EU. Improved recycling processes are urgently needed to deal with the huge amount of textiles that will then be produced in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

The University of Innsbruck is enhancing its science communication in the fields of climate, biodiversity, and sustainability. A key development in this initiative is the creation of a new online platform, designed to showcase the university's extensive scientific expertise. This platform, part of the 'PEAK' project (Perspectives on Engagement, Accountability, and Knowledge), offers insights into current research and includes a growing database of expert profiles.

Many people want to eat healthily, but also value the sustainability of their food . Intuitively, healthy is often equated with sustainable. A study by scientists from the Johannes Kepler University Linz, the University of Constance and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences has investigated whether this perception corresponds to reality.

Scientists at the University of Innsbruck have been studying the water cycle and glaciers in the Andes near Huaraz in northern Peru for a long time. They recently documented a previously unreported rainfall phenomenon. These light rainfalls, known locally as "Pushpa", mark the beginning of the sowing season.

Astronomers can look 50 times deeper into the atmosphere of this exoplanet than is possible with Jupiter A team of European astronomers, with the help of researchers from the University of Vienna, has studied the atmosphere of the nearby exoplanet WASP-107b using the James Webb Space Telescope. An exoplanet is a planet orbiting a star other than our sun.

Researchers from the Universities of Innsbruck and Waterloo have studied the environmental impact of artificial snowmaking and its effect on the sustainability of ski tourism with Canada as an example. High water and energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions are a burden on the environmental balance sheet; energy from renewable sources can make winter sports considerably more sustainable.

One of the great unknowns in climate models is the behavior of certain gases that often smell strongly and cause water to condense. TU Wien (Vienna) is providing new insights into this. It has long been clear that man-made greenhouse gases are changing the climate - but there are still important details of climate change that are not well understood.

Scientists develop new perspectives for leveraging brain sciences to combat global warming Today an international research team, including scientists from the University of Vienna's Environment and Climate Hub, introduces a unique approach in fighting the climate crisis. Kimberly Doell and colleagues provide a framework for using neuroscience as an ally in the fight against climate change.

An international project has developed stable and efficient artificial robot muscles based on new material combinations. An international cooperation between the Johannes Kepler University Linz, the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa and the University of Trento combines technological progress with ecological sustainability.

When floods are predicted only on the basis of local data, there may be unpleasant surprises. A new method makes it possible to significantly improve predictions - using international data from hydrologically similar areas. What can we expect in the worst-case scenario? In regions with a high risk of flooding, this is an important question: what extreme events should the protective measures be designed for? Often this is answered simply by looking at history: The worst flood events of the past decades or centuries are regarded as a realistic upper limit for what can be expected in the future.

It is rare to find glaciers bounded on land by vertical ice cliffs. These ice cliffs respond with particular sensitivity to environmental changes. Research teams from Tyrol and Styria are investigating ice formations at a site in the far north of Greenland. The researchers intend to draw conclusions about the development of the Arctic climate based on the changes in the glacier walls.

The lullaby of the mother bird plays a greater role than previously thought A new study led by biologist Sonia Kleindorfer of the University of Vienna investigates the prenatal sound experience and sound teaching of young songbirds. The lullaby that songbird mothers sing to their eggs during incubation plays a greater role than previously thought.

Real-world climate change experiment reveals surprising soil response Recent research uncovers the resilience of certain soil microorganisms in the face of increasing drought conditions. While many bacteria become inactive during dry spells, specific groups persist and even thrive. This study, conducted by the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna, offers ground-breaking insights into bacterial activity during drought periods, with implications for agriculture and our understanding of climate change impacts.

It is impossible to imagine modern agriculture without plastics. 12 million tonnes are used every year. But what about the consequences for the environment? An international team of authors led by Thilo Hofmann from the Division of Environmental Geosciences at the University of Vienna addresses this question in a recent study in Nature Communication Earth and Environment .

In the summer of 2022, one of Tyrol's largest glaciers recorded its largest mass loss ever. The Hintereisferner in the Ötztal valley reached its Glacier Loss Day (GLD) earlier than ever before. GLD serves as an indicator of a glacier's health over the course of the year, similar to how Earth Overshoot Day measures the Earth's resource consumption.

Cluster of Excellence Materials for Energy Conversion & Storage In the Cluster of Excellence Materials for Energy Conversion & Storage (MECS) researchers from the Vienna University of Technology, IST Austria, the University of Innsbruck and the University of Vienna develop new technologies for efficient energy conversion and storage, in order to pave the way for a climate-neutral society.