Our Stories

Economic sociologist and ECH member Valentina Ausserladscheider has received an ERC Starting Grant for STRANDED. The project examines why economic actors respond differently to similar climate-related losses, and how cultural identities, political power and institutional structures shape these responses. Demographer Ester Lazzari has also received an ERC Starting Grant for her project MINDREP.

ECH member Andreas Richter (University of Vienna) will lead the six-year ActiveSOIL consortium funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The project integrates soil biology and microbial activity measurements into soil health assessment to link basic soil parameters with ecosystem processes and functions.

In the 2026 QS World University Rankings, the University of Vienna is ranked 140th, moving up 12 places from 2025 (152). It remains Austria’s highest-ranked university. Gains in Employer Reputation and Academic Reputation contributed to the rise. The result continues an upward trend; in October 2025, the university entered the THE top 100 for the first time.

Countries compete for many things: the FIFA World Cup trophy, access to markets and availability of minerals. And increasingly for people. Skilled workers turn out to be one of the most valuable resources for the energy transition. Preliminary research suggests that Asia and the Americas could have an edge on other regions in this race.

The OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development) has published a new test guideline for the risk assessment of nanomaterials designed to determine the solubility and dissolution rate of nanomaterials under realistic environmental conditions.

We are changing the climate - and with it, the risk for landslides. Extreme weather and land use are increasing their number and severity. Particularly in urban areas, landslides have become the cause of many avoidable deaths. Now, researchers ranging from geologists to psychologists have united to rethink the issue holistically. The resulting research group wants to reduce landslide fatalities in the long run - despite urbanization and climate change.