Georg Reichard is enthusiastic as he
explains the bottom line of his crossover work between construction
science and architecture, which he conducts at Virginia Tech.
“Currently, developers and architects have to pay a lot of money to a
specialist to conduct energy efficiency simulations for new housing
projects. However, these simulations are not mandatory like code
compliance is and thus are only rarely conducted in the early planning
stage. As a consequence, problems aren’t being averted, and it costs a
lot more to fix them later—if it is not too late at all, like it is
sometimes the case for the overheating of buildings. And my work is
dedicated to changing that!”
How is he going to do this? Inspired
by his seven-year-old son’s Lego toys, Reichard focuses his next
project on user-friendly simulation software, which allows developers
and architects to move single modules within a project from one place
to another. The exciting thing about it is that when, say, the living
room is moved from the first to the second floor and the kitchen is
placed next to the garage, this tool will tell you exactly what you win
or lose in terms of energy efficiency, ventilation, and noise levels –
and ultimately, costs. “If you can visualize energy-efficiency, it is
much easier to understand – for the developer and for the customer,”
Reichard points out. “The US society is much more open to pay for
comfort and efficiency should be established as an aspect of comfort in
order to improve the over-all performance of buildings. But in the long
run it always comes down to energy – energy used for operation, for
construction, or for fabrication of material.”
On April 27-29, 2005 the association
of Austrian Scientists and Scholars in North America (ASciNA) hosted
its first conference ASciNA2005 “Mind Matters: Austrian Ingenuity
Abroad” in Vienna, Austria [see bridgesinterview with the organizer of
the event, Günter Lepperdinger].
Franziska
Michor, a 22-year old Austrian scientist from Klosterneuburg in Lower
Austria, was recently awarded a Junior Fellowship from the Harvard
Society of Fellows. This prestigious fellowship is endowed with $56,500
annually and is funded for 3 years. This year, over 700 people were
nominated for the Fellowship, but only ten of them were finally elected.
When Lukas Pezawas returned to
Austria to become Director of the ambulatory care unit for the Clinical
Department of General Psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna
(MUV), he did not return empty-handed but with a briefcase full of very
promising research results. After three years of research at the
renowned US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), he is now eager
to apply them at his new – and former – home base in Vienna.
The OST network of Austrian scientists abroad was established by the
Office of Science & Technology (OST) at the Austrian Embassy in
Washington, D.C., and focuses on the outreach of government-related
agencies to Austrian scientists in North America. Its main objective
has been to support the scientific community with information and
specific advice wherever necessary and requested.
Encouraged by the OST, an independent association – ASciNA (Austrian
Scientists and Scholars in North America) – was founded in 2002 with
local chapters being established all over the U.S. and Canada. For
further information about ASciNA please visit www.ascina.at.
In November 2004, Ursula
Mathis-Moser, Professor for Romance Languages and Literatures at the
University of Innsbruck, was awarded the Prix Jean-Éthier Blais 2004
for her book Dany Laferrière. La derive américaine
(2003) published in Montreal (VLB éditeur). Ursula Mathis-Moser is the
first non-native of Canada to win this prize which annually recognizes “le
meilleur livre de critique littéraire paru au Québec pendant l’année,
portant sur la littérature québécoise de langue française et écrit en
français.”
How is he going to do this? Inspired
by his seven-year-old son’s Lego toys, Reichard focuses his next
project on user-friendly simulation software, which allows developers
and architects to move single modules within a project from one place
to another. The exciting thing about it is that when, say, the living
room is moved from the first to the second floor and the kitchen is
placed next to the garage, this tool will tell you exactly what you win
or lose in terms of energy efficiency, ventilation, and noise levels –
and ultimately, costs. “If you can visualize energy-efficiency, it is
much easier to understand – for the developer and for the customer,”
Reichard points out. “The US society is much more open to pay for
comfort and efficiency should be established as an aspect of comfort in
order to improve the over-all performance of buildings. But in the long
run it always comes down to energy – energy used for operation, for
construction, or for fabrication of material.”
association
of Austrian Scientists and Scholars in North America (ASciNA) hosted
its first conference ASciNA2005 “Mind Matters: Austrian Ingenuity
Abroad” in Vienna, Austria [see 
When Lukas Pezawas returned to
Austria to become Director of the ambulatory care unit for the Clinical
Department of General Psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna
(MUV), he did not return empty-handed but with a briefcase full of very
promising research results. After three years of research at the
renowned US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), he is now eager
to apply them at his new – and former – home base in Vienna. 