Three ERC Starting Grants for the University of Vienna: Research with vision!

Three ERC Starting Grants for the University of Vienna: Research with vision!

Today the University of Vienna has three reasons to celebrate: it has received a total of three ERC Starting Grants for promising research projects. These grants are worth around 1.4 to 1.7 million euros each and are intended to further advance the university's innovative research. The funded scientists are Eva-Maria Muschik, Megan Sørensen and Agata Zysiak, whose projects bring a breath of fresh air to various research disciplines. University of Vienna reports that...

The ERC grants support basic, pioneering research with high innovation potential, and the University of Vienna can now look forward to a total of 155 such grants since the program was founded. In total, Nina Klimburg-Witjes, Adrian Pirtea and Christopher Wratil each received an ERC Starting Grant worth around 1.5 million euros. The media portal of the University of Vienna points out that...

Research projects in detail

Eva-Maria Muschik's project entitled "Shockage" is particularly exciting: Here the historian examines the global history of "structural adjustment" in the 1980s and analyzes the conflicts between states, especially the "Group of 77" in international financial institutions. An example of her research is Bolivia. Mushik wants to better understand a turning point in the history of the “North-South conflict”. As an assistant professor at the Institute for International Development, she brings extensive experience in the areas of development, decolonization and international cooperation. The University of Vienna provides more information about Muskik's project...

With her project “TRANSITIONS” Megan Sørensen takes a look at the fascinating world of microorganisms. She studies the interactions between these organisms and their evolutionary development, particularly in relation to the Paramecium-Chlorella endosymbiosis and Paulinella chromatophora. Its goal is to reveal the molecular basis of these relationships and the fundamental evolutionary processes. Sørensen will join the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna in 2026, bringing with him significant research experience from the University of Sheffield and its fellowships. As the University of Vienna reports, Sørensen has an exciting research agenda...

Social mobility in focus

In her “CLASS-UP” project, Agata Zysiak is dedicated to social mobility in Eastern European socialist states after 1945. She analyzes the special forms of social mobility in the state socialist systems and draws on official discourses, press reports and biographical methods to decipher mobility patterns across generations. Zysiak is a historical sociologist specializing in the social history of Eastern Europe and works at the Research Center for Transformation History (RECET) at the University of Vienna. Here the University of Vienna refers to Zysiak's expertise...

Among the other funded projects, the work of Nina Klimburg-Witjes, Adrian Pirtea and Christopher Wratil stands out. In her “FutureSpace” project, Klimburg-Witjes will examine the relationships between large-scale technological projects, European integration and space visions. Pirtea, on the other hand, is dedicated to the historical development of Syrian, Armenian and Coptic-Arab monasticism in the Eastern Mediterranean, while Wratil explores aspects of political representation that have received little attention in previous research.

By supporting these projects, the University of Vienna is sending a strong signal for innovative research at one of the country's leading educational institutions. It will be exciting to see what new insights scientists will gain in the coming years.