Tomorrow Today 07/2013 (english) by AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

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07 TOMORROWTODAY JULY_2013

Developing the technologies, methods and tools of tomorrow

New SmartEST lab:

LINKING THE VIRTUAL AND REAL WORLDS 恝表⒍

MOBILITY

CONCERT-GOING IN SAFETY FORESIGHT & POLICY DEVELOPMENT

THE BIGGER SCIENTIFIC PICTURE

SAFETY & SECURITY

CLOUDY OUTLOOK FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT

NATURAL EMPOWERMENT FOR PLANTS

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE THE THE THE THE THE DATE: DATE: DATE: DATE: DATE: SAVE THE DATE:

ALPBACHER ALPBACHER ALPBACHER ALPBACHER ALPBACH TECHNOLOGIEGESPRÄCHE TECHNOLOGIEGESPRÄCHE TECHNOLOGIEGESPRÄCHE TECHNOLOGIEGESPRÄCHE TECHNOLOGIEGESPRÄCHE 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 TECHNOLOGY FORUM 2013 Future Innovation: Conditions – Experiences – Values

22.-24.08.2013 22.-24.08.2013 22.-24.08.2013 22.-24.08.2013 22.-24.08.2013 22.-24.08.2013 Congress Congress Congress Congress Congress Centrum Centrum Centrum Centrum Centrum Alpbach/Tirol Alpbach/Tirol Alpbach/Tirol Alpbach/Tirol Alpbach/Tirol Congress Centrum Alpbach/Tirol

Details: www.alpbach-technologyforum.com, Information: claudia.klement@ait.ac.at

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➜ CONTENT/EDITORIAL

AIT REVIEW OF 2012

ALPBACH TECHNOLOGY FORUM: AN OVERVIEW

This year’s Alpbach Technology Forum held from 22 to 24 August again features numerous plenary sessions and working groups to discuss topics of key importance to our future.

CLOUD COMPUTING FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES

Cloud computing and its many applications have long found their way into the lives of private users and many companies. AIT is working with an international consortium on the EU project SECCRIT to enable the secure usage of cloud services for critical infrastructure IT.

LINKING THE VIRTUAL AND REAL WORLDS

At the end of April, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology opened its SmartEST Laboratory featuring the most modern infrastructure for the performance of smart grid research in Europe.

NATURAL EMPOWERMENT FOR PLANTS

Plants are associated with diverse microbial communities living in the root environment, the surface of plants as well as in the plant interior. Many bacteria interacting with plants have the capacity to naturally strengthen the plant’s resistance to disease or abiotic stress factors and support plant growth. The expertise of AIT research staff in the field of plant-microbe interactions is being used by companies from a wide range of sectors.

SAFETY FOR CONCERT VISITORS

AIT uses sophisticated modelling and simulation methods to ensure greater safety for visitors attending large-scale events such as the Summer Night Concert held in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

THE BIGGER SCIENTIFIC PICTURE

The International Foresight Academy is the first initiative worldwide to bring together foresight activities around the globe. This EU project coordinated by AIT examines, for example, how foresight can be used to organize participative processes in democracies.

AIT SENIOR SCIENTIST PHILINE WARNKE

INNOVATION CALENDAR

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

Photo: www.peterrigaud.com

EDITORIAL Full order books and positive results for the fifth year in succession have earned us much praise – from the Supervisory Board and research partners as well as from our shareholders. In terms of performance, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is clearly on the right track, which was also confirmed by the figures presented at the annual accounts press conference at the beginning of June. The following pages reveal the strategic adjustments that made it possible for us to achieve stable research revenues even in such difficult economic times. A steady increase in the number of research collaborations indicates that this positive trend is set to continue throughout the year. One of the most important strategic factors has been our focus on specialized research areas aligned with future-oriented global infrastructure topics. In these research fields, which are organized in five departments, we have set ourselves the goal of maintaining a consistent focus on systems expertise in order to provide our research and industry partners with the technology and innovation output they urgently need to ensure the success of their businesses in the future. This issue clearly shows that the research topics addressed by AIT are ones that are soon to impact all our lives in many important ways. AIT scientists, for example, are working in the new SmartEST Laboratory – a unique research facility in Europe – to develop innovative solutions aimed at facilitating the integration of alternative energy systems in so-called “smart grids” - interactive “intelligent” electricity networks. Colleagues in the Health & Environment Department are performing research into special plant-microbe interactions, which can naturally strengthen the resistance of plants to pests. Pests and viruses of a different kind are the focus of work being carried out by our research staff from the Safety & Security Department. They are currently working towards making increasingly popular cloud computing applications accessible for critical infrastructure programmes. Contact details are given at the end of each article. Our Communications Team would be happy to hear from you and provide you with any further information you may require. Michael H. Hlava Head of Corporate and Marketing Communications

IMPRINT. The magazine Tomorrow Today is a media collaboration with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. Editorial responsibility rests with Austria Innovativ. Media owner and publisher_Bohmann Druck und Verlag GesmbH & Co. KG., 1110 Vienna, Leberstrasse 122, phone: +43 1 740 95-0. DVR: 0408689. Management_Gabriele Ambros, Gerhard Milletich. Publisher_AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Tech Gate Vienna, Donau-City-Strasse 1, 1220 Vienna, phone: +43 (0) 50550-0. Publishing manager_Patrick Lehnhart. Editors-in-chief_Michael Hlava, e-mail: michael.hlava@ait.ac.at, Christian Klobucsar, e-mail: klobucsar.zv@bohmann.at. Editors_Margit Noll, Daniel Pepl. Authors of this edition_Alfred Bankhamer, Angelika Prohammer, Doris Griesser. Project management_Daniel Pepl. Graphic design_Anita Frühwirth. Layout_Markus Frühwirth (REPROMEDIA). Print_ Druckerei Odysseus, Haideäckerstrasse 1, A-2325 Himberg. Cover shot_AIT. Publication_4 times a year. All copyrights reserved, including Section 44 paras. 1 and 2 of the Austrian Copyright Act. ISSN 1994-5159 (print), ISSN 1994-5167 (online). Free subscription via e-mail_cmc@ait.ac.at.

➜ Inside

AIT REVIEW OF 2012:

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND FULL ORDER BOOKS /// Only a financially sound business can act as a strong partner. The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology has operated at a profit for the fifth year in succession. The new four-year budget will focus on supporting the planned internationalization drive. /// AIT HAS POSTED A PROFIT FOR THE YEAR OF 2.5 MILLION EURO reporting positive earnings for the fifth successive year and reflecting excellent operating results for 2012. The large volume of orders and a growing share of revenue from cofinanced projects show that Austria’s largest nonuniversity research institute is in a strong position and that the adopted strategy is working well.

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The President of the Supervisory Board, Hannes Androsch, was very pleased with these excellent results and cited a well-known saying among journalists at the AIT annual accounts press conference held in June at TechGate Vienna, which purports that “good news is no news”. Yet, these are indeed exciting times for AIT with final stage budget discussions with its shareholders as part

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Inside

of the performance agreements – including “fresh money” for the planned internationalization drive – about to take place. This expansion, recommended both by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology as well as by the Federation of Austrian Industries, was already taken into account in the adjusted research strategy for the period from 2014 to 2017, and is included in the proposal submitted to the Strategic Research Advisory Board and the Supervisory Board. STRATEGIC ECONOMIC SUCCESS

“We have effectively met our funding goals (40 per cent basic funding, 60 per cent funding programmes and contract research). We are currently a mere one per cent away from our goal,” says Anton Plimon, Managing Director of AIT, clearly thrilled with the strategic economic success achieved in the last business year. The commercial director also anticipates positive results for Austria’s leading research institute for the current year 2013. AIT LEADS THE WAY WITH SYSTEMS EXPERTISE

“We’re also very pleased that AIT considerably increased its revenues both from contract research and from co-funded research compared with the previous year. There has been a marked 20 per cent increase in revenue from projects co-financed by EU funding programmes and other funding schemes,” adds Hannes Androsch, President of the AIT Supervisory Board, congratulating the AIT directors and their staff on this strong performance, achieved in what continue to be difficult times for the world economy. Managing Director Anton Plimon: “Our focus on infrastructure topics, where of course our extensive systems expertise is of enormous benefit, is already showing positive effects on our annual results. Over the next few years, our work on security-related projects such as FASTPASS and Hannes Androsch /// President of the AIT Supervisory Board “We’re very pleased that AIT considerable increased its revenues both from contract research and from co-funded research compared with the previous year.“

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our expertise in the smart grids sector are set to have an even stronger impact on AIT’s positive results. Our strong presence in the market has enabled us to increase contract volumes to around 134 million euro, which represents a 3.6 per cent increase for 2012 compared with the previous year.” Plimon continues: “The course we have embarked on will now be further refined and optimized with adjustments made to the strategy pursued within the individual departments. The Anton Plimon /// AIT Managing Director “The course we have embarked on will now be further refined and optimized with adjustments made to the strategy pursued within the individual departments.”

focus will be on increasing internationalization, greater pooling of our expertise in ‘major systems’ and the development of specialized ‘business cases’. The key point will, however, remain our systems expertise, which will help us position ourselves as a strategic partner within both the national and international research and innovation sectors in the long term.” AIT READY FOR THIRD ROCKET STAGE

“Metaphorically speaking, we’re about to ignite the third rocket stage,” says Wolfgang Knoll, scientific director at AIT. Within the individual departments, business units and of course at interdepartmental level, intensive work has been underway on updating the existing AIT strategy to ensure alignment with market conditions and other influencing factors. POSITIVE RESULTS ALL ROUND

The funding agreement between the Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology and AIT includes definitions of both financial and non-financial performance indicators, which serve to measure target attainment in specific sub-fields. These scientific & performance indicators are regularly compared with non-financial performance. In 2012, for example, a total of 20 patent applications were filed (2011: 15), the number of publications grew in several areas and

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Inside

AIT’s international network of key players

NEW STRATEGIC RESEARCH ADVISORY BOARD

The President of the Supervisory Board, Hannes Androsch: “Recommendations from the Strategic Research Advisory Board, which we first put in place about four years ago, are of course also an important factor in the successful development of AIT. In recent weeks the board has been reconstituted and is staffed by leading international scientists and experts from the research and technology sectors.” SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

During the reporting period 2012, AIT has formed several successful international partnerships. Collaborations have been established with a range of partners from MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA to Singapore (NTU – Nanyang Technological University) as well as with numerous research partners in China. In Europe too, of course, AIT works with leading Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs). As Wolfgang Knoll explains, “We can already look back on a range of international successes such as the development of the Low-Carbon City Action Plan for Nanchang in China, a city with a population of five million. And there are also many

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Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/APA-Fotoservice/Rastegar, Peter Rigaud c/o Shotview Photographers

there was also an increase in the number of PhD students (2012: 153 PhD students); a total of 18 doctoral theses (2011: 12) and 55 diploma and master’s theses (2011: 51) were completed. There was also very positive news in terms of staff turnover with an additional 20 research staff joining AIT in 2012.

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Inside

new projects in the pipeline. Planned projects, for example, include work on the development of concepts and solutions for an electricity supply system using a high share of photovoltaic energy in Chinese distribution networks or in the area of Intelligent Vision Systems (IVS) involving around 60 AIT experts.” A further research focus, which will also serve to raise AIT’s international profile, will be on microbial bio-effectors or bio-pesticides. AIT scientists aim to identify new mechanisms of action in microorganisms to protect plants from phytopathogens. In the Urban project, AIT will pool its extensive expertise in the urban infrastructure sector and further extend its activities in this research area with the aim to make AIT the most important urban research hub in Austria and Europe. Wolfgang Knoll /// AIT Managing Director

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/APA-Fotoservice/Rastegar, Peter Rigaud c/o Shotview Photographers

“We can look back on a range of successful international projects, for example in China. And there are also many new projects in the pipeline.”

“BRIGHTEST MINDS” AS KEY SUCCESS FACTOR

As Wolfgang Knoll goes on to explain: “Now comes the all-important question as to whether we are in a position to recruit the brightest minds at international level in each of our specialized research areas. It’s a global playing field and we need to keep up with the game,” says the scientific director, referring to the success of AIT’s international projects, which just five years ago would not have seemed feasible. ///

AIT – At a glance ■■ Shareholders: 50,46 per cent: Republic of Austria (BMVIT – Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology) 49,54 per cent: Association for the Promotion of Research and Innovation (Federation of Austrian Industries) ■■ Supervisory Board: Hannes Androsch (President), Gerhard Riemer (Deputy Chairman), Maria Kubitschek (Deputy Chairwoman) Peter Egger, Ingolf Schädler, Peter Schwab, Edeltraud Stiftinger, Wolfgang Pell, Michael Millauer, Bernhard Schatz, Gerhard Murauer, Klaus Pseiner (delegated by the staff council): Karl Farthofer, Rudolf Orthofer, Eva Wilhelm, Friederike Strebl, Gustavo Fernandez, Reinhard Schnitzer ■■ Strategic Research Advisory Board (SRAB): Bertil Andersson (President of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) Robert L. Clark (Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, New York, USA) Kristina Johnson (CEO Enduring Energy, LLC, USA) Jürgen Mlynek (President of the Helmholtz Association, Germany) Helga Nowotny (President of the European Research Council ERC) ■■ Managing Directors: Anton Plimon Wolfgang Knoll Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Alexander Svejkovsky Head of Corporate and Legal Services: Christian Meixner ■■ Departments: Energy (Head: Brigitte Bach) Mobility (interim Head: Christian Chimani) Safety & Security (Head: Helmut Leopold) Health & Environment (Head: Michaela Fritz) Foresight & Policy Development (Head: Josef Fröhlich)

Further details: Michael H. Hlava, Head of Corporate and Marketing Communications, Tel.: +43 505 504014, e-mail: michael. hlava@ait.ac.at, Web: www.ait.ac.at

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■■ Subsidiaries: Nuclear Engineering Seibersdorf (NES) Seibersdorf Laboratories LKR Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen

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➜ EVENT PREVIEW

FUTURE INNOVATION:

CONDITIONS – EXPERIENCES - VALUES /// The Alpbach Technology Forum, which is organized by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology in collaboration with the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF/Ö1, is regarded as the most important meeting point for Austria’s research, technology and innovation community. From 22 to 24 August the spotlight will be on the most urgent future-oriented topics. The event opens with a plenary session where top representatives from the relevant government ministries, the Federation of Austrian Industries and the European Research Council will discuss Austria’s path to becoming an innovation leader. ///

THE TOPICS OF THE PLENARY SESSIONS: FUTURE INNOVATION – INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

In the future the Internet and its multiple applications will increasingly pervade all aspects of our lives and provide the basis for numerous innovations and new business models. This means that new forms of entrepreneurship will be in competition with traditional businesses. Chair: Rainer Nowak (Chefredakteur, Die Presse, Wien) GRAPHENE – A GREAT HOPE OF FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

A wafer-thin layer of pure carbon proves to be extremely strong. Graphene, the “magic stuff”, promises superlatives in many fields and was designated a European “flagship” project. What applications can we expect? Chair: Helga Nowotny (Präsidentin, European Research Council, Brüssel)

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FROM RESEARCH TO ECONOMIC SUCCESS

Knowledge as a production factor is becoming more and more important in the global race for resources, raising the pressure to enhance the commercial exploitation of current research results. How will the role of top-level research change in the future innovation system? Introduction and Chair: Helga Nowotny (Präsidentin, European Research Council, Brüssel)

EVENT PREVIEW

OPEN DIALOGUE – SMART MOBILITY FOR SMART CITIES

An open dialogue and discussion forum based on a competition of ideas and projects that will take place for the first time at the Alpbach Technology Forum. At the core of this interactive evening programme will be technological and social innovations. Cooperation partner: AustriaTech in Zusammenarbeit mit APA Science

OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE Cybercrime und Cybersecurity

The question if extraterrestrial life exists is as old as humankind itself. New technologies that are being applied in astrophysics can answer some of these questions today. Human spaceflight will also play an important role in explaining various phenomena. Introduction and Chair: Jürgen Mlynek (Präsident, Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren e.V., Bonn)

The fight against cybercrime will become a key question of the digital information society. How can more effective methods of prevention and international cooperation limit the damage? Chair: Alexander Klimburg (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Österreichisches Institut für internationale Politik, Wien)

I-LEARNING – THE FUTURE OF LEARNING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

The latest research on how children’s brains think enable us to design more effective learning processes. How can we usefully connect them with interactive digital media? Chair: Joachim Treusch (Präsident, Jacobs University Bremen)

Most people are unaware of how much our daily lives depend on quantum mechanics. In a very entertaining way, using a lot of examples from the world of science fiction, this almost „mathematics-free“ lecture will introduce participants to the principles of a science that determines our world. Chair: Joachim Treusch (Präsident, Jacobs University Bremen)

CHALLENGES FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH

Biomedical research is a key requirement for recognizing inner molecular structures and their mutual interactions. However, each new insight enhances the complexity of the causes and thus also the chances of healing processes. In this plenary session we will discuss which new therapeutic procedures may give us hope. Chair: Wolfgang Knoll (Geschäftsführer, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Wien) PLANNING INNOVATION: AT THE CROSSROADS

The basic factors of success for innovations have been explored in various disciplines for quite some time. But how can this complex knowledge be implemented sustainably in the planning of new technologies? Chair: Joachim Treusch (Präsident, Jacobs University Bremen)

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THE TOPICS OF THE WORKING GROUPS: WG 1: THE VALUE CHAINS OF THE FUTURE

At the core of this working group will be deliberations concerning a sustainable value chain, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and extending it globally. But what will the value chain look like in the future? What are the decisive challenges and opportunities? How to optimize it from the enterprises’ point of view? How to use the innovation system for this? How to consider trends, e.g. digital integration, networks and flexible structures? We will discuss these questions with players from the economic scene as well as young high potentials.

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showing quantitative and qualitative progress. The big leap ahead has been achieved. The Federal Government’s goal for the future (RTI Strategy) foresees distinct growth rates until 2020, culminating in a leap to the group of European innovation leaders. Will “more of the same” in terms of supporting and funding instruments be an adequate approach? Which specific measures will help top research enterprises to hold their own in international competition? WG 5: THE POTENTIAL OF THE ALPS: FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE USE OF RESOURCES

In Austria, leading enterprises account for three quarters of all R&D funding of the private sector and therefore bring a majority of innovative products and services to market. Especially in the sector of tomorrow’s great challenges, solutions – from an idea to market introduction – underlie enormous tensions caused by shortening product cycles and rapidly growing markets in Asia. The working group will discuss the “futures” that leading enterprises envisage as well as the strategies they apply to be successful at their locations. WG 3: SMART CITY – PATHWAYS TO FUTURE URBAN MOBILITY

The rapid growth of urban population centres is one of the big global challenges of our era. At the same time, cities themselves have the necessary potential of knowledge, creativity and innovative strength to develop sustainable solutions and initiate transformation processes. Of special importance will be ideas, concepts and models regarding future mobility – a key topic for creating the complex organisms of tomorrow’s smart cities, guaranteeing people’s individual quality of life as well as the quality of business locations in an internationally competitive environment. WG 4: “FRONTRUNNER”, A NEW APPROACH IN RTI POLICY

Austria’s RTI landscape has grown markedly during the past ten years, with every indicator

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WG 6: THE POTENTIAL OF ICT TOOLS IN OPEN INNOVATION PROCESSES

The innovative strength of enterprises is the motor for economic growth and social prosperity. The efficient generation and implementation of innovations are decisive factors for success. Enterprises are increasingly involving external knowledge and external resources in open innovation processes using ICT tools, which make these processes possible in the first place. This working group will discuss the potential of these tools by using theoretical and practical examples of innovation management beyond company boundaries. WG 7: WEB ATTACK! THE FIGHT AGAINST HACKERS AND DATA LOSS

High-tech affects all aspects of contemporary life and enables us to work quickly and collaboratively. For this reason, cyberspace has become vital infrastructure, yet one which is also vulnerable to attack. Which economic areas are affected by cybercrime? What are its effects on value creation, and how does it impact trust in compa-

Photos: Klobucsar, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Peter Rigaud c/o Shotview Photographers

WG 2: TO DEVELOP THE FUTURE – TOMORROW’S INNOVATION AS EXEMPLIFIED BY INTERNATIONAL LEADING ENTERPRISES

Dealing efficiently with scarce resources is more and more becoming a key factor for economic development and the quality of life. Because of their natural conditions the Alps are eminently suited for scientific investigation and practice of innovative resource use. In the working group we will discuss how mountain research makes a vital contribution to the sustainable use of resources; in addition, the potential use for industry and society will be demonstrated using timber as an example. The working group will provide recommendations on how multilateral cooperation can contribute to a profitable development of the Alps.

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nies? Security requires coordinated action from business, politics and society. Is “cyber-security” a purely technological matter? Or are awarenessraising, employee training or even an exit from the web appropriate preventive measures? WG 8: INDUSTRY 4.0 – IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF WORKING LIVES

The fourth industrial revolution initiated by the Internet of Things offers a competitive advantage through increased efficiency of the manufacturing industry. However, it also creates economic, social and organizational challenges. Changing demands in the world of work, shorter business cycles, greater product individualization and shifting factors of global influence are all playing a role in this context. Accordingly, the working group will provide answers to questions such as: What is industry 4.0? How will the world of work develop? What does this mean for people, companies and regions?

Photos: Klobucsar, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Peter Rigaud c/o Shotview Photographers

WG 9: GREEN TECH: VISIONS AND BUSINESS OF ECO-MOBILITY

Consistent research and development will transform “green” visions into innovative business models. Mobility is of special importance in the field of green tech research. The further development of mobility to eco-mobility – a viable, low-emission and affordable way of mobility combined with renewable sources of energy – will therefore be an essential challenge for society. Representatives of industry, research and the public sector will discuss eco-mobility with regard to technology, resources and infrastructure, as well as economic and legal aspects. WG 10: IDENTITY 2.0: DIGITAL HUMAN

While the theoretical possibility of parallel worlds is still being intensely discussed on a quantummechanical level, it has long become reality on a virtual level. This is due to our IT society that is transferring not only communications but increasingly also social life to the web. But it is by no means just “social networks” that determine everyday life in a digital world. Like everything in life, this has advantages and disadvantages. Who determines the rules in our digital parallel world? What opportunities does the on-going digitization of knowledge offer? And above all, how will technological innovations enable us to explore these digital worlds more deeply?

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EVENT PREVIEW

WG 11: IPM – CONDITIONS FOR PROSPERITY AND SUCCESS

The protection of intellectual property, i.e. granting a monopoly for a limited time to the claimant, is not an end in itself but the foundation of and motivation for any innovative activity in a market economy. This working group will particularly pay attention to the challenges and opportunities of effective intellectual property management as a basis for business success and economic benefit such as growth, employment and prosperity in European and global contexts. WG 12: SECURITY RESEARCH: FUTURE FOR A SECURE SOCIETY

Security research is a new field that has caused many socio-political controversies and criticism of non-functioning markets at a European level. How can Austria, led by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology, take over the role of a successful innovation leader in this area? The answer can be found in the concept of KIRAS with its unique and innovative integration of all relevant stakeholders. The working group will deal with the challenges for the research topic “security” within the limits of society, technology and market. SPECIAL EVENT: RTI INTERNATIONALIZATION IN AUSTRIA – STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS

The Austrian Federal Government adopted the RTI strategy “Becoming an Innovation Leader” in 2011 with a view to join the group of innovation leaders in Europe. The RTI Task Force has established the working group “Internationalization and RTI Foreign Policy” to develop strategic recommendations for the internationalization of Austrian RTI beyond the EU. At the Special Event the strategic recommendations will be presented to the public for the first time and will be up for open discussion. ///

Further details: Michael H. Hlava, Head of Corporate and Marketing Communications, Tel.: +43 505 504014, e-mail: michael. hlava@ait.ac.at, Web: www.ait.ac.at

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➜ Safety & Security

CLOUD COMPUTING FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES /// Cloud computing and its many applications have long found their way into the lives of private users and many companies. AIT is working with an international consortium on the EU project SECCRIT to enable the secure usage of cloud services for critical infrastructure IT. ///

●● In a nutshell Cloud computing has already become an established factor in many fields and offers huge advantages in terms of scalability, cost and access. The greatest disadvantage is often seen in security concerns. Many organizational, legal and technical questions need to be answered before cloud services can be used for critical infrastructures. AIT is working on cloud computing technologies for use in sensitive environments as part of the EU’s SECCRIT project. The aim is to develop security guidelines, cloud assurance strategies, risk management approaches and technological components, to combine legal and technical aspects and technical certification for cloud applications in order to give operators of critical infrastructure a clear decision-making basis for the potential use of cloud computing.

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FROM HYPE TO EVERYDAY SERVICE. Applications

based on cloud computing have very quickly attracted millions of users with countless e-mail, online storage and platform solutions. The cloud computing age brings many advantages, such as easy, global access to the internet, simplifying the exchange of data and facilitating cooperation and the possibility to dynamically add or remove computer resources. Moreover, the servers run by cloud providers allow the provision of uniform and up-to-date protection against cyber threats.

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But above all, renting cloud services avoids the need for expensive local server farms which potentially run below capacity, yet quickly reach their limit with computing-intensive analyses. The cloud also eliminates the need for inconvenient operating processes such as maintenance, servicing and updates. TRULY SECURE?

Admittedly, outsourcing data and server capacities also has disadvantages, particularly in the area of security. How well protected are the servers run by cloud providers, how secure the connection, how reliable the availability or how trustworthy the business partner? Questions abound. This is particularly the case for critical infrastructures. When it comes to implementing cloud applications, organizations including the Cloud Security Alliance, ENISA or BITKOM provide only some of the answers for organizations and service providers. “Cloud computing for critical infrastructures still lacks ideas for effective solutions, ideal design, implementation and security aspects,” explains Markus Tauber from the ICT Security research group at the AIT Safety & Security Department. Together with international partners, AIT has established the EU project SECCRIT (SEcure Cloud computing for CRitical infrastructure IT) in order to allow the secure usage of cloud services for critical infrastructure IT. Experience gained during the national KIRAS safety and security research programme run by Austria’s Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) was extremely helpful in this regard. The three year project coordinated by AIT was launched in January 2013 and receives 4.8 million euro of funding. Project partners include ETRA I+D (Spain), Fraunhofer IESE (Germany), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), NEC Europe Ltd. (UK), Lancaster University (UK), Mirasys Ltd (Finland), the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (Greece), the municipality of Valencia (Spain) and amaris Technologies GmbH (Austria). OPEN QUESTIONS ABOUT CERTIFICATION AND STANDARDS

“Our aim is to analyse and assess cloud computing technologies with regard to security risk in sensitive environments,” explains SECCRIT project head Tauber. This is a field in which many

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Safety & Security

questions are currently unanswered. For example, there is still a lack of standards and certifications for critical infrastructures which customers need to rely on in future risk assessments. This subject fits perfectly into the research programme of infrastructure and security specialist AIT. Together with partners, AIT developed two case studies in order to identify and analyse the potential challenges. This includes both technical and legal questions concerning data security, data protection and risk management. Project partner Mirasys, for example, is responsible for surveillance technologies and image processing for critical infrastructures including airports or military installations. Video surveillance (CCTV) in particular demands enormous computing capacity when an alarm or incident triggers a subsequent image database search. In an ideal world this only happens once or twice a year. Therefore it would be particularly effective to use the storage space and computing time offered by a cloud provider, rather than maintaining large private server farms. But this often highly sensitive data cannot be simply uploaded to a conventional public cloud. This is equally the case for the second partner, the city of Valencia, which runs its own traffic control system. “Here again we are dealing with the subject of scalability and cost savings,” explains Thomas Bleier, head of the ICT Security research group at AIT. Markus Tauber /// Engineer, Safety & Security Department “Our aim is to analyse cloud computing technologies with regard to security risk in sensitive environments. This is a field in which many questions are currently unanswered.”

USE CASE: PROBLEMS UNDERGROUND

The CCTV case study describing the fictitious Nebula Central Station, a large European underground station including 45 shops, bars and restaurants, quickly highlights the challenges. After an act of vandalism the underground operator is faced with 100,000 euro of damages and is forced to close the station for two days. No suspects could be identified. After repairs have been carried out there are renewed incidences of vandalism and so a new video surveillance system is

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Safety & Security

installed and run by a security company. The security company, in turn, transfers the data and computing capacity to a cloud service provider as the software should automatically detect specific situations – which occur at unpredictable times and patterns and hence benefit from the dynamic computational resource allocation available in a cloud. But one night severe acts of vandalism occur and the system fails and does not raise an automatic alarm. The underground operator holds the service providers responsible, which blame each other. Now the question is who must pay in such a case, how did this situation arise and which technical information is available to identify the source of the problem? Another example is that of a well-known, inebriated politician who vomits in the underground station. The next day video surveillance images of the incident appear in a tabloid newspaper. The politician sues the underground operator which in turn sues the security system operators, which in turn blame each other. NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE CLOUD

The underground examples give a good demonstration of the challenges faced by a cloud computing project in a critical environment. The key subjects are reliability (Why was there no footage of the vandalism being perpetrated?), a data-centred security concept (Did the error occur in the camera system or in the cloud system? Why weren’t there any log files?), anomaly detection (How could video images leak to the press? Was it insiders or hackers?) and cyber accountability (Why aren’t there any log files on the illegal access to data?) Accordingly, the key focus of examination for these scenarios are secure data communication, encoding and secure storage, authentication and authorization, preventing the loss of data and the traceability of events.

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LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND THE CLOUD

“We are trying to view cloud computing from a wide variety of angles in this project,” explains Bleier. SECCRIT aims to clearly define legal guidelines, to precisely understand the risks involved in cloud computing and how the cloud works, to develop policy-based methods for specifying and implementing security requirements in cloud applications, to give best practice examples of secure cloud services and to demonstrate SECCRIT on the basis of two real-world cases. This should enable users to clearly evaluate risks in the future and to make the systems themselves more secure. As the underground example shows, many legal aspects need to be clarified. Additional areas of research include subjects such as high assurance. “This considers how certain security guarantees can be achieved at a technical level,” says Bleier. A visionary question is the shift from the current stance of system security to a data-centred security approach. “In the cloud the focus is on the data itself, while the systems are dynamic,” explains the AIT security specialist. This requires the development of completely new security mechanisms. Another subject under examination is cyber resilience, which deals with cyber attacks and secure operations in the cloud. And finally there is the question of accountability. Monitoring should make it possible to check whether the cloud provider really lives up to its promises. Thomas Bleier /// Senior Engineer, Safety & Security Department “A key research topic is cyber resilience, which deals with cyber attacks and secure operations in the cloud.”

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Krischanz & Zeiller, www.123rf.com

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Safety & Security

RISK MANAGEMENT AS THE KEY TASK

In contrast to conventional cloud applications, customers operating critical infrastructures must also have access to the cloud infrastructure via defined interfaces. “This is the only way to be able to specify and verify the additional security requirements,” explains project head Markus Tauber. AIT itself is focusing its research efforts on the subjects of assurance and risk management. What are the additional risks posed by cloud computing, and what technical solutions are required? The goal is to develop not only a catalogue of answers to these questions but also solutions for the certification of cloud providers tailored to the special requirements of critical infrastructures. A User and Advisory Board has been established for this purpose and will consider valuable input from as many sides as possible. ///

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Krischanz & Zeiller, www.123rf.com

Further details: Safety & Security Department, Michael Mürling, Tel.: +43 505 50-4126, e-mail:michael. muerling@ait.ac.at, Web: www.ait.ac.at/ ict-security

Research services Security concepts for the networks of the future must be able to protect infrastructures and business processes across borders and administrative domains involving different stakeholders in compliance with applicable legislation and individual security policies. The AIT Safety & Security Department therefore develops: ■■ Generic security architectures and services for the retrieval, integration and assessment of information (e.g. sensor data) combining complex heterogeneous information sources to obtain new insights for politics and society. ■■ Next generation security solutions that address the vulnerabilities and threats emerging in the future Internet in order to protect the end-users, their interactions and transactions, their privacy, their devices, content and data against any malicious behaviour. ///

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Petri Bäckström, HEAD OF THE SECURITY PRODUCT LINE AT MIRASYS LTD. IN FINLAND, ON CLOUD-BASED SERVICES IN CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES. Mr Bäckström, together with AIT and other partners, your company is developing a new form of cloud computing as part of the SECCRIT project, because this technology is currently not secure enough for critical infrastructures. What are the key security concerns? In the industries in which our company is active, video surveillance networks typically are closed-circuit, i.e. isolated, systems. However, this has gradually changed, especially with the transfer of responsibility from security organizations to IT and operating companies which are striving to generate added value by means of new applications and services. However, this can’t be successfully achieved until the risks and threats to sensitive information have been sufficiently considered. What advantages could the cloud offer to video surveillance, especially in your business sector? Cloud-based services, or hosted/managed platform solutions, are spreading rapidly. They are increasingly regarded not only as additional storage space but as integrated approaches, involving critical surveillance solutions and providing various stakeholders with access to relevant information. In video surveillance, the demand for computing capacity and storage can vary significantly. In simple terms this means significantly greater IT requirements, for example due to additional video analyses. As the need for computing capacity can fluctuate substantially, the flexibility of cloud computing offers significant advantages over isolated systems, both for conventional video surveillance and for advanced video analysis. What are the major challenges posed by this project? When it comes to the application of cloud-based services the major challenges still remain data security and connectivity. Where data security is of major importance, any risk must be excluded as far as possible before sensitive data such as video footage can be uploaded to the cloud. Additionally, everyone is free to design their own software solution such that it can be adapted according to requirements with as little human intervention as possible, and ideally with none. How well are Mirasys and AIT working together? SECCRIT is the first project in which we have worked together on a variety of levels. The start of the project has certainly been a success. What is your general view of AIT as an innovator? I regard AIT a global leader in terms of innovation, with an excellent track record of successes and valuable results in a wide variety of fields, such as security and reliability in computing and in intelligent vision systems. ///

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➜ Energy

LINKING THE VIRTUAL AND REAL WORLDS /// At the end of April, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology opened its SmartEST Laboratory featuring the most modern infrastructure for the performance of smart grid research in Europe. The facility, with a floor space of some 400 m², offers a unique range of simulation tools that can be used to create and test virtual models of cutting-edge energy networks of the future, saving all stakeholders considerable amounts of time and money. ///

●● In a nutshell The Smart Electricity Systems and Technologies Laboratory – a large project with total costs of around eight million euro – opened on 24 April, securing AIT’s position as a leading research institute in the smart grids sector both at national and international level. The laboratory is unique in Europe in that it allows several components of an electricity network – including for example photovoltaic systems, electric storage units as well as charging stations for electric cars – to be simulated simultaneously. The AIT SmartEST Laboratory thus offers network operators as well as component manufacturers an indispensable research and testing infrastructure as they move towards the power supply system of the future.

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Renewable forms of energy pose an increasing challenge for the electricity supply networks across the globe with increasing numbers of distributed generators such as photovoltaic systems, wind parks or biomass plants feeding power into the grid. The existing infrastructure therefore needs to be upgraded to accommodate these changes. Scientists all over the world are working intensively on developing intelligent system solutions for networks in which power

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Energy

and information flow in both directions due to the permanent interaction between generators, networks and consumers. Austria is widely recognized as a pioneer in this research area having already launched intensive research efforts in the smart grids sector more than ten years ago. The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology in particular has established itself as the largest non-university research facility in the field of smart grids at European level. Evidence of this is seen, for example, in the leading role it plays in the association of top European laboratories for distributed energy resources equipment and systems (DER-Lab), as well as its international equivalent the Smart Grid International Research Facility Network (SIRFN) established by the International Energy Agency. The AIT Energy Department has now taken an important step towards further strengthening its leading position in Europe. The new SmartEST Laboratory (Smart Electricity Systems and Technologies) provides scientists at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology in Vienna with research infrastructure that is unique within Europe, enabling them to test the various renewable energy components in real time and under realistic grid conditions. REAL-TIME SIMULATIONS OF COMPLEX INTERACTIONS

The new laboratory allows testing the complex interactions between future generators and consumers. A wide range of scenarios can be simulated in real-time in specific grid sections. Several components can be included simultaneously, for example a photovoltaic facility, an electricity storage unit and a charging station for electric vehicles, which will be a common constellation in the future. The state-of-the-art infrastructure enables the performance of entirely new tests previously not available anywhere else in the world. Brigitte Bach /// Head of AIT Energy Department “It is our main aim to ensure energy infrastructure is able to meet future challenges and to strengthen the ability of Austria’s industry to compete in the future-oriented smart grids market.”

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“It is our main aim to ensure energy infrastructure is able to meet future challenges and to strengthen the ability of Austria’s industry to compete in the future-oriented smart grids market,” explains Brigitte Bach, Head of AIT Energy Department, convinced that the SmartEST Laboratory will make a key contribution towards achieving this goal. BENEFITS FOR MANUFACTURERS AND NETWORK OPERATORS

The new laboratory established by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology enables component manufacturers (e.g. inverter manufacturers) as well as network operators to analyse the interactions between power plants and the different grid levels and to ensure their products and concepts are fit for the future. “The comprehensive remodelling of the energy system poses new challenges for network operators. Here in Salzburg we are adopting a proactive approach to this deveMichael Strebl /// Managing Director Salzburg Netz GmbH “Our main concerns are the integration of renewable forms of energy and meeting the challenge of managing electricity requirements without any loss of convenience for our customers.”

lopment and want to be involved in shaping and supporting it. Our main concerns are the integration of renewable forms of energy and meeting the challenge of managing electricity requirements without any loss of convenience for our customers,” says Michael Strebl, Managing Director at Salzburg Netz GmbH. “The SmartEST Laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility. As a long-term partner of AIT we are pleased to have the opportunity of working on the further development of our smart grids solutions in this new research facility. Over the coming decades, the introduction of smart grids as well as the interaction of electricity networks with smart buildings acting as energy generators, energy storage facilities and consumers will pose the greatest challenges both to the energy sector and building operators alike. For several years now, Siemens has been focusing on this future-oriented area and is working on the development of the

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Energy

appropriate strategy for the smart grids of the future in close cooperation with energy providers,” explains Wolfgang Hesoun, CEO of Siemens Austria (Siemens AG Österreich). STRONG INTERNATIONAL INTEREST

The new and rapidly evolving renewable energy sector requires excellent research infrastructure in order to tackle the complex energy questions Wolfgang Hesoun /// CEO Siemens Austria “Siemens has long been focusing on the innovative area of smart grids and is working on the development of appropriate future strategies in close cooperation with energy providers.”

THE BENEFITS FOR … Grid operators ●● Increase in expertise in active distribution networks, e.g. power quality, stability, safety aspects, etc. ●● Development, implementation and testing of innovative control and systems concepts and deployment of novel devices for active network operation ●● Evaluation of concepts for virtual power plants and microgrids: coordinated feed-in of distributed generators ●● Emulation of future network structures for assessing the impact of additional distributed power generators or loads in different grid sections

Component manufacturers ●● Optimization of components and grid connection through development support and validation of new concepts and prototypes ●● Testing of component prototypes under realistic conditions – behaviour in the event of grid failures, high connection densities, dynamic loading and variable environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) ●● Testing of compliance with national and international grid codes and standards based on the extensive accreditations held by AIT

Public institutions and regulation authorities ●● Impact assessment of technical framework conditions for increasing the proportion of distributed energy resources in the grid ●● Technical support in the development of standards and grid codes ●● Decision-making support in the development of funding instruments ///

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Theresia Vogel /// Managing Director Climate and Energy Fund “The support for the SmartEST Laboratory from the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund is a prime example of effective and efficient use of public funds.”

The use of innovative technologies is the key to achieving a turnaround in the energy sector. Innovation is thus seen as a central solution approach in efforts aimed at attaining national and global climate goals. Increasing energy efficiency is one of the stated research goals of the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund. “The support for the SmartEST Laboratory from the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund is a prime example of effective and efficient use of public funds. By supporting this project we are creating a win-win situation benefiting both research and user industries,” says Theresia Vogel, Managing Director of the Climate and Energy Fund.

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Krischanz & Zeiller, APA, Schneider Electric Solar

Some 150 guests from Austria and abroad attended the celebration marking the official opening of the SmartEST Laboratory on 24 April – a unique research facility in Europe enabling the simulation of smart grids.

that go beyond market development. The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is among the top European players in the sector and the laboratory’s opening was attended by many high profile guests, among them András Siegler from the DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission.

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Energy

SMARTEST LABORATORY: FACTS AND FIGURES

Work on a concept for the laboratory began as early as 2007. Development and construction of the laboratory was co-funded by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund together with funds provided by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology itself (four million euro each). With the SmartEST Laboratory, the AIT Energy Department positions itself as a unique smart grids research hub for industry at European level and offers excellent career opportunities for highly qualified scientists from around the world. ///

Further details: Energy Department, Michaela Jungbauer, Tel.: +43 505 50-6688, e-mail:michaela.jungbauer@ait.ac.at, Web: www.ait.ac.at/energy

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Krischanz & Zeiller, APA, Schneider Electric Solar

Research services The SmartEST Laboratory offers state-of-the-art infrastructure and qualified experts for smart grid research and development. It allows distributed generation components and their interactions with the grid infrastructure to be tested under realistic conditions in a safe laboratory environment. The infrastructure includes configurable laboratory grids, grid simulators, PV simulators, equipment for power hardware-in-the-loop simulations and an environmental chamber for tests under extreme temperature and humidity conditions. These advanced testing and simulation facilities can be combined to provide completely new testing capabilities going far beyond the standard. The SmartEST Laboratory is open to grid operators and manufacturers, making an important contribution to the development and optimization of new products and control strategies for distributed generation. ■■ Testing of components and systems with simulated grids and primary energy sources (e.g. PV inverters) ■■ Electrical, functional and performance tests according to grid codes ■■ Simultaneous testing of power and communication interfaces of components ■■ Performance and lifetime testing under controlled environmental conditions ■■ Simulation and testing of single components as well as complete generation systems and plants ■■ Power hardware-in-the-loop (P-HIL) experiments by means of real time simulation and multi-domain co-simulation (rapid modelling and prototyping of systems and components of distributed generation) ■■ Simulation of smart grid scenarios ///

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Zoran Miletic, Senior Electrical Design Engineer at Schneider Electric Solar, Canada. Increasing urbanization and rapidly growing megacities lead to an urgent need for innovative concepts in the energy sector. Is your company working on the development of such energy solutions and if yes which ones? The rapid increase in the demand for energy, outdated energy transmission and distribution infrastructure, expensive upgrading of electricity networks combined with high penetration capacity in energy production, for example from solar and wind energy, all result in a strong demand for innovative and intelligent energy solutions. Our company, Schneider Electric Solar, has a strong research focus in the area of innovative energy solutions, which aim to serve corporate and industrial grid-connected markets as well as micro-grids and markets previously not connected to the grid. What are the challenges involved in this kind of research work? We face a number of challenges in this sector, but one of the biggest challenges we face is definitely creating a so-called “high fidelity” test environment for design testing/prototype testing and certification of our smart energy system developments – in particular for high performance solutions. The AIT SmartEST Laboratory provides precisely the environment we need. Indeed - the AIT SmartEST Laboratory is a unique research facility in Europe offering the opportunity to simulate a whole range of development modules of smart grids. Are you planning to use the facility? Yes, we are. Our next generation of high performance inverters is due to be tested and certified in the new AIT laboratory. What do you see as the main benefits offered by simulations in advance? Well, the benefits go above and beyond merely being able to simulate different energy sources and network conditions. The main advantage is that it allows insights into the behaviour of the system and its individual components. This means we can be very confident that our smart energy systems will behave under real-life operating conditions as they have in the laboratory. Do you think it will be possible for all existing electricity networks to be transferred into smart grids? Well, it’s not really all that long ago that Nikola Tesla, a Serbian student at Graz University of Technology, first dreamt about alternating current energy supply systems. At the time his dream sounded like mere fantasy. Today such systems are commonplace. Of course, it’s difficult to predict what will happen in the future but we can be virtually certain that smart grids will supplement conventional networks and exist in parallel to them. I believe there’ll be energetic interaction between these grids and that conventional networks will not be able to offer stable performance without smart grids. ///

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➜ Health & Environment

NATURAL EMPOWERMENT FOR PLANTS /// Plants are associated with diverse microbial communities living in the root environment, the surface of plants as well as in the plant interior. Many bacteria interacting with plants have the capacity to naturally strengthen the plant’s resistance to disease or abiotic stress factors and support plant growth. The expertise of AIT research staff in the field of plant-microbe interactions is being used by companies from a wide range of sectors. /// Using microorganisms to increase the resilience of plants has enormous economic potential.

●● auf den punkt gebracht To be able to feed the world’s fast growing population, we will have to produce twice as much food within the next three decades as we do today. With increasingly less space available for agriculture due to drought and urbanization, there is an urgent need for new solutions to the problem. Away from unpopular genetic engineering there are high expectations placed on the very productive interaction between plants and bacteria. Should it be possible for scientists to unlock the secrets of the mechanisms behind this interaction, it will be possible to support agricultural production and plant cultivation without the use of toxic pesticides or inorganic fertilizers and beneficial microorganisms may make plants more resistant to stress such as drought. Scientists at AIT recognized the major potential of this scientific field several years ago and have meanwhile produced significant research findings.

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STABLE PARTNERSHIPS strengthen resilience to stress and physical challenges. This is a fact that holds true not just for human beings, but – as research has proved over recent years – also for plants. Their strength to thrive even in difficult conditions, to deal with stress caused by drought or defend themselves against certain diseases, is in fact directly related to their relationship with the microorganisms in their immediate environment. In the root zone, for example, there are thousands of bacterial species with which the plant lives in intense and beneficial symbiosis.

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Some of these bacteria even enter the plant and thrive as beneficial plant colonizers. Around a thousand of these so-called endophytes live in every single gram of a plant. Compared with the soil microflora, endophytes cooperate even more closely with the plant and boost its growth and resilience. It therefore makes sense to analyse these supportive communities and use the knowledge gained in the development of green alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Scientists at AIT in Tulln are using molecular biological methods to reveal the secrets of beneficial plant-microbe interactions. “This allows us to decode the DNA of entire bacterial communities and filter out the most appropriate bacterial strains for use in specific applications,” explains Angela Sessitsch, Head of Business Unit Bioresources and pioneer in this new scientific field in Austria. Together with colleagues from her research group, the molecular biologist has been able to prove that the activity of plant genes is influenced by the exchange of signals between bacteria and the plant. Although not all the mechanisms behind this highly complex interaction have as yet been clarified in detail, results gained so far are already being used in a wide range of applications.

Health & Environment

cers,” says Günther Reichenberger, Business Developer at the AIT Health & Environment Department. “But our customers also include smaller companies for whom we develop customized solutions.” A major challenge for plants and therefore also for those involved in their production is, for example, the increasing abiotic stress caused by the effects of climate change such as drought, heat, frost, saline soils or nutrient deficiencies. If the stressed plants are provided with the right microbial partners they can stay healthy and grow well even under adverse conditions. Endophytes can also have a positive influence on photosynthesis. If these microorganisms were introduced into the turf to keep it stay green and lush for longer, this could be important, for example, for golf course operators. Angela Sessitsch /// Head of Business Unit Bioresources, Health & Environment Department “Molecular biological methods allow us to decode the DNA of entire bacterial communities and filter out the most appropriate bacterial strains for use in specific applications.”

FINDING THE RIGHT PARTNER MAJOR ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

The use of microorganisms to support growth and resilience in plants or as a biological alternative to chemical pesticides is not only exciting in a scientific way but also harbours major economic potential, which is of course constantly growing in line with the current paradigm shift towards increasing sustainability in agricultural production. Interest from companies both in Austria and abroad in the findings and developments provided by the research group is accordingly high – potential users range from seed companies or fertilizer and pesticide manufacturers through to regional vegetable growers, flower growers, tree nurseries, forestry companies or landscape gardeners. In Tulln AIT also offers a special service for sports ground operators – they can send turf samples to the research staff and have the grass tested for pathogen infestation. Scientists are also in close contact with the global players in the agricultural sector. “We are in consultations with several of the world’s leading seed produ-

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The scientific peek through the keyhole into the relationships between plants and their endophytes often involves close cooperation between researchers and interested companies. “Companies are also experimenting with microorganisms but they often reach their limits when it comes to putting their results into practice”, says Günther Reichenberger. “At the end of the day, these are living organisms in complex systems and their handling is anything but trivial.” Even for scientists, transferring microorganisms into the plant or the seed or applying them on leaves is a challenge in itself. “Like every living organism, microorganisms have their own ecological niche where they are able to live,” says the AIT Business Developer, explaining the “settling challenges”. MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES

Endophytic bacteria are adapted to endophytic living and are therefore able to thrive in plants. Yet they first have to be transferred there in an undamaged state. This is one of the sticking points in

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Health & Environment

endophyte research. As a pioneer in this relatively new scientific field, AIT has already developed workable solutions. “We have submitted a patent application for a method which enables endophytes to be directly incorporated in the seed,” says Günther Reichenberger. The main advantage of this method: “The endophytes cannot be washed away and are not in competition with other bacteria during germination.” AIT also uses the classic method of match-making between hosts and guests, i.e. the endophytes are applied on the seed and are then transferred into the plant during germination. Another method is leaf application in which plants are sprayed with bacteria. The bacteria then stimulate flowering, which can cause the plant to produce more fruits. This method can be used to stimulate leaf growth or early flowering. AIT is currently working on several reGünther Reichenberger /// Health & Environment Department

Research services Beneficial cooperation between plants and microorganisms: Microorganisms play a key role in plant growth and resistance. The Health & Environment Department examines the molecular mechanisms of beneficial plant-microbe interactions using gene-based analysis methods. This knowledge provides a sound basis for the promotion of plant growth, efficient pest control and the remediation of contaminated soils with the help of plants. AIT has collected around 1,500 bacterial strains with potentially useful properties. AIT experts assist customers in selecting appropriate bacterial strains for application in plant production and soil remediation and support on-site applications through monitoring and optimization. Tapping the genetic potential of plant-associated microorganisms: AIT develops molecular biological methods to efficiently select suitable microorganisms for use in agriculture, soil remediation or industry (e.g. new antibiotics and enzymes). This includes the development of highthroughput screening methods for testing large numbers of strains and the identification of efficient microorganisms using genomic methods. Genomic and metagenomic methods can also be used to detect new properties, enzymes or metabolites. AIT experts also develop appropriate markers for microorganism tracking and provides methods for detecting different plant pathogens in order to enable more targeted pest control. ///

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“Companies are also experimenting with microorganisms but they often reach their limits when it comes to putting their results into practice”

search projects to develop more efficient methods for introducing bacteria into their respective plant hosts. Results are being tested for practicability in cooperation with industrial partners. USING BACTERIA INSTEAD OF CHEMICALS

To ensure the availability of suitable bacteria to meet a range of different requirements, AIT researchers have built up a collection, which currently includes 1,500 endophyte strains isolated from different plants, some of which have already been functionally characterized. “Some of these strains have already been used for specific applications in association with the plant,” says Angela Sessitsch. The genomes from the most interesting of these have also been sequenced. “This collection is our treasure trove!”, says Günther Reichenberger. “It is a valuable library and we’re gradually deciphering the scripts it contains. Gaining more knowledge enables us to work in a highly solution-oriented way.”

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/Krischanz & Zeiller, Fotolia

DNA analysis has meanwhile become established as a useful and effective tool in golf course management.

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Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/Krischanz & Zeiller, Fotolia

Health & Environment

To ensure the availability of suitable bacteria, AIT researchers have built up a collection, which currently includes 1,500 endophyte strains isolated from different plants.

Demand for this specialized know-how is already clearly high and is set to grow. “Ten years ago, the idea of using bacteria on a grand scale instead of chemicals in pest control would have been quite inconceivable,” says Günther Reichenberger. “Meanwhile, times have changed. Licensing of chemical plant protection agents and pesticides is increasingly difficult and some products have been taken off the market. Last but not least of course, consumers are increasingly environmentally and health aware.” Furthermore, it is already apparent that the use of microorganisms in this area is not only effective but also cheaper. ///

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Further details: Health & Environment Department, Zlata Kovacevic, Tel.: +43 505 50-4406, e-mail: zlata.kovacevic@ait.ac.at, Web: www.ait.ac.at/health_ environment

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➜ Mobility

SAFETY FOR CONCERT VISITORS /// AIT uses sophisticated modelling and simulation methods to ensure greater safety for visitors attending large-scale events such as the Summer Night Concert held in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. ///

●● In a nutshell Year after year, the Summer Night Concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic attracts many thousands of music fans to the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace. Organizers of such large-scale events must ensure visitor safety at all times – even in case of sudden weather changes or other unforeseen events. The AIT Mobility Department uses scientifically proven methods in the simulation, prediction and management of crowd flows in order to evaluate various possible scenarios and provide event organizers with decision making support in the development of tailored security concepts. The know-how provided by the AIT experts in the field of crowd dynamics has proven its worth not only in this year’s Summer Night Concert but also at other events such as the Danube Island Festival and the 2008 European Football Championships.

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STORMY SKIES HUNG OVER VIENNA on 30 May,

the day of the annual Summer Night Concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the palace gardens at Schönbrunn. Yet the 15,000 visitors attending the event braved the wind and the rain determined to make the most of the evening and enjoy listening to the music celebrating the work of composers Wagner and Verdi in this most impressive Baroque setting. Over the past few years, the Summer Night Concert has become a major attraction and has

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grown into a large-scale European event, placing high demands on both musicians and organizers alike. When the weather’s fine, tens of thousands of visitors head for the extensive grounds of the palace, which means that organizers are faced with considerable challenges in terms of safety. One of the key questions when it comes to developing a safety concept is how crowd flows are distributed across the site and how long it would take to clear the event area in case of an evacuation due to an approaching storm or other unforeseen events. In order to meet the high safety requirements, the authorities and the event organizers agreed to test their security concept beforehand in detail using simulations. They chose to work with crowd dynamics experts from the AIT Mobility Department, which has gained a strong reputation in Austria as one of the leading players in the field of crowd analysis. Over the past few years, the solutions for crowd simulation, prediction and control developed in numerous AIT research and customer projects have proven to be of great value for example at the Danube Island Festival as well as the 2008 European Football Championships. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF...

“Simulations allow us to examine dynamic processes in complex systems and therefore they are increasingly being used in the planning of large-scale events,” says Stefan Seer, Scientist at the AIT Mobility Department. “Among other things, simulations enable us to determine crowd density, the build-up of bottlenecks and safety levels in case of evacuation for a range of different scenarios.” In cooperation with industry partner Wagner Sicherheit GmbH, the AIT experts in crowd dynamics went on a site visit in order to get acquainted with the location. Various different evacuation scenarios were jointly defined for detailed computer analysis. The main focus was to address two key questions: How long does it take to evacuate the event area depending on the number of available exits? What levels of congestion are predicted to build up along the individual emergency exit routes and at the exits? “We use computer-generated ‘What would happen if’ scenarios to provide timely and efficient answers to these questions,” explains Seer. THE RIGHT CHOICE

A key issue and the biggest challenge when it comes to simulating crowd behaviour is to choose

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Mobility

the right model for the particular case in question. “We do not focus on any single model. Over the years we have developed a flexible framework involving a range of different models suitable for different sets of circumstances,” says Seer. This broad-ranging portfolio enables the AIT experts in crowd dynamics to provide a tailored response to customer requirements. In order to analyse boarding and alighting behaviour on train platforms, for example, a microscopic model is Stefan Seer /// Scientist, Mobility Department “Simulations allow us to examine dynamic processes in complex systems and therefore they are increasingly being used in the planning of large-scale events.”

required to simulate precisely how individuals move to avoid colliding with each other or with objects that may be in their way. In a case such as the event in Schönbrunn, however, where the aim is to predict the time required for the evacuation of large numbers of people a so-called mesoscopic model is needed. “Here the movements of all the people attending the event are modelled as an aggregated flow with lower spatial resolution. In the virtual world, crowd dynamics is rather like the flow patterns seen in liquids or gases,” explains the AIT expert. Based on their many years of experience in the field of crowd simulation, the experts at the AIT Mobility Department are clearly ahead of the game in terms of know-how with regard to reaching an optimal balance between accuracy and computing time. VIRTUAL CROWD DYNAMICS

Once the scenarios had been defined and the appropriate simulation model selected, the AIT team reconstructed a plan of the palace gardens on the computer. “Based on the experience gained over the past few years, visitor numbers are assumed to be a total of around 50,000”, says Seer. “At the beginning of the simulation all of the concert visitors leave their seats or standing places and move towards the exits at about the same time, as it would also be the case in the event of an emergency evacuation. We can track these crowd movements on the computer, i.e. we

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Mobility

Research services People are the key factor to ensure safe organization of large-scale events and user-friendly design of public infrastructures such as airports or railway stations. The Mobility Department uses its longstanding expertise in crowd dynamics for the simulation, prediction and control of pedestrian flows. The experts develop sophisticated analysis tools to determine, for example, the density, frequency or main trajectories of pedestrian flows in high-traffic areas. These analyses are used to simulate different scenarios efficiently and cost-effectively, thus laying the foundations for efficient planning and optimization of structural and organizational measures. Special focus is placed on the empirical acquisition and analysis of realworld data on pedestrian movement which can serve as input for simulation models. The Department also develops simulation models tailored to customer-specific applications and carries out simulations to support infrastructure operators and event organizers in decision-making. This includes, for example, simulating the effects of structural changes and operative processes on pedestrian flows. ///

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can monitor what happens along paths, at the exits, where paths cross and at bottlenecks.â&#x20AC;? Normally, concert visitors leave the site via the main entrance through the palace and via the two side entrances at Meidling Gate and Hietzing Gate. For the safety concept, however, it was also important to know what happens if the main entrance is blocked since visitors might shelter from a storm in the entrance area hindering those who are following to leave the event area via this exit. The simulation clearly indicates where increased crowd densities may lead to potentially dangerous situations and how the various scenarios can affect evacuation times. Working in close cooperation with the company Wagner Sicherheit, the AIT team developed relevant measures and recommendations based on the behaviour of the virtual flow of visitors. As Seer adds, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Using simulation, for example, we were able to identify the locations at which crowd flow can best be controlled and where experienced crowd control

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/Krischanz & Zeiller, Manfred Werner, Erwin_Sturm

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Mobility

The simulations generated by the AIT experts ensure the safety of concert spectators – even when there’s a sudden downpour.

situations in a timely and reliable manner. The system developed by AIT is due to go on trial as part of the research project EN MASSE at this year’s Danube Island Festival.

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/Krischanz & Zeiller, Manfred Werner, Erwin_Sturm

CROWD CONTROL IN MASS TRANSIT

staff equipped with mobile radios and megaphones should be in position to monitor the situation and intervene as necessary.” SIMULATION, PREDICTION AND CONTROL

Combining these simulations with real time measurements enables security issues to be reviewed not only at the planning stage but during the actual event itself. “We can draw on a range of different sources when it comes to real-time crowd data,” explains Stefan Seer. “The spectrum of available technologies ranges from infrared sensors, stereo cameras, light barriers and laser scanners through to GPS, RFID or wireless communication.” This data can be used as input for computer simulations to provide a clear overview of the situation in real-time and to generate short-term forecasts on the spatial distribution of visitors in the grounds. This decision support system enables organizers and emergency services staff to assess critical

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In another crowd analysis application, AIT experts developed a system for controlling passenger flow in the underground station “Stadion” in cooperation with Wiener Linien (Vienna’s public transport company). Here, automatically compiled passenger counting data is used to ensure the number of passengers allowed onto the underground station’s platforms is permanently matched with the available capacity of incoming trains. The system called RAVE, which was first used at the Euro 2008, has since been successfully implemented at numerous large-scale events held at the Happel Stadium to manage the large numbers of passengers attending them. Due to the extension of the U2 underground line to “Seestadt Aspern” in the autumn, the intelligent control system is currently being extended and refined. “All of these applications show that numerical simulation, prediction and control of crowd dynamics constitute an important contribution towards ensuring highest levels of safety for visitors before, during and after large-scale events,” says Seer in conclusion. ///

Further details: Mobility Department, Christina Pikl, Tel.: +43 505 50-6322, e-mail:christina.pikl@ ait.ac.at, Web: www. ait.ac.at/mobility

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➜ Foresight & Policy Development

THE BIGGER SCIENTIFIC PICTURE /// The International Foresight Academy is the first initiative worldwide to bring together foresight activities around the globe. This EU project, coordinated by AIT, not only uses international exchange programmes and seminars to broaden perspectives, but at the same time examines how foresight can be used to organize participative processes in democracies, for example to solve major societal challenges more efficiently. ///

●● In a nutshell

HOW CAN A SOCIETY best prepare itself for com-

The EU’s three-year International Foresight Academy (IFA) project, coordinated by AIT, is the first EU project to bring together foresight activities from around the world, in order to expand horizons and offer new networking opportunities. Partners from a wide range of European and non-European countries are taking part. The project focuses on examining the extent to which foresight can serve as an instrument to promote democratic participative processes in different democracies. The IFA also offers an exchange programme for scientists, summer and winter schools for young researchers, and academic seminars.

plex and uncertain future developments? Young scientists will be focusing on this difficult topic this autumn at Schloss Laxenburg, south of Vienna. The first IFA Summer School is being held here at the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA) from 9 to 13 September, and will intensively examine how new foresight me-

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thods and civic participation can be effectively used to master the grand challenges of the 21st century. The foresight studies conducted at the Summer School take into account factors such as resource scarcity, population growth, cultural differences, power struggles and other aspects using practical examples. The Summer School is just one of the many activities being run as part of the IFA, which pays special attention to the exchange and networking of scientists. The three-year EU project which is being coordinated by AIT and involves partners from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Russia and South Korea, as well as Germany, Finland, Latvia, Austria, Romania and Switzerland, is the first to bring together foresight activities from around the world on the subject of participation. Foresight not only highlights trends and possible scenarios which help support decision-makers in politics, research and science, but also creates structures and networks. The key focus of the IFA is the question of to what extent foresight can be used as an instrument for promoting democratic participation in different democracies. The three-year exchange project is being financed under the Marie Curie programme as part of the EU’s 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development and was launched in May 2012.

Foresight & Policy Development

feeding a rapidly growing world population or aging societies in many countries. It is the international aspect which provides us with an external perspective of our own society. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE

However, foresight not only outlines scenarios covering possible future developments to support decision-makers in political and economic issues. It can also serve as an instrument to involve the public more actively in political decision-making, simultaneously enabling politics to react faster and in a more informed manner to societal challenges. Shaping the future is a central starting point in foresight processes. This involves not only adapting to new framework conditions but also providing options for social design. The IFA gives scientists from the partner institutions the opportunity to study foresight activities Petra Schaper- Rinkel /// Senior Scientist, Foresight& Policy Development Department „Participation is often interpreted in diverging ways in different countries.“

FORESIGHT 2.0

The Summer School will teach new methods for foresight, often referred to as Foresight 2.0. Greater attention will be paid especially to cultural and awareness-raising factors as well as to the varied roles and functions of the relevant participants. „The goal is to convey the new approaches to foresight, particularly to younger scientists,“ explains Susanne Giesecke, Senior Scientist in the Foresight & Policy Development Department at AIT and coordinator of the IFA project. IFA partner Foresight Canada, which enjoys an excellent reputation in this field, was responsible for putting together the Summer School curriculum. Itself still a young scientific discipline, foresight has significantly developed its methods over the past years. Until recently foresight tended to be used to examine primarily topics of research and technology policy. A much broader basis is required in order to draw up scenarios for complex social, political and technological developments, such as the possible impacts of climate warming,

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in other countries for a period of between one to maximum twelve months, enabling them to build networks of important contacts for future international cooperation. Susanne Giesecke, for example, has already spent three months visiting Brazil. Petra Schaper-Rinkel, Senior Scientist in the AIT Foresight & Policy Development Department, was able to spend two and a half months gaining experience in Argentina. „Participation is often interpreted in diverging ways,“ explains Schaper-Rinkel. „In Argentina it primarily means the participation of experts,“ she adds. A novel foresight approach currently initiated in Argentina is the introduction of processes in which, for the first time, research priorities are discussed by all the stakeholders from research and development. At the same time, scientists in Argentina, who have already experienced many disruptive events such as economic crises, are amazed that processes extending to 2030 or 2050 are discussed in Europe as a matter of course. Until the

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Foresight & Policy Development

early 1950s Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world. Framework conditions such as corruption and economic peculiarities, for example the large discrepancy between the official and black-market peso exchange rates in Argentina, are important factors when considering foresight processes in a global context. DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF PARTICIPATION

„In many non-European countries the idea that citizens can play a role in the structured exchange of opinions is relatively alien,“ explains Giesecke. In Brazil, for example, everything is organized in a very hierarchical and top-down manner. Compared to Europe, other priorities often Susanne Giesecke /// Senior Scientist, Foresight & Policy Development Department “A very broad international dialogue is required to achieve medium-term solutions to complex societal problems.”

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take precedence. „Our concept of foresight also involves the chance to organize participative processes in particular,“ says Giesecke. In any event, a very broad international dialogue is required to achieve medium-term solutions to complex societal problems and should involve as many affected groups as possible. This is the only way we can solve the major societal challenges at international level and we must also pay sufficient consideration to the very different cultural backgrounds. „Here in Europe too, we often fail to look beyond national borders,“ the AIT foresight expert believes. Foresight has certainly become established as an important instrument in reaching decisions in politics and business in Europe, although it tends to be limited to questions of research and technology policy. „Much broader foresight methods are necessary to master the so-called ‘grand challenges’ which will impact upcoming generations in particular,“ says Giesecke. NETWORKS FOR FORESIGHT

This is the reason that IFA offers several opportunities for networking. For example, a Summer School will be run in Brazil in 2014, in addition to the one in Laxenburg. Academic seminars are also being organized to focus the broad range of subject areas covered by the IFA at a scientific level and to compare and discuss the topic from the various perspectives of the countries involved. The first seminar will be held in Zurich on the subject of Participatory Foresight for Smarter Futures – From Design to Impact, from 16 to 19 September.

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology , Krischanz & Zeiller, www.123rf/Pariwat Intrawut, 12rrf/buchachon

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Foresight & Policy Development

DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT

Photos: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology , Krischanz & Zeiller, www.123rf/Pariwat Intrawut, 12rrf/buchachon

IFA aims to bring together experiences in foresight activities from contrasting cultural and political contexts around the globe. „Established exchange projects will examine the extent to which foresight can be used as an instrument to promote democratic participation in a wide variety of democratic countries,“ says Giesecke. For this purpose projects are being run in countries such as Switzerland or Canada with a long democratic tradition, countries such as Austria and Germany which became democratic after World War II, and countries such as Chile, Argentina, Russia, Latvia and Romania which, after being dictatorships, have gone through totally different cultural developments in the last 20 years. The exchange programme is also intended to support cooperative projects and publications. AIT, for example, will carry out foresight projects for organizations in Brazil. Researchers from Brazil and Argentina will soon visit AIT for a couple of months. Tangible results from IFA activities will include several joint publications on the subject of the project, which will be presented and discussed during the academic seminars. One goal of the IFA will certainly be achieved: there will be greater appreciation of the differences and similarities of foresight. ///

Further details: Foresight & Policy Development Department, Beatrice Rath, Tel.: +43 505 50-4508, e-mail: beatrice.rath@ ait.ac.at, Web: www.ait. ac.at/f_pd

Research services Systemic Research, Technology & Innovation Policy Research, technology and innovation (RTI) policy plays a central role in the development of innovation systems, and thus in strengthening the economic performance and the ability to tackle societal challenges. This requires designing, analysing and evaluating efficient and coordinated organizational structures, governance processes and policy instruments. Foresight is a key tool in this context ///

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Günter Clar, DIRECTOR OF REGIONAL FUTURE STRATEGIES AND INNOVATION AT THE STEINBEIS-EUROPAZENTRUM IN STUTTGART, ON PARTICIPATIVE METHODS AND INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE IN THE FIELD OF FORESIGHT. How important are participative methods such as foresight for international future strategies? In today‘s global economy promising future strategies for regions, technological sectors, clusters or companies need to be developed from an international standpoint, and their international dimensions must be precisely defined. Focused input about relevant international developments, correlations and interactions is indispensable in achieving this goal. A participative foresight process should succeed, amongst others, in its participants not simply consuming such information in a passive manner. They should be able to actively expand their horizons in order to better classify and evaluate their specific knowledge. With the solid basis this provides they can recognize opportunities which are more likely to succeed over the long-term and implement promising, consensually developed and widely supported action lines. How important is the international exchange of experiences when it comes to foresight? The interactions between international developments in technology and society, and their impact on the local problems being decided upon at the end of a foresight process, are becoming increasingly complex. It is a constant challenge to adequately select and optimally integrate this input into the process. Therefore it is essential to develop an international network and enable the independent exchange of ideas about methods and content, independently of concrete projects. In which fields have you worked together with experts from Foresight & Policy Development? Depending upon the general foresight focus (e.g. region/nation; broad economic sector; technology; cluster), we involve foresight experts who have specialized knowledge or can demonstrate experience in these areas, particularly at the beginning of the foresight process. Policy development experts initially take more of an observational role, becoming more actively involved in the second half of a project. Projects we are managing include, for example, regions in Europe and South America; KBBE (Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy); biotechnology, ICT, nanotechnology; and the leading-edge cluster MicroTEC Südwest. A prominent feature of our work at the Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum is that we also provide support beyond this important cooperation, in the Strategic Policy Intelligence Cycle (foresight, impact assessment, road mapping, and policy development). Using the Steinbeis network or the European Enterprise Network, we can work towards achieving customized links between strategic decisions and their operational implementation with respect to the intended innovations. Here too, to come back to your initial question, participative approaches are the most promising. ///

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➜ CAREER PROFILES

CAREERS AT AIT /// Tomorrow Today talked to Philine Warnke, Senior Scientist at the AIT Foresight & Policy Development Department, about the high level of international mobility among foresight scientists. ///

Philine Warnke, Senior Scientist im AIT Foresight & Policy Development Department

You worked on research projects for the European Commission (European Commission’s Joint Research Centre) in Spain for three years and you also worked for several years (most recently as Deputy Head of the Competence Centre for Innovation and Technology Management) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research. To what extent can you draw on your experience in your work at AIT?

Career level “Senior Scientist” The primary challenge for Senior Scientists is to identify relevant scientific developments in their fields and include them in their strategic planning. Their tasks also include the design and planning of strategic research projects, both in the annual plan and the medium term strategy of the business unit. Senior Scientists are responsible for supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as assisting younger employees with their publications. AIT supports Senior Scientists in advancing both their scientific qualifications (e.g. postdoctoral teaching qualifications) and complementary business qualifications. AIT promotes research visits abroad at international partner universities and research institutes. Senior Scientists with exceptional leadership qualities also qualify for positions in management such as Head of Business Unit.

Voraussetzungen ●● PhD or equivalent qualification and several years’ experience in a scientific position ●● Publications in highly respected journals ●● International recognition as an expert in scientific subject areas ●● Mobility ●● Well networked, both within the research community and with clients ●● Leadership skills for the professional management of research projects and project portfolios.

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My current field of work in the Foresight & Policy Development Department allows me to draw on all of my previous experience. Much of our work is carried out at EU level. It helps me a great deal that I’ve had the opportunity of seeing things from an EU Commission perspective – from the inside out as it were. At the Fraunhofer ISI I gained valuable expertise in the development and implementation of foresight methods, i.e. developing models for use in examining future scenarios. This know-how is proving very useful in work on projects for our clients in politics and industry.

What was it that influenced your decision to make the move from Fraunhofer to AIT? The focus of our business area at AIT on systemic RTI policy in this form is unique in Europe and corresponds perfectly with my own research interests. Of course, the group here at AIT also has an excellent international reputation, is very well networked and works at the forefront in many areas of research that are of particular interest to me. And on top of all that Vienna is a wonderful city and I really enjoy living here. How important is international experience for scientists, particularly in the foresight area? Are innovation researchers on the move more than scientists in other fields – are they science nomads as it were? Or can they be tempted to stay by exciting projects? As foresight research is such a narrow field, there aren’t really all that many opportunities for most futures researchers to collaborate with colleagues and develop their careers in their own countries. That’s why the foresight community is so internationally-focused. Many of my colleagues have already worked in diffe-

Foto: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/Krischanz & Zeiller

Philine Warnke – why did you become a scientist? Well, I was always fascinated by finding out about things and looking at them from different angles – and that’s why I suppose I ended up becoming a scientist.

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Foto: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology/Krischanz & Zeiller

rent countries. I myself consider having experience abroad to be very important in our field, By working alongside colleagues from other countries we learn to question the things we take for granted and that is in fact to a large extent what foresight processes are all about. We also often collaborate on cross-border processes so it helps to have an understanding of the dynamics involved in working in such mixed groups. Generally speaking, I think it’s true that international experience is more and more important in the research sector. Yet of course, futurologists are also happy to stay put if they have the opportunity of working on exciting projects.

CAREER PROFILES

Your main mission is to look to the future. How, for example, do you see the shifting of the lines between humans and machines? Is this something we should be worried about or looking forward to? There’s no straightforward answer to that. What’s for sure is that the lines are continuing to shift and that’s something that needs to be addressed by society so we can actively shape this process. In particular, there is a need for broad-based dialogue on the different assessment methods, as indeed is already the case in various foresight processes.

What would you say are the key benefits for scientists working at AIT? What are the differences between AIT and Fraunhofer for example? AIT receives more basic funding than Fraunhofer and is therefore able to work in an even more science-oriented way. Another benefit is that the AIT departments are located closer together, making it easier for them to collaborate more closely than the 60 different Fraunhofer institutes, which are spread all over Germany. For scientists working in foresight, where the focus is on the interaction between technological and societal change, it’s particularly important to be able to communicate with technical experts on site or close by.

In your PhD thesis you focused on computeraided simulation and analysis of phases of technology development. Are you able to apply the hypotheses you developed with regard to computer simulation in your current research work? In my thesis I examined how technology development is changing with the use of modelling and simulation and what impact that in turn has on our relationship with technology. It’s a topic that remains highly relevant and the work I did in this area has indeed since been useful in a number of foresight projects. In our projects on the future of research we have, for example, identified increased use of simulation-based methods as being an important driver of change in research practices. ///

What are you working on at the moment? Right now we’re working on a very exciting foresight project for the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). We’re identifying signs of societal change relevant to research and innovation. That is something rather new in that until quite recently foresight processes in this field largely focused on technology, while its impact on society was only considered later on. To support the current German high-tech strategy, however, which aims to address these societal challenges, we have developed a new “needs-based” foresight methodology. We would like to develop this approach further and also link it with more strongly participative processes. I am also continuing with work aimed at further combining qualitative and quantitative methods in foresight research and as we have several modelling experts in our group we’re well placed to make good progress.

Further details: Elvira Welzig, strategische Personalentwicklung, Tel.: +43 505 504008, e-mail: elvira. welzig@ait.ac.at, Web: www.ait.ac.at

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➜ EVENTS

INNOVATION CALENDAR 10 JULY: H&E SEMINAR SERIES The Health & Environment seminar series presents talks by and discussions with leading international scientists across the AIT research fields. On 10 July, Brian Cunningham from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, will talk about nanostructures in biology. Venue: Vienna Information: www.ait.ac.at/health_environment

24 – 26 SEPTEMBER: AAL FORUM The annual conference of the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme (AAL JP) this year takes place in Norrköping, Sweden. The conference will present the latest technological developments designed to support older people in everyday life. Venue: Norrköping Information: www.aalforum.eu

15 – 19 JULY: 14TH INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF SCIENTOMETRICS & INFORMETRICS (ISSI) CONFERENCE The 14th ISSI Conference organized by the University of Vienna and AIT deals with current theories of informetrics and scientometrics and their applications. Venue: Vienna Information: www.issi2013.org

24 – 27 SEPTEMBER: SAFECOMP SAFECOMP is an annual event covering experiences and trends in the areas of computer safety and reliability of computer systems. It provides ample opportunity to exchange insights and experience on emerging methods and practical application across the disciplines. SAFECOMP focuses on safety-critical computer applications and is a platform for knowledge and technology transfer between academia, industry and research institutions. Venue: Toulouse Information: www.safecomp.org

22 – 24 AUGUST: ALPBACH TECHNOLOGY FORUM The Alpbach Technology Forum is Austria’s central meeting point for technology and research. It is organized and hosted by AIT in cooperation with ORF/Ö1. The full programme and further information can be downloaded from www.alpbach- technologyforum.com. Venue: Tyrol Infos: www.alpbach.org 24 – 30 AUGUST: CIGRE HIGH VOLTAGE CONFERENCE CIGRE (Conseil International des Grands Réseaux Electriques / International Council on Large Electric Systems) unites world experts in the planning, design, operation, servicing, development and construction of devices and systems for power plants and electrical energy transmission and distribution networks. Venue: Paris Information: www.cigre.org 09 – 13 SEPTEMBER: IFA INTERNATIONAL FORESIGHT ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL A Summer School will be held as part of the International Foresight Academy, a three-year EU project coordinated by AIT. The event aims to investigate how new foresight methods and civic participation can be used to meet the grand challenges of the 21st century. Venue: Laxenburg Information: http://ifa.cgee.org.br 16 – 19 SEPTEMBER: IFA INTERNATIONAL FORESIGHT ACADEMY ACADEMIC SEMINAR The first Academic Seminar of the International Foresight Academy deals with the topic "Participatory Foresight for Smarter Futures – From Design to Impact". It aims to focus the broad topic of the International Foresight Academy at the scientific level and discuss it from the perspectives of different countries. Venue: Zurich Information: http://ifa.cgee.org.br 21 – 26 SEPTEMBER: WORLD CONGRESS OF NEUROLOGY The World Congress of Neurology, the world’s largest neurology event, will this year be held in Vienna. The congress is organized by the Austrian Society of Neurology (ÖGN) together with the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS). Venue: Vienna Congress Centre Information: www2.kenes.com/wcn/pages/home.aspx

29 SEPTEMBER – 01 OCTOBER: MODELS 2013 Models 2013 is the premier venue for the exchange of innovative ideas and experiences of model-based approaches in the development of complex systems. Since 1998, the congress has provided a broad forum for reporting scientific progress as well as experiences stemming from practical application of model-based methods. Venue: Miami Information: www.modelsconference.org 17 OCTOBER: AUSTRIAN INNOVATION FORUM This year’s annual forum for innovation and new growth will be held at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. The top-class programme under the motto “BUSINESS DESIGN THINKING” features international keynote presentations and is addressed to anyone intending to drive innovation: managing directors and entrepreneurs, innovation managers, heads of R&D departments, marketing and business development experts, researchers and scientists. Venue: Vienna Information: www.austrian-innovation-forum.at 18 OCTOBER: TECHNOLUTION 2013 Technolution 2013 aims to raise the interest of young people, parents and teachers in the topic of “women in engineering” and to develop an awareness that involvement of women in science and engineering is a matter of course. This year’s creative competition will look back into history: after all, women in engineering are not a phenomenon of our time but have always been an essential driving force behind technical and social progress. Venue: Vienna Information: www.technolution.info 22– 24 OCTOBER: UCAAT– USER CONFERENCE ON ADVANCED AUTOMATED TESTING UCAAT offers an ideal opportunity for test designers, automation engineers as well as quality and project managers from across the globe to exchange experiences and learn about the latest findings and progress in the industrial use of automated testing. Venue: Paris Information: http://ucaat.etsi.org

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➜ SCIENTIFIC PAPER

AIT TOP JOURNAL PAPERS /// The latest research findings of AIT scientists recently published in respected international high-impact journals. /// M. Suda, C. Pacher, M. Peev, M. Dusek, F. Hipp: „QUANTUM INTERFERENCE OF PHOTONS IN SIMPLE NETWORKS“ Quantum Information Processing May 2013, Volume 12, Issue 5, pp 1915-1945. Quantum networks consist of optical components connected to circuitry via, for example, optical fiber or waveguides. The ‘on-chip’ solution is key to the development of future quantum computers. This article published in the US academic journal Quantum Information Processing under the title "Quantum interference of photons in simple networks" describes various types of quantum networks and how photons act as information carriers in these.

M. Feldmann, M.-C. Asselin, J. Liu, S. Wang, A. McMahon, J. AntonRodriguez, M. Walker, M. Symms, G. Brown, R. Hinz, J. Matthews, M. Bauer, O. Langer, M. Thom, T. Jones, C. Vollmar, J.-S. Duncan, S. M. Sisodiya, M. J. Koepp: „P-GLYCOPROTEIN FUNCTION AND EXPRESSION IN TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY“ In press_Lancet Neurology (2013) IF 2011 23.462 Approximately a third of all patients with epilepsy do not respond to drug therapy with antiepileptics. The only remaining treatment option for these patients is often the surgical removal of epileptic brain tissue. The pharmacoresistance may be caused by an overexpression of the multidrug transporter Pglycoprotein (Pgp) in the blood-brain barrier. This transporter pumps antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) from the brain back into the blood and prevents medication from reaching their targets in the brain. Although a series of animal studies have delivered convincing evidence for the transporter hypothesis, the relevance of the transporter hypothesis in human patients with epilepsy is still disputed. In the course of the Euripides EU project, which involved 13 European partners including the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, a new positron emission tomography (PET) protocol was developed for non-invasive measurement of Pgp activity in the blood-brain barrier. This study, recently published in the leading journal The Lancet Neurology, provided the first in vivo proof of the applicability of the transporter hypothesis in at least a proportion of pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients. Furthermore, the new PET protocol appears to be ideally suited to selecting those epilepsy patients in future clinical studies whose pharmacoresistance is due to increased expression of transporters and who can be treated with a transporter inhibitor such as tariquidar.

K. M. Weber, H. Rohracher: „A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO TRANSITION DYNAMICS: TOWARDS NEW RATIONALES FOR LEGITIMIZING GOAL-ORIENTED POLICY STRATEGIES Research Policy, 2012, 41, 6, 1037–1047 Why should the state intervene in research, technology development and innovation? This question has occupied economists and political scientists for decades. With an emphasis on addressing major challenges of society as the motivation for publicly funded research, the question of the focus and contribution of research and innovation in future has been steadily moving to the forefront of political debate in recent years. However, there has been no systematic rationale that legitimizes the state taking an active role in directing research agendas, often in close cooperation with the stakeholders concerned. This article, published in 2012, develops a wide range of failure arguments and introduces a new category referred to as transformative system failure arguments in addition to the traditional market failure arguments and structural system failure arguments. It provides a fully developed set of basic lines of argument that can be used to justify and legitimize political intervention, a tool that can be used in particular for the increasingly required impact assessment of programs and initiatives.

T. Strasser, F. Andren, F. Lehfuss, M. Stifter, P. Palensky: „ONLINE RECONFIGURABLE CONTROL SOFTWARE FOR IEDS IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics,*Early Access - IEEE Xplore*(2013), S. 1 - 10. Energy systems of the future must be able to meet a steadily growing demand for electricity while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting such disparate needs requires the integration of renewable energy resources on a large scale. However, today's energy management and automation systems do not adequately support the future requirement of functional adaptation of the algorithms during operation. The main aim of this article is therefore to define a standardized concept for a reconfigurable software architecture that can be used in intelligent electronic devices to control distributed and renewable energy sources. ///

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THE BEST WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO SHAPE IT. If your company is looking for cutting edge innovations, then AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is your partner of choice. Because in our institute the most acute minds in Europe are working today on tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tools and technologies, laying the ground for the solutions the future demands. Learn more about the future by visiting www.ait.ac.at

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18.01.2011 12:37:47 Uhr 25.02.2010 13:47:47 Uhr