Juliana Padilha Leitzke came to Klagenfurt from Brazil in order to write her doctoral thesis and to contribute to reducing the risk of undetected hazardous ice on aircraft wings. She expects to complete her doctoral thesis shortly.

Tomography is a familiar concept from the field of medicine: It provides images of the inside of our bodies, which can be helpful in the identification of diseases. However, tomography can also be of assistance in the context of generating images of material surfaces. Most recently, the FFG-funded project ICELIFT focuses on determining the precise formation of ice on aircraft wings in preparation for tackling it with targeted heating measures. Juliana Padilha Leitzke, a PhD researcher in Hubert Zangl’s team at the Institute of Smart Systems Technologies, has spent the past three years on developing this technology further. She explains her work: “To generate an image, we use not just one frequency, but several. Because the electrical properties for solid and liquid phases in the material differ across the frequencies, they help us to characterise the materials, providing us with more information.” The technology can also be used for other applications, for instance in the detection of breast cancer. The end result of the three-year development period is now available in the form of a system that can recognise the transition from water to ice. Both hardware and software are more or less ready for use, with the latter playing an important role in the image generation process.

Juliana Padilha Leitzke, who has German, Portuguese, and Italian roots, came to Klagenfurt from Brazil three years ago. She hopes to complete her research and her doctoral thesis early in 2019 and is likely to move on to pastures new after that. That it was this particular project that brought her to Klagenfurt was serendipitous in her view: Her initial intention was to pursue a degree in the field of “Aviation”, but her hometown offered no such programme. She chose Electrical Engineering instead, completing her Bachelor’s and her Master’s degree, and then wanted to go out into the big, wide world to “expand the personal horizon”. The academic who supervised her Master’s thesis was well connected in the German speaking countries and drew her attention to the recruitment advert published by the University of Klagenfurt.

The work that took place in the lab and in the wind tunnel involved testing sensors on a model of a wing segment reproduced in original size. Within the scope of the project, the partners also conducted tests on aircrafts in authentic settings. In terms of content, the work matched the theme of her Master’s thesis very well. When we ask the native Brazilian, who was used to very different dimensions in relation to urban life until she moved here, about her initial impressions of Klagenfurt, she tells us: “Right from the start, I liked the lower volumes of traffic and the fact that it is significantly less noisy than it is at home. I enjoyed that very much.”

“Time will show what the future has in store”, Juliana Padilha Leitzke looks forward to the months ahead with curiosity and open-mindedness. “I want to improve technologies and see my work in completed final products that make it onto the market”, she adds. Her next challenge lies in finding an environment that motivates her to give her best on a daily basis, and where she can apply the expertise she has gained so far in the course of her academic career.

Der Beitrag Generating images of ice and water on aircraft wings erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

Die Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt schreibt folgende Stelle zur Besetzung aus:

Senior Scientist mit Doktorat (w/m)

an der Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften, Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft und Bildungsforschung, Arbeitsbereich Schulpädagogik und Historische Bildungsforschung, im Beschäftigungsausmaß von 100 {c8db3f4443fb2f1c80e20e2e8420a201d47393e6b007c83f4847286f4b955a35} (Uni-KV: B1 lit. b, www.aau.at/uni-kv). Das monatliche Mindestentgelt für diese Verwendung beträgt € 3.711,10 brutto (14 x jährlich) und kann sich durch die Anrechnung tätigkeitsspezifischer Vorerfahrung erhöhen. Voraussichtlicher Beginn des befristeten Anstellungsverhältnisses ist der 1. März 2019. Für die Dauer einer Vertretung (mindestens 2 Jahre ab Dienstantritt).

Aufgabenbereich:

• selbständige Lehrtätigkeit im Rahmen der Studien des Instituts für Erziehungswissenschaft und Bildungsforschung (BA/MA), insbesondere zu aktuellen schulpädagogischen Themen (Schul- und Bildungsreformen, Digitalisierung, Heterogenität, …) sowie zu Bildung, Entwicklung und Sozialisation in Kindheit und Jugend
• Betreuungs- und Prüfungstätigkeit im Bereich des BA-Studiums Erziehungswissenschaft (BA-Arbeiten/BA-Prüfung) und des MA-Studiums Schulpädagogik (ggf. Betreuung von MA-Arbeiten bzw. MA-Prüfungen im Promotionsfach)
• Selbständige Forschung und Publikationen im Bereich Schulpädagogik
• Mitwirkung bei der Konzeption, Durchführung und Koordination von Forschungsprojekten und Tagungen
• Mitwirkung bei Organisations- und Verwaltungsaufgaben sowie an Aktivitäten der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit des Instituts

Voraussetzungen für die Anstellung:

• Abgeschlossenes Studium der Erziehungswissenschaft / Pädagogik / Bildungsforschung / Bildungswissenschaften oder abgeschlossenes MA/Diplom-Studium Lehramt mit zumindest gutem Studienerfolg
• Abgeschlossenes Doktoratsstudium im Bereich Erziehungswissenschaft / Pädagogik / Bildungswissenschaft mit zumindest gutem Erfolg
• Fundierte Forschungserfahrung in Bezug auf schulpädagogische Fragestellungen
• Gute Methodenkompetenz (empirische Forschung)
• Erfahrungen in der Lehre an Universität und/oder Hochschule

Der Nachweis für die Erfüllung aller Voraussetzungen für die Einstellung muss bis spätestens 9. Jänner 2019 vorliegen.

Erwünscht sind:

• Auseinandersetzung mit Themen zur Entwicklung von Unterricht, Schule und Bildungssystemen sowie Sozialisation
• Erfahrungen in der Kooperation mit Schulen in Bildungsprojekten (Schul- und Unterrichtsentwicklungsprojekte) und/oder eigene Unterrichtserfahrung
• Internationale Erfahrungen (z.B. im Rahmen der Ausbildung oder von Projektkooperationen)
• Erfahrung in der Teamarbeit

Die Universität strebt eine Erhöhung des Frauenanteils beim wissenschaftlichen Personal an und fordert daher qualifizierte Frauen zur Bewerbung auf.

Menschen mit Behinderungen oder chronischen Erkrankungen, die die geforderten Qualifikationskriterien erfüllen, werden ausdrücklich zur Bewerbung aufgefordert.

Allgemeine Informationen finden BewerberInnen unter www.aau.at/jobs/Information.

Bewerbungen sind mit den üblichen Unterlagen (Bewerbungsschreiben, Lebenslauf, Nachweis des guten Studienerfolgs, Nachweis über die (mindestens) gute Bewertung der Master-/Diplomarbeit bzw. der Dissertation, Nachweis über die fachspezifische Ausrichtung des Studiums, Nachweis über Teamkompetenz und Fremdsprachenkompetenz) bis spätestens 9. Jänner 2019 unter der Kennung 804H/18 an die Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Dekanatskanzlei / Recruiting, ausschließlich über das Online-Bewerbungsformularunter www.aau.at/obf zu richten.

Es besteht kein Anspruch auf Abgeltung von Reise-und Aufenthaltskosten, die aus Anlass des Aufnahmeverfahrens entstehen.

Der Beitrag Senior Scientist mit Doktorat (w/m) an der Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften am Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft und Bildungsforschung, Arbeitsbereich Schulpädagogik und Historische Bildungsforschung – Kennung 804H/18 erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

In-flight icing of aircraft wings represents one of the biggest safety risks in aviation. Researchers have developed new wireless sensors allowing improved detection of ice formation.

When flights take place during bad weather conditions, planes inevitably spend extended periods flying through the cloud layer. With exterior temperatures below freezing – given the typical flight altitudes, this is frequently the case, even during the summer months – a dangerous process of ice formation can take place on the wings of the aircraft. This may have a negative effect on the flight characteristics, even leading to the aircraft crashing in extreme cases.

Researchers have now developed a sensor system that offers assistance with the detection of ice formation. The technology is based on sensors similar to those used on the blades of wind turbines. One of the innovative aspects lies in the design of the new sensors, which are significantly thinner and can therefore be better adapted to the aerodynamics of an aircraft. “The sensors measure the temperature and the degree of icing and wirelessly transmit this information to a receiving unit in the cockpit”, Hubert Zangl explains. He was the University of Klagenfurt (Institute of Smart Systems Technology) representative working on this project. The project team focused intensively on the thermal behaviour of the sensor, on the interactions with other components such as the heating elements, and on the accuracy of the temperature measurements taken on the wing surface. Another part of the project was devoted to achieving greater precision in the measurement of air stream on the surface and to performing simulations of the ice formation process. The construction of the antennae, required to ensure the best possible radio contact to the receiving unit, represented a particular challenge.

Funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), the project was carried out jointly with eologix sensor technology gmbh, FH JOANNEUM GmbH (Institute of Electronic Engineering) and Villinger GmbH (de-icing systems for the aviation industry). Testflights were carried out by Airborne Technologies. According to Hubert Zangl, the insights gained can be used in numerous different fields: “The sensor is flexible in terms of its installation and dimension, and consequently it is suitable for use in a vast range of situations.”

Photo: (c) www.airbornetechnologies.at

Der Beitrag New technology to determine ice on aircraft erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

A position as post-doctoral researcher at the Department of English and American Studies brought Matthias Klestil to Klagenfurt from Bayreuth. His research currently focuses on material from literature and films, which addresses versionality and coincidence. In our interview with Matthias Klestil, he tells us about the paths that led him to Klagenfurt, and he reveals what he finds fascinating about the USA.

Matthias Klestil’s grandfather, an Austrian, came to Germany during the Second World War. He met his future wife and settled in the Rheinland region, near Mönchengladbach, which is where Matthias Klestil was born. Klestil’s father has Austrian citizenship to this day, while Matthias Klestil is a German citizen. Applying the age-old question of “what if” – in the spirit of versionality, coincidence, causality, and determinism – the question arises: Would Matthias Klestil have noticed the advert for the position at the University of Klagenfurt if his family had not had old ties to Austria? Among other aspects, his post-doctoral thesis project addresses precisely these “what if” stories in literature and films, which are familiar to audiences thanks to blockbuster movies such as “The Butterfly Effect” or “Inception”, or Paul Auster’s new novel “4321”.

When invited to explain how he chose to specialise in American Studies, he cannot immediately point to a specific event that triggered a chain of subsequent decisions. However, his ardent enthusiasm for the fundamental idea of US America is nothing short of contagious. “The USA were moulded out of the spirit of Enlightenment and ever since those times they have remained in daily discourse with the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, the very keystones of their nation.” This is a particular feature of the USA, as he goes on to explain: “On the one hand, we have founding documents that enshrine absolute human dignity, while on the other hand we can see that these could never have been fulfilled. Over the course of the history of the USA, steps were taken again and again to draw closer to a realisation of the founding ideas. Yet, much like a pendulum, the process repeatedly swings in the other direction as well. This is a never-ending process.” Founded by immigrants and initially reliant on slavery and racial segregation, the nation is perpetually renegotiating its internal conflicts in a truly rich cultural diversity. The continuous endeavour to fulfil fundamental values and the discursive negotiation in society offer literary and cultural scholars a bountiful field of employment. One, which should also produce much “from which we can learn”.

Matthias Klestil discovered his interest in literature at an early age, and he is all the more delighted to follow the literary path in his profession. He read American and German Studies at Bayreuth University, spending one year at the University of Warwick in the UK, and six months at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. In his doctoral thesis he examined the interplay of mankind and nature, and explored mainly African American texts from an ecocritical perspective, in the sense of environmentally oriented literary and cultural studies. He is due to receive a dissertation prize from the city of Bayreuth for this work on the 9^th of November 2018.

Matthias Klestil does not regard literature as a closed system, but rather he is fascinated by “the bracing effect; by what the written word does to other discursive elements”. He adds: “Literature is extremely creative. It can incorporate so much, and it wields vast transformative power. We cannot simply ask ourselves: What does it do to people? But also: What does it do to the flows and the human development processes?”  This is due, he believes, to literature’s capacity to represent complexity in a unique manner. “In the end, it is only profound, if it does not merely state things, but does more with it.” During his time in Klagenfurt, Matthias Klestil hopes to look into the depths of literature and culture. Literature asks questions. Matthias Klestil wants to discover some of the answers to how it poses these questions, and what consequences they may have.

Der Beitrag Studying coincidence in literature and films erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI

Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt announces the following open position:

PreDoc Scientist (f/m) (in German: Universitätsassistent/in)

at the Faculty of Humanities, Departmant of Psychology, Health Psychology Unit (temporary contract for 4 years, scheme Uni-KV B1 www.aau.at/uni-kv, 100 {c8db3f4443fb2f1c80e20e2e8420a201d47393e6b007c83f4847286f4b955a35} employment). The minimum monthly gross salary amounts to € 2,794.60 (14 x per year) and can increase according to collective agreements regarding allowance for professional experience specific to the position. The expected starting date of the position is March 1^st, 2019.

The tasks and responsibilities of the position include:

• Conducting scientific research and activities required for the fulfillment of a doctoral degree in psychology
• Teaching basic and special courses in the Bachelor’s and Master’s in psychology programs
• Participation in the administrative and organizational responsibilities of the Department

Required Qualifications:

•  Master’s or Diploma degree in the area of psychological science at a domestic or foreign higher education institution
• Research interest in the area of family health psychology, public health and/or behavioral interventions
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in teams
• Excellent English language skills

 Proof of fulfillment of the required qualifications is to be provided together with the application documents by the 14^th of February 2019 at the latest.

 Additional Desired Qualifications:

• A research record, documented by international peer-reviewed publications and/or presentations
• Excellent German language skills
• Expertise in quantitative research methods
• Experience in university teaching in the areas relevant to the position

The position aims at the advanced professional and scientific training of graduates of a Master’s or Diploma degree programme with the goal of doctoral promotion in Psychology. Applicants with a completed Doctorate or Ph.D. in a related discipline are therefore ineligible for the position.

Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt aims to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions, especially in leadership, and therefore encourages qualified women to apply for the position. In case of equivalent qualification, women are accepted preferentially.

People with disabilities or chronic diseases, who fulfil the requirements, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Applications from qualified candidates with a migration background are encouraged.

General information for applicants can be found at www.aau.at/en/jobs/information

Applications with the customary documents are to be submitted no later than 2^nd of January 2019 indicating reference code 59H/18 to Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Dekanatekanzlei / Recruiting, exclusively via the online application form at www.aau.at/obf.

Travel and accommodation costs incurred during the application process will not be refunded.

Der Beitrag PreDoc Scientist (f/m) (in German: Universitätsassistent/in) at the Departmant of Psychology, Health Psychology Unit – code 59H/18 erschien zuerst auf Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

Source: AAU TEWI