On 29 February 2024, there was a National Science Day Celebration organised by the Embassy of India in Vienna. Prof. Lutz Nasdala delivered online the “Prof. C.V. Raman Memorial Lecture” in honour of the first Indian laureate of the Nobel Price in physics.
Whilst two-dimensional dendrites of Fe or Mn oxides (e.g. at fractures) are a common phenomenon, three-dimensional dendrites are decidedly rare. Soch objects occurring in a porous zeolith rock were studied recently by an international team, among others by Raman spectroscopy in our institute.
University of Vienna geologist Jennifer Zwicker is investigating whether archaea play a role in the formation of magnesite using the example of the Kraubath deposit in Styria (Austria). If so, the tiny microorganisms could help us in the fight against the climate crisis.
As part of a cooperative project between the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (museum of the history of fine art) and the Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography of the University of Vienna, all 172 jewels of the Imperial Crown have now been examined and documented in detail.