4 researchers from the University of Vienna receive FWF-ASTRA awards

24.06.2026 Press release | University | Research

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) honors a total of 18 austrian researchers

Four researchers from the University of Vienna are receiving the 2026 FWF-ASTRA Prizes: mathematician Matija Bucic, astrophysicist Katja Fahrion, and two researchers from the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science: Bettina Glasl and Sarah Pati. A total of 18 researchers, including 11 women, are receiving the FWF-ASTRA Prizes, which are endowed with up to one million euros. Two additional Merit Awards go to Markus Faulhuber from the Faculty of Mathematics and Pavel Pokhilko from the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna. This completes the list of recipients for the Austrian Science Awards, Austria’s most highly endowed science prizes: The Wittgenstein Prize, worth 2 million euros, goes to quantum physicist Markus Aspelmeyer, who works at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

To retain highly talented researchers amid international competition and attract new talent, the FWF is awarding 18 FWF-ASTRA Prizes this year. These prizes support advanced postdocs on their path to the top of their research fields. Among the recipients are eleven women who will carry out their five-year projects at universities and other research institutions throughout Austria.

Matija Bucic: Decoding the mathematics of complex networks

Networks shape our modern world, yet the pure mathematical laws governing their structure remain deeply mysterious. In his ASTRA project, Matija Bucic explores the "pass-to-expander paradigm," a powerful framework in graph theory. The research project aims to understand how highly connected, robust mathematical cores – known as expanders – can be systematically found within seemingly chaotic systems. By advancing this classical paradigm, the project will uncover the hidden mathematical rules that govern complex networks. This work pushes the boundaries of theoretical mathematics to resolve long-standing structural challenges. Ultimately, mapping these hidden blueprints deepens our fundamental understanding of mathematics and provides new theoretical foundations for analyzing the resilience of complex systems.

Portrait von Matija Bucic. — Matija Bucic

Katja Fahrion: Measuring the universe with star clusters

Measuring distances in the universe is a long-standing challenge in astronomy. Distances are needed to determine the properties of galaxies and to understand how fast the universe is expanding, but existing methods sometimes lead to conflicting results. In her ASTRA project, Katja Fahrion will be developing a new way to measure cosmic distances using star clusters, dense collections of stars found in almost all galaxies. By studying the internal motions of more than 1,200 star clusters, she will establish them as a new and independent tool for measuring distances. This will improve our understanding of galaxies and help answer one of the most fundamental questions in cosmology: How fast is the universe expanding?

Portrait von Katja Fahrion. — Katja Fahrion

Bettina Glasl: Zooming in on microbial life inside an animal

Animals are complex microbial ecosystems. Yet our understanding of microbial life inside animals is largely based on approaches that erase the multicellular architecture and average the functions of individual cells. Consequently, we cannot determine how a microbe’s location influences its function or how microbes regulate their animal hosts at the cellular level. In her ASTRA project, Bettina Glasl aims to overcome these limitations by combining single-cell and spatial approaches to visualize animal and microbial cells, their functions, and their interactions while preserving their native spatial context. Using a simple marine sponge as a model system, the project will reveal how spatial organization shapes symbiotic interactions and uncover the fundamental mechanisms by which microbes influence animal biology.

Portrait von Bettina Glasl. — Bettina Glasl

Sarah Pati: Improving the quality of drinking water

Sulfonates are an important group of emerging drinking water pollutants that can bypass conventional water treatment and reach our taps. In her ASTRA project, Sarah Pati will reveal where these pollutants come from and how they behave in the environment, helping authorities monitor them, assess their risks, and remove them more effectively. This research will test how sunlight, microbes, and drinking water treatment changes these chemicals and link those reactions to the persistence of sulfonates and formation of harmful byproducts. A key innovation is a stable isotope “fingerprinting” method to track the sources and pathways of sulfonates in the environment. Combining this tool with controlled lab studies and the analysis of real water samples, this project will build a toolkit to help keep drinking water safe.