Alex Chik from the hydrology group in the ICC won the Vienna Science Slam 2014

© Roland Rudolph | Alex Chik - Winner of the Vienna Science Slam 2014

Science Slam Vienna is an annual contest where participants must creatively present their research within 6 minutes to inform and inspire the public audience about their subject area.  Supported by the Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Wirtschaft, local TV station Okto and Media Productions, this year's Science Slam was held in Wiener Metropol on November 11, 2014. The winner of the contest was determined collectively by an audience of over 450 people; the "slammer" with the most compelling, understandable and creative presentation was declared the winner.

This year's winning entry was entitled "Kaltes klares Wasser: Messen des Unmessbaren" by Alex Chik, a doctoral candidate representing TU-Wien from the hydrology group of Alfred Paul Blaschke that is part of the Interuniversity Cooperation Center Water & Health. The presentation highlighted the importance of and need for improving our understanding of waterborne pathogen transport in complex, natural systems (such as groundwater and bank filtration systems), which is necessary to ensure the microbial safety of our drinking water. Interdisciplinary approaches spanning the fields of treatment engineering, hydrogeology, microbiology and statistics are essential for furthering our knowledge and reducing the uncertainty about the performance of these complex systems. Alex will proceed to take part in the Austrian Science Slam finals in May 2015.