On Friday, June 26, 2026, the celebration event “Danube Research – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” took place in the Marble Hall of the BMLUK to mark the 50th anniversary of the Austrian Committee and the 70th anniversary of the IAD, the International Association for Danube Research. Several ICC members contributed to the event’s success. Alexander Kirschner played a leading role in organizing the event, Andreas Farnleitner was invited to participate in the panel discussion, and Sophia Steinbacher was awarded this year’s Reinhard Liepolt Prize for Danube Research for her dissertation “Evaluation and Application of Molecular Diagnostic Methods for Microbial Water Quality Analysis” at the Vienna University of Technology.
In addition to presentations on the history and future of Danube research, the approximately 90 invited guests attended two panel discussions in the morning on the topics “The Danube as a Socio-Ecological System – Perspectives for Integrated Water Management” and “The Future of the Danube Habitat: All ‘Eco’ or Not?”. In the afternoon, the focus was on specialized scientific presentations on the Joint Danube Survey 2025 and current scientific challenges in the Danube River basin. The program was rounded out by a session on “Science in Dialogue with Society” and a poster session where early-career researchers presented their current projects, including our Theresa Hohl, who presented the concepts and results of the ARISE project.