Endowed professorships

Networking and exchange between existing endowed professorships, anchoring in the university landscape and embedding this expertise in international forums.

The BMK is supporting areas of knowledge for Austria as a location for innovation with the "endowed professorship" call for proposals.

Endowed professorships are intended to bring outstanding researchers to Austria. The funding period is limited to a maximum of 5 years and covers the development and establishment of new topics in the Austrian university and research landscape.

In 2018, the first BMK endowed professorship in the field of innovative aviation technologies was filled at TU Graz with Sergio Amancio. Together with his team, Prof. Amancio is working on innovative materials and production technologies specifically for the aerospace sector.

He is supported by renowned local companies as financing partners, namely:

Böhler Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG
Böhler Schmiedetechnik GmbH & Co KG
Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH
Fuchshofer GmbH
TCM International
Tool Consulting & Management GmbH
voestalpine Edelstahl GmbH

Research Group for Aircraft Systems

The Research Group for Aircraft Systems was established in 2021 with funding from the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK), TU Wien and co-financing industrial partners within the framework of an endowed professorship at TU Wien.

The research group is headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Berens and pursues the following objectives:

Increase Austria's scientific output in aeronautical subjects, with an emphasis in sustainability and achieving climate neutral flight,
Establish a co-operational network with industries and research institutes,
Establishment of a university Master's program in Aeronautical Engineering,
Establishing TU Wien as an internationally recognized center for aviation in Austria

The Aircraft Systems research group deals with the following topics:

Integration of electric aircraft propulsion technologies: systems for hydrogen storage and processing (CGH2/LH2), fuel cells, accumulators, engines, transmissions, propulsors,
Efficient thermal management and integration of thermal management systems into the airframe,
Aerodynamics and aeroacoustic simulations of aircraft systems,
Validation of numerical models based on tests with scaled components,
Component optimisation and system integration, as well as
Development of reduced-order models for use in aircraft concepts and system simulation environments.

Industry partners/Sponsors:

Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH
FACC Operations GmbH
TEST-FUCHS GmbH
Rübig GmbH & Co. KG
Frequentis AG
TTTech (since 2023)