"The sub auspiciis doctorate is an honour for our graduates who have performed excellently throughout their studies. I warmly congratulate them!" said Peter Riedler, rector of the University of Graz. "At the same time, this ceremony honours excellent science that responsibly serves society. I am delighted that our university offers an excellent breeding ground for special talents in research and teaching, who are building a good future for us and following generations with their knowledge and skills."
"Our joint graduation ceremony underlines the close cooperation between Graz University of Technology and the University of Graz in research and teaching," said Graz University of Technology Rector Horst Bischof. "For many years, we have been combining our strengths, which complement each other perfectly. Together, we are creating an inspiring environment at the science location of Graz that has international appeal and in which talented individuals can develop their full potential. The six young scientists whose extraordinary achievements we are celebrating today are a shining example of this, and I warmly congratulate them."
"As Governor of Styria, I would like to warmly congratulate all doctoral graduates on their impressive success. The doctorate sub auspiciis is the most outstanding achievement in an academic career, of which you can be very proud," said Governor Mario Kunasek, who had to cancel his participation in the ceremony at short notice due to illness, via Provincial Councillor Claudia Holzer. “With talent, diligence and also a lot of patience, you have gained your exceptional scholastic and academic achievements - and represented the university location of Graz in an exemplary manner in the public perception. I wish you all the very best for your professional and private future!”
The sub auspiciis doctoral graduates of the University of Graz
Andreas Habring grew up in Grödig near Salzburg. Even as a student at the HTL, a secondary school, specialising in mechanical engineering, he felt the need to get to the bottom of things and dispel doubts. After enrolling at Graz University of Technology to study physics and mathematics, it was the latter subject that particularly captivated him: "Once something has been proven mathematically, it is certain forever." During his master's programme, Habring became interested in mathematical image processing, which he then also devoted himself to in his doctoral thesis at the Department of Mathematics and Scientific Computing at the University of Graz. His dissertation was supervised by Martin Holler. Since December 2024, the scientist has been conducting research as a postdoc at the Institute of Visual Computing at Graz University of Technology in Thomas Pock's research group. The goal is to optimise the quality of imaging using mathematical and statistical methods. Habring's enthusiasm for his subject is not tied to a specific topic: "On the one hand, I generally enjoy working on difficult tasks. On the other hand, I am fascinated by the elegance, precision and exactness of mathematics." Habring has been studying law on the side since 2022. "Applying the law is - at least in theory - a bit like deriving a mathematical proof." What's more, "I can discuss law, democracy or political issues with my girlfriend or relatives, but unfortunately I usually can't discuss mathematics."
Andreas Windischbacher was born in Graz in 1994. When he was deciding what to study after graduating from high school, he mainly followed the advice of his family and teachers. "Because the natural sciences promise secure jobs, but physics wasn't my thing at the time and studying mathematics seemed a bit dry to me, my choice fell on chemistry," he admits with likeable honesty. Or maybe the Chemistry Olympiad course at the BG/BRG Oeverseegasse secondary school laid a foundation stone after all? During his NAWI Graz programme at the University of Graz and Graz University of Technology, Windischbacher devoted himself primarily to physical and theoretical chemistry. "In these fields, you can simulate experiments on the computer without the risk of burning down a laboratory," he explains with a sense of humour. He wrote his doctoral thesis at the Department of Physics at the University of Graz under the supervision of Peter Puschnig. Since January 2024 Windischbacher has been a postdoc in Puschnig's research group. As part of a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, he is calculating the interaction of light with squaraine molecules. Squaraines are dyes that are of interest for light-based applications in photovoltaics, photosensory technology or biomedicine. The aim of the project is to gain deeper insights into the optical properties of these molecules.
The sub auspiciis doctoral graduates of Graz University of Technology
Fikret Bašić, born in 1994 in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been interested in computer-based systems since he was a child. After graduating from school, he studied electrical engineering with a focus on computer science at the University of Bihać. During his bachelor's degree, he received several awards and scholarships, including the Adil Zulfikarpašić Foundation scholarship for being the best student at the University of Bihać in 2014/2015. Fikret Bašić transferred to TU Graz for his master's degree in computer science. During this time, he received an ITalent South East scholarship from the Styrian branch of the Austrian Industry Association (IV) and worked on two projects in the field of smart sensors and simulation, as well as at the Know-Center, where he deepened his knowledge of data science and machine learning. After a short stint at CISC Semiconductors, he returned to Graz University of Technology for his doctorate: he wrote his dissertation on "Enabling Secure and Wireless Battery Management Systems" as part of a collaboration with NXP Semiconductors. Fikret Bašić received the Hans List Prize in 2023 and the Scientist of the Year Award from the Society of Bosnian Academics in Austria in 2024. He is currently a postdoc at the Institute of Technical Informatics at TU Graz, where he is working on the security of embedded and wirelessly networked systems.
Barbara Gigerl was born in Deutschlandsberg in 1994 and passed her school-leaving certificate at the HTBLA Kaindorf. As a teenager, she liked to write poems and short stories, and she still uses this creativity in her job as a computer scientist today: "IT security is about making a system secure as efficiently as possible, which often requires clever approaches and creative solutions," says Barbara Gigerl. She began her studies at TU Graz in 2014, and she studied two subjects in parallel for both her bachelor's and master's degrees: initially, computer science and software engineering and management for her bachelor's degree, and later computer science and software engineering and management. She received awards for both of her master's theses: in 2019, she received the State Prize from the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research for her thesis "Automated Analysis of Speculation Windows in Spectre Attacks"; a year later, she won the Forum Technik und Gesellschaft (Technology and Society Forum) Prize for her second thesis "Utility of transfer entropy for the extraction of influence networks". "In our daily lives, we use IT systems all the time without thinking about how much work is involved in actually keeping them secure," says Barbara Gigerl, who did her doctorate research on how embedded devices can be protected against side-channel attacks used by attackers to steal cryptographic keys and sensitive data. Since September 2024, Gigerl has been working for Apple in Cambridge (UK) as a design verification engineer.
Reinhard Lüftenegger was born in Salzburg. As a teenager, he aspired to a career as a professional racing cyclist, but then graduated from the HTBLA Salzburg with a focus on electrical engineering before taking up a degree in engineering and philosophy at the University of Salzburg. However, the aesthetics and harmony of mathematics soon prompted Reinhard Lüftenegger to change his field of study. After completing his bachelor's degree in mathematics, he turned to cryptography as the foundation of IT security towards the end of his master's degree in cryptography. Through a suggestion from his professor Peter Hellekalek, Reinhard Lüftenegger became aware of the research focus on cryptography at Graz University of Technology, which turned out to be a crucial pointer for his future career. From 2019 to 2023, Lüftenegger worked at the Institute of Information Security on the design and security analysis of a new generation of cryptographic algorithms that are suitable for zero-knowledge proofs, among other things. "Christian Rechberger was an important mentor in this process and a great teacher, both professionally and personally," says Reinhard Lüftenegger, looking back on his doctoral studies.
Andrea Pferscher, born in Feldbach in 1994 and raised in the municipality of Markt Hartmannsdorf, enjoyed solving puzzles and mathematical problems even as a child. She soon started writing her own computer programs to tackle more complex tasks. She graduated from the Federal Commercial Academy in Feldbach with a focus on information and communication technology and then studied software engineering and management at Graz University of Technology. After completing her bachelor's degree, Andrea Pferscher specialised in the security and correctness of IT systems for her master's degree. She finally completed her doctorate in Bernhard Aichernig's "Formal Methods" research group with her doctoral thesis "Automata Learning for Security Testing and Analysis in Networked Environments". Today, Andrea Pferscher is a postdoc at the University of Oslo, conducting research in formal methods and developing digital twins to model the effects of climate change on the Oslofjord and the transmission of diseases.
More information
The "Promotio sub auspiciis Praesidentis rei publicae" is an honour for outstanding achievements in school and university studies. Sub auspiciis doctoral graduates have completed all upper school classes, the Matura (school-leaving certificate) and their studies, including the doctorate, with excellent success and have proven themselves worthy of distinction through their conduct both at and outside the university.
