26/09/2022

During an academic ceremony on 14 September 2022, the University for Continuing Education Krems conferred honorary professorships upon Alessandra Bonazza, Miloš Drdácký and Wolfgang Rohrbach to acknowledge their exceptional achievements in teaching and research and to show their close ties to the University. Christoph Gisinger’s outstanding commitment to the university earned him the Ring of Honor.

Friedrich Faulhammer, Rector of the University for Continuing Education Krems, described the awards as a visible sign of exceptional performance in teaching, research and administration as well as of the close ties with the university.

Prof Christoph Hanus, who heads the Department for Building and Environment at the Faculty of Education, Arts and Architecture, held the laudatory speeches for Prof.essa Alessandra Bonazza, Prof Miloš Drdácký, and Prof Wolfgang Rohrbach. Prof Nehrer, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medicine, did the honors as laudator for Prof Christoph Gisinger.

Alessandra Bonazza

In 2004, Alessandra Bonazza received her PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of Ferrara, after studying geology. Since 2004, Alessandra Bonazza has been coordinating the area of "Impacts on Environment, Cultural Heritage and Human Health" at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate ISAC -CNR (Italy). In addition, she is Professor of "Environmental impact on materials, deterioration and aging" at the University of Bologna and member of the PhD Board of Earth and Marine Sciences (EMAS) at the University of Ferrara. As a visiting professor and lecturer, Bonazza has lectured over the years at various universities worldwide, including Hong Kong, Campeche (Mexico), Cergy-Pontoise (France) and Krems. Her association with the Department for Building and Environment goes back many years and is reflected in the large number of research projects that have been carried out together. Especially the topic of built heritage and cultural landscape exposed to climate extreme events is pivotal for the intensive cooperation and will continue to be important in the future. Alessandra Bonazza acted as project coordinator in a number of EU projects of particular importance to the Department, including the ProteCHt2save project, the "Study on Safeguarding Cultural Heritage from Natural and Man-Made Disasters" project and the STRENCH research project, which is still ongoing. Besides the close collaboration in projects, there has been and still is a close collaboration between the Department for Building and Environment and Alessandra Bonazza at major events and conferences and she is often a guest at lecture series in the house, such as recently at the Forum Building Science 2021. Alessandra Bonazza is furthermore strongly involved in teaching at the Department, both in regular courses and in the Summer University, such as in 2019 in the program ENVIMAT 2019 "Climate Change and Cultural Landscapes".

Miloš Drdácký

Miloš Drdácký studied "Civil Engineering" and "Theory of Structures" at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague and received his "DrSc" in 2001. He obtained his habilitation at the Technical University of Brno in 2004. Drdácký spent many years working as a researcher and later as a director at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, where he also founded the Center for Historical Structures and Settlements and contributed significantly to the establishment of a new scientific field of monument preservation. Recognized worldwide as a scientist in the field of cultural heritage protection, Miloš Drdácký is a frequently invited expert by international commissions or UNESCO missions to assess monuments and settlements. At present, his results from domestic and international funded projects have been published in more than 500 articles and other publications Furthermore, he holds four patents and five utility models in the field of construction, testing and diagnosis of historical materials. When developing the Department for Building and Environment in the past, Miloš Drdácký played a significant role and will continue to do so in the future. This applies equally to the scientific field and to teaching. Thus, he was in charge of a number of important project proposals. Among these are the Study on Safeguarding Cultural Heritage from Man-Made Disasters, ProteCHt2save, and the STRENCH project. Furthermore, the already existing close cooperation between the Department for Building and Environment and the Institute of Miloš Drdácký is to be further expanded.

Wolfgang Rohrbach

Wolfgang Rohrbach studied economic and social history as well as Slavic philology at the University of Vienna and received his doctorate in 1972. Subsequently, his intrest in economics intensified and he habilitated at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Sopron in 2006. During many years Wolfgang Rohrbach held various expert and management positions in the insurance industry. Since 1984 he has been teaching insurance management and insurance history at various public and private universities and academies in Hungary and abroad. One focus of his scientific work is his insurance (historical) publications; among his numerous publications, the multi-volume compilation "Versicherungsgeschichte Österreichs" (Insurance History of Austria) is particularly noteworthy. Wolfgang Rohrbach is President of Europa Nostra Austria and Vice President of the Austrian-Serbian Association. Numerous national and international awards have been bestowed upon him for his work. Wolfgang Rohrbach's services to the University for Continuing Education Krems are worth mentioning in several areas. For example, his cooperation extends to support for a number of events, such as the firmly established "Forum Building Science". A further event worth mentioning in this context is the Würzburg Mold Forum, in which the Department for Building and Environment is an event partner and Wolfgang Rohrbach an active part. In addition, a series of jointly organized conferences with intensive participation of the department's staff illustrate the intensive cooperation over the years.

Christoph Gisinger

Christoph Gisinger completed medical studies, then clinical and scientific training at the 2nd Medical University Hospital, the Institute of Physiology in Vienna, the Royal Free Hospital (London, UK) and the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, USA). In 1986 he became a specialist and in 1991 he obtained his post-doctoral qualification in internal medicine and further specialist training in rheumatology, geriatrics, metabolic diseases and endocrinology. This was followed by business training at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, the St. Gallen Management Center and the Columbia Business School. Christoph Gisinger published numerous publications and books in the field of clinical internal medicine, arteriosclerosis research (especially immunopathogenesis), rheumatology, diabetology, endocrinology and rheumatology. In addition, also on geriatrics and medical gerontology, especially health services research, development of quality indicators in long-term care and various projects on the use of technology and robotics in people with geriatric conditions. Since 2006 Christoph Gisinger was active in teaching and research at the University for Continuing Education Krems, in 2008 he was appointed Univ. Professor for Geriatics at the University for Continuing Edcation Krems.  From 2010 Christoph Gisinger was a member of the University Senate and from 2013 to 2019 its chairman. In this role, in constructive partnership with the University Council and the Rectorate, he played a decisive role in advancing the university to a fully recognized institution, which ultimately led to the incorporation of the University for Continuing Education Krems into the University Act.

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