VERENA prize 2006 awarded to young Austrian engineers by VERBUND

Alexander Werner Großegger achieved first place at the VERENA 2006 ceremony. The winner was prized with an award for his thesis completed at the Technical University of Graz on the "comparative analysis of a three-chamber water lock and a conventional dual-chamber system for pumped storage power plants", for which he received Euro 4,000.

The VERENA prize is annually awarded for particularly innovative scientific papers completed by technology students and is endowed with a total sum of Euro12,000. "Once again, the exceptional quality of the scientific papers submitted constitutes proof of the outstanding level of technology training in Austria," Michael Pistauer, Chairman of the Managing Board of VERBUND, proudly comments.

The second prize, endowed with Euro 3,000, went to Sylvia Eller for her paper completed at Innsbruck University on "the metallic bonding of phosphines and their (chemical) bonding with transitional metals". Third place (Euro 2,000) was achieved by Andreja and Aleksandra Cvetanovic of Vienna Technical University for their paper on "the description of the invention of the wave pendulum". Gerald Kalt of Vienna Technical University, with his thesis titled "Cost Resource Curves of Biomass Potentials in Austria and other central European Countries" and Gerald Koglbauer of Vienna's University of Agriculture, with his paper on Thermodynamic Contributions on the Utilization of Renewable Energies, tied for fourth place, receiving Euro 1,500 each.

Within the setting of the research forum, VERBUND, together with Vienna Technical University, also presented the book "Architecture at VERBUND". Thus, for the first time in the history of the power industry, a complete compilation of the architectural history of VERBUND Hydropower, Thermal Power and Substations is available.

"It is both VERBUND's mission and privilege, with the help of renowned experts, to document and evaluate the architecture of its facilities, as well as their cultural and historical implications," Herbert Schröfelbauer, Head of the research division at VERBUND and Chairman of the Board of VERBUND-Austrian Hydro Power AG (AHP), stated.