Aurora Research Council

Academic discipline: Stellar Astrophysics

Konstanze Zwintz is professor for stellar astrophysics at the Institute for Astro- and Particle Physics of Universität Innsbruck. Her research focuses on the topics of early stellar evolution and stellar oscillations and in the combination of both. She has expertise in working with data obtained from ground- and space-based telescopes, in the scientific development of international satellite missions, in chairing international consortia, in teaching and supervising students at all levels (from Bachelor to PhD) and in science communication. Since many years, Konstanze Zwintz is a mentor for students at all levels and for pupils interested in STEM fields. 

Academic discipline: Microbiology

Dr. Sigrid Neuhauser is a scientist and deputy head of the Institute of Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck. Her current research focuses on understanding Phytomyxean plant parasites and their interactions with the environment, plants, marine algae and the role of phytomyxea and other protists involved in soil processes. Her current research is also including the abundance and prevalence of azole resistant fungi in the environement with a focus on human and plant pathogens, as well as more generally topics on fungal plant and algal pathogens and their disease mechanisms and control. She is also studying the interactions between the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans and its microbiota and the fate of microbes in antropogenically influenced habitats.

Since 2020, Sigrid Neuhauser holds a endowed professorship through the Ingeborg Hochmair Professorship program. She has received several fellowships and awards, including the FWF START Prize and is currently part of an EU Marie Curie Doctoral Network PHABB, the Jena Experiment and the MYCOS programme. Prof. Neuhauser has also worked at the Natural History Museum London and as a researcher outside of academia for MYKON OG. 

Academic discipline: Computer Science / Applied Cognitive Science

Academic discipline: Economic Sciences

Academic discipline: Computer Science/AI

Dr Irgens is the Vice Dean of Innovation and Impact at Copenhagen Business School, an advisor to the senior management of Kristiania, and board member of CLAIRE (the Confederation of Laboratories of Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe), Adra (The Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics Association) and NORA (The Norwegian Artificial Intelligence Consortium), and sits on the Digital Advisory Board of Abelia, the Steering Board of National Defense Innovation Center, and Danish Universities’ 

Dr Irgens has a Computer Science MSc and PhD in Artificial Intelligence. He has served in a number of senior management positions in universities and university colleges in Norway, including three times as Vice-Rector and twice as Faculty Dean, where he has been responsible for establishing or acquiring a number of research labs, research centres, and research institutions. He has also been a CEO, CTO, and Research Scientist. He founded Actenum Corporation, a Canadian AI-based company with global sales, and has served on several boards in the technology and research sectors.  

He is a co-founder of CLAIRE, Adra,  NORA, Simula Metropolitan Center for Digital Engineering, Center for Cyber and Information Technology, and has also been involved in establishing HousingLab (the Norwegian Center for Housing Market Economics), KAI (The Work Inclusion Competency Center). 

Academic discipline: Health and Life Sciences

Marjolein Zweekhorst is professor of Innovation and Education in the health and life sciences at the Athena Institute, part of VU Amsterdam. She has expertise in transdisciplinary research, training and development of interdisciplinary courses, participatory research in and with society, Community Service Learning (CSL) and with Science Shops. Since 2018, she leads the VU CSL team, aiming to implement CSL in all Bachelor programmes of VU Amsterdam.  In the Netherlands she participates in a national programme on transdisciplinary education and international she participates in three EU financed Erasmus projects and as well as in the Aurora Alliance.

Academic discipline: Health

Dr. Sarju Sing Rai is an Assistant Professor in “Competencies Development for Societal Transformation through Public Engagement in Transdisciplinary Research and Education” with focus on the themes – Global Health, and Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3). He is member of the Broader mind – Community Service Learning (CSL) project of VU Amsterdam, wherein he is involved in teaching and designing transdisciplinary and transformative education with multistakeholder involvement to jointly address complex (global) health issues. He is also involved in local knowledge alliances with community–based organizations, citizen groups, and educational institutions operating within the city of Amsterdam, viz. Knowledge alliance – Loneliness & Mental Wellbeing, and Knowledge Alliance – Inclusive and accessible City.

Within the Netherlands, he is involved in NRO’s CONNECT project with other 10 Dutch Universities, where he is co–leading activities to elucidate design elements and develop framework(s) for Transdisciplinary Learning in Higher Education. Internationally, he is co-leading the Aurora 2030 programme – work package focusing on Teaching and Learning for Societal Impact & Transformation.

Academic discipline: Theology

Sigríður Guðmarsdóttir is a Professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Iceland. Her research interests are in constructive and practical theology from various interdisciplinary perspectives such as gender, environment and decolonisation. Among her scholarly works is the monograph Tillich and the Abyss:  Foundations, Feminism and Theology of Praxis (Palgrave Macmillan 2016) and the coedited volume Trading Justice for Peace? Reframing Reconciliation in TRC processes in South Africa, Canda and Nordic Countries (AOSIS, 2021). 

Academic discipline: History

Guðmundur Hálfdanarson has a BA in history and archaeology from the universities of Lund in Sweden and Iceland in Reykjavík, MA in history from the University of Iceland and PhD in history from Cornell University. He currently holds the title of Jón Sigurðsson professor of history at the University of Iceland. His main field of research is Icelandic and European cultural, political, and social history, with a primary focus on theories and practices of nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Academic discipline: Chemistry

Full Professor in Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, Università Federico II of Naples, Professor Daniela Montesarchio’s scientific interests are devoted mainly to the chemical synthesis, characterization and applications of modified oligonucleotides and nucleosides with potential anticancer or antiviral activity and to studies on non-canonical DNA structures (e.g. G-quadruplexes) and G-quadruplex-based aptamers for cancer diagnostics and therapy. She is co-author of 167 scientific articles (h index = 35, Scopus source at March, 2024), published in international, peer-reviewed journals, 4 patents, 4 book chapters as well as of > 100 communications presented at international symposiums and conferences. She has been elected member of the Academic Senate of Università Federico II of Naples for the mandate 2017-2021 and is currently member for the mandate 2021-2025.

Academic discipline: Law

Roberta Alfano is Associate Professor in tax law at the Università Federico II of Naples and qualified as full professor. PhD in Institutions and environmental, financial and tax policies, her core research areas are environmental taxation and European tax law. Her specific research interest includes all areas of environmental taxation, EU tax law, the protection of taxpayers’ rights, gender taxation , tourism taxation and policies, Italian tax law and administrative tax penalties.  

She directs and participates in several competitive research projects. In particular, she is Coordinator of the Summer School in European Environmental Taxation  (2019/2023) and Summer School in European Environmental Taxation 2.0 (2023/202026) Jean Monnet Module co-financed by the European Commission. 

Academic discipline: Health

Academic discipline: Education/Social science

Academic discipline: Archeoloogy

Professor of Prehistory at the URV since 2000
Director of the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution from 2015 until 2023
PhD in History, URV 1997 

Professor Robert Sala-Ramos was responsible for the Erasmus Mundus Master and Doctorate on Quaternary and Prehistory since 2004 until 2018. He is PI of the research project at the Ain Beni Mathar – Guefait (Eastern Morocco) where he lead archaeological excavations within international cooperation programs with the Université Mohammed Premier of Oujda (Eastern Morocco), as well as PI of the Research Project at Orce (Andalusia, Spain) from 2009 through 2015. 

His research is devoted to the evolution of the behaviour and ways of life of the first settlers of Europe and Maghreb, especially regarding the technical system and the settlement in new territories. 

Academic discipline: Physical Chemistry

Rosa Caballol Lorenzo was born in Barcelona (Spain). She graduated in Chemistry and obtained a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Barcelona. Since 2016, she is Emeritus Professor at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Tarragona (Spain), the Southern Catalonia University created in 1991. She has developed her academic career in Tarragona since 1977, when the center was still a Delegation of University of Barcelona. She became Full Professor in Physical Chemistry in 1992. Her research field has been Theoretical Chemistry, specifically methodological developments in Configuration Interaction techniques with applications to excited states properties and magnetic coupling in molecular systems, focusing mainly in the interpretation of the physics leading to the observed phenomena.

Beyond teaching and research, she has participated in different institutional tasks. She has been the Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of the URV, 1995-1998 and she has coordinated the interuniversity Master in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, 2007-2013, and the URV Doctorate program in Chemical Science and Technology, 2013-2022. She has also participated as expert in evaluation agencies, as AQUCatalunya, the Catalan Quality Agency for Universities, and HCÉRES (France), the High Council for Evaluation of Research and Higher Education.  

In 1998, she was awarded the Narcís Monturiol Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya for the contribution to the development of Science in Catalonia.

Academic discipline: History

Academic discipline: Analytical Chemistry