Ignaz Vergeiner

Ignaz Vergeiner, flying a kite (year?)

Ignaz Vergeiner (born December 13, 1938 in St. Justina , East Tyrol, † February 28, 2007 in Wels ) was an Austrian scientist ( meteorology , mathematics and physics ). In addition to his theoretical work in meteorology, he was involved in energy and environmental issues, in particular against the use of nuclear power.

Life

After attending grammar school in Lienz , Ignaz Vergeiner studied mathematics and physics at the University of Innsbruck from 1957 to 1961 . During his teaching degree, he already worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics. After he became an assistant there in 1962, he did his doctorate two years later under Herfried Hoinkes .

In 1965, Vergeiner became a research assistant in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University in Fort Collins , Colorado . Between 1966 and 1970 he spent two years as a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder , Colorado. There he worked, among other things, on the Colorado Lee Wave Project , which continues to inspire scientists from all over the world with regard to “currents over mountain ranges”.

After returning to the University of Innsbruck in 1971, he brought the scientific experience he had gained in the USA to the institute. In the following years, his main professional interest was mountain meteorology. Thanks to his well-founded mathematical and physical training, he repeatedly created conceptual models of great clarity, such as the dynamics of alpine wind systems and the foehn . He also dealt with the limits of models and their application.

In 1976 Vergeiner completed his habilitation in the field of meteorology and became a university lecturer. Subsequently, he also held a number of shorter visiting professorships at the Free University of Berlin , the universities of Frankfurt , Hamburg , Oslo and Bergen (Norway) as well as at Monash University in Victoria (Australia).

In addition to, as well as in his scientific work, environmental and energy policy issues have become increasingly central for Vergeiner over the years. For example, he was involved in the “Initiative of Austrian Nuclear Power Plant Opponents” (IÖAG) not only against the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant , but also for more efficient energy use and the increased use of renewable energies. In 1982 he took part in preliminary talks for the establishment of a green party, which should be a mouthpiece for committed people and initiatives. Two years later he ran in the state elections in Tyrol at the top of the " List for Another Tyrol ", which however, with a result of 2.92%, could not achieve a mandate.

In 1982 Vergeiner worked on the international ALPinen EXperiment (ALPEX), which dealt with the interaction of atmospheric currents and the European Alps in previously unknown detail. In the same year he began working as an expert with a focus on dispersion calculations in complex terrain, partly for official bodies, partly for citizens' initiatives. In 1988 he was a member of the expert group of the Austrian Ministry of the Environment on the planned reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf, Bavaria .

Between 1993 and 1995 Ignaz Vergeiner acted as a meteorological expert in the proceedings against the operating company of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg , Pennsylvania on behalf of the plaintiff. The worst nuclear accident in the USA to date occurred there in 1979. Until recently, Vergeiner worked on a project to deal with the incidents at that time. In March 2012 the multimedia opera “Three Mile Island” premiered at the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe. This is a cooperation between Karl Hoffmann, Andrea Molino and Guido Barbieri and is based on interviews by K. Hoffmann with Ignaz Vergeiner in the last year of his life.

After his retirement in 2003, Vergeiner moved to Wels , but continued to give lectures at the meteorological institute in Innsbruck and prepare reports. A year later he got cancer. Ignaz Vergeiner died on February 28, 2007.

Publications

• Mixing path concept and Richardson number with stable stratification (based on an analysis of the wind and temperature profiles of the South Pole station in 1958) . Dissertation University of Innsbruck, VI + 114S., 1964
• with DK Lilly: The dynamic structure of lee wave flow as obtained from balloon and airplane observations . Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 98, No. 3, p. 220-232, 1970
• Foehn and lee wave currents in a three-dimensional numerical model . Ber. nat.-med. Ver. Innsbruck, 1976, Volume 63, pp. 11-56
• with H. Kolb, H. Pichler, R. Steinacker: Meteorological study on the connection between emissions from the Wackersdorf reprocessing plant, Bavaria, and the immissions caused by it in Austria . Research reports 5/89, published by the Federal Chancellery, Sect. VII, 222 pages + appendix, 1989

Web links

• Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics at the University of Innsbruck
• Radio feature "Three Mile Island" by K. Hoffmann, BR2 from March 24, 2012
• Fairewinds - Information about the opera TMI (English)