A rare occasion and honor: today four students graduated “Promotio sub auspiciis” at a special ceremony at the Johannes Kepler University. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen personally presented Helene Laimer, Maria Wiesauer, Samuel Gratzl and Peter Bräumann with rings of honor at a special “Promotio sub auspiciis” graduation ceremony. Three students now hold doctorate degrees in Natural Sciences & Engineering and one holds a doctorate degree in Social Sciences, Economics & Business.

Graduate Peter Bräumann remarked that the ceremony at the JKU “…symbolically ended an enormous period in my life.” He looked back gratefully at “…this path with all of its ups and downs.” The 29-year-old from Salzburg completed a degree in Business and Law and now focuses on issues pertaining to national and international tax law at the JKU’s Institute for Tax Law and Tax Management as well as at the JKU’s Research Lab for Digital Transformation and Law at the Linz Institute of Technology (LIT). His dissertation titled “Die Besteuerung unternehmerischer Innovation und Forschung in Österreich – Rechtliche Systemanalyse und betriebswirtschaftliche Evaluation” focuses on systematic analyzing taxing research and development activities at private companies in Austria.

Biologist Maria Wiesauer studied “Molecular Biology” at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg as well as at the JKU. Her dissertation titled “Chemical and Photochemical Control of Streptavidin-Biotin Based Biological Applications” focuses on a widely-used biochemical process. Dr. Wiesauer remarked, “I am overjoyed and grateful to have successfully completed my studies. The doctorate degree program was intense and required a great deal of time, energy and endurance on my part. This makes finishing it all the more rewarding.”

For Samuel Gratzl, the graduation ceremony at the JKU signaled the end of important part of his life: “The ceremony was the culmination of an important chapter in my life. I would not have done it if it weren’t for everyone who accompanied me along the way.” He winked and added, “Having good memory skills didn’t hurt either.” His dissertation titled “Visually Guiding Users in Selection, Exploration, and Presentation Tasks” helped the computer scientist to develop tools to make it easier to analyze new insight into large, complex data, whether it be choosing the perfect smartphone or finding possible causes of cancer.

Helene Laimer was also pleased to be honored for her academic achievements at the special ceremony. The 28-year-old grew up in Oberndorf (Salzburg) and studied mathematics at the University of Salzburg before moving to Linz to pursue a doctorate degree. As part of her work at the Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics, her dissertation titled "High-Dimensional Algorithms – Tractability and Component-Wise Constructions" focused on numerical integration and approximation of (high-dimensional) functions. Today also marks the end of a long road for Dr. Laimer: “I am so pleased and thrilled. This is truly a great honor.”

At the ceremony, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen spoke about the significance of both the award and ceremony. “Outstanding academic achievement is of great importance to our country and credit must be given where it is due. Sub-auspiciis graduation ceremonies honor high academic achievements and I am pleased to congratulate four scientists at the JKU. I believe this shows our universities’ commitment to high quality in research and teaching as well as encouraging our students’ achievements and performance.”

Michael Strugl, Minister of Economics and Deputy Governor, remarked, “Outstanding academic achievements not only lay the cornerstone for a successful personal future, but are also essential for the region as a location of business and science. Today’s honorees have my respect for their achievements and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them on behalf of the Upper Austrian government for their recognition by the Austrian president. Today is also an honor for the Johannes Kepler University as it once again shows it is a location of top research and excellence.”

Proud of Outstanding Students
JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas remarked, “Today, four of our students received Austria’s highest academic distinction. An achievement like this not only requires committment, diligence and talent, but also the ability to think outside of the box and earn high academic grades. In short: this kind of achievement requires well-educated, performance-oriented individuals. I am extremely proud that the JKU can produce academics of this caliber.”

Norbert Muller, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering & Natural Sciences, added, “The fact that two students graduated ‘sub auspiciis’ with a doctorate degree in Natural Sciences and one in Technical Sciences is the highlight of the 101st semester at the JKU’s Faculty of Engineering & Natural Sciences. The academic achievements in chemistry, computer science, and mathematics have made us extraordinarily proud and underscore the TN’s commitment to the highest quality in research and teaching.”

Helmut Pernsteiner, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics & Business, is equally proud: “October 29 marks the day that a sixth graduate from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics & Business has graduated ‘sub auspiciis’ since 1981. We are extremely proud of these special graduates.”