© Photo courtesy of Purdue University

Period: 24 August 2026 – 18 December 2026
Course: Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry
Global Fellow at the Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation, Faculty of Mathematics and Geoinformation

Prof. Garrison's research focuses on remote sensing of the Earth by observing how electromagnetic signals—such as those used for communication or navigation—interact with the environment. He has worked in this field for most of his career, with his most notable contribution being early development of Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R). GNSS-R uses changes in navigation signals (e.g., GPS, Galileo) reflected from land or ocean surfaces to determine geophysical variables such as soil moisture or ocean wind speed. He has since generalized these techniques to nearly any emitted signal that interacts with the natural environment, a technique now known as "signals of opportunity."

At TUW, Prof. Garrison will teach a course introducing GNSS-R methods, starting from fundamental physical principles and signal theory and showing how they are applied to extract useful measurements from transmissions designed for other purposes.

His research at TUW will examine how signals of opportunity interact with land surfaces, aiming to disentangle the effects of vegetation and standing water. He will closely work together with colleagues from the Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation of TUW, who will bring in their expertise in microwave remote sensing and GNSS data analysis. The aim of the collaboration is to apply physics-informed machine learning to interpret GNSS-R data, first to better understand its underlying physics, then to use that understanding to constrain the retrieval of geophysical parameters. These methods could enable new, higher-accuracy retrievals of land surface parameters from ESA's recently launched HydroGNSS mission. New applications of these measurements could also expand TUW's research portfolio in areas of significant societal benefit, including soil moisture, flood and vegetation monitoring. Prof. Garrison's visit will bring his special expertise in GNSS-R techniques to TUW and help lay the groundwork for future research using signals of opportunity from upcoming Earth observation satellites.

© Jens Hauser

Period: 1 September 2026 – 28 February 2027
Courses: ”Microperformativity, Circularity and Greenness in Art and Science” and “Workshop on Microperformativity, Circularity and Greenness in Art and Science”
Global Fellow at the Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, Faculty of Technical Chemistry

Jens Hauser is a Paris- and Copenhagen-based media studies scholar, curator, and writer specializing in the intersections of art, technology, and the life sciences. He has served as Professor of Art History at KIT and is currently a researcher at the University of Copenhagen’s Medical Museion and École Polytechnique Paris-Saclay, as well as a distinguished faculty member at Michigan State University, where he co-directs the BRIDGE artist-in-residency program. He is known for his international engagement to foster Art & Science initiatives to stimulate collaborations where artists and scientists co-investigate questions, methods, and materials—producing new knowledge, artifacts, and experiences that neither discipline could achieve alone. He has developed an aesthetic and epistemological theory of biomediality as part of his PhD at Ruhr University Bochum, holds a degree in science and technology journalism from Université François Rabelais in Tours, and widely published on 'microperformativity' and 'greenness studies'—topics he will present in two lectures and an workshop in the Winter semester. His teaching activities at TU Wien explore how hybrid practices between art and science can rethink concepts of “circularity”, unpack the metaphor of “green,” and make micro-scale biological and technical agencies visible. Hauser’s transdiciplinary research questions the way “green” travels across arts, sciences, and media, and critically addresses greenwashing and the fetishization of “naturalness,” while demonstrating how techno-literate artists leverage ambiguity between the natural and the artificial. His approach to “microperformativity” foregrounds other-than-human agencies—biological and technical—that challenge human-centered, mesoscopic traditions, opening alternative, often playful perspectives and dissolving disciplinary boundaries. Hauser will also create the basis for a new transdisciplinary TU Summer Academy to be held in 2027.

© Bas Princen

Period: 1 October 2026 – 31 January 2027
Course: Media of Architecture
Visiting Professor at the Institute for Art History, Building Research and Conservation of Historic Monuments, opens an external URL in a new window, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, opens an external URL in a new window

Bas Princen is an artist and photographer. He studied industrial design at the Design Academy Eindhoven and subsequently architecture at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. In his photographic work, he explores the transformation of urban landscapes and changing urban spaces. His aim is not merely to document, but also to use photography as a tool to develop ideas about spaces, places, architecture and landscape.
In 2010, he was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale for his collaboration with OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen.

In his course, students at TU Wien gain insights into the connection between photography, architecture and urban research, and into how images can contribute to the perception and study of architecture and urban space.

© Fotostudio Meidling

Period: 1 September 2026 – 28 February 2027
Course: Integratives Entwerfen Bachelor Urbaner Holzbau XV – IBA’27
Visiting Professor at the Institute for Architecture and Design, opens an external URL in a new window, BMLUK Endowed Professorship for Timber Construction and Design in Urban Areas, opens an external URL in a new window, Faculty for Architecture and Planning, opens an external URL in a new window

DI Bettina Schnedl, MSc, combines architectural design, engineering and contemporary expertise in timber construction in a unique way. As a qualified architect and civil engineer, she brings together ‘the best of both worlds’: the creative perspective of architecture and the structural understanding of structural engineering. This dual professional foundation is complemented by ‘überholz’ – a university course in timber construction culture at the University of Art and Design Linz.

Her professional career has been characterised by interdisciplinary planning practice at the interface between design, structural engineering, timber construction, building envelopes and construction in Germany and Austria. Since 2025, Bettina Schnedl has been running her own interdisciplinary planning practice, bettina schnedl ZT GmbH. Her dual qualifications as an architect and a chartered engineer reflect a holistic approach to planning, which views design, structural and technical issues as interrelated components of the building process. In addition, she is a visiting professor of structural engineering at the University of Art and Design Linz, giving her up-to-date teaching experience at the interface between architecture and structural engineering.

The BMLUK Endowed Chair in Timber Construction and Design in Urban Environments is delighted to have secured Bettina Schnedl as a visiting professor for the 2026/27 winter semester as part of the course ‘Integrative Design: Bachelor’s in Urban Timber Construction XV – IBA’27’. She will be supporting students with their Bachelor’s theses in the context of urban timber construction and IBA’27.

With her broad professional expertise and experience in architecture, structural engineering, timber construction, renovation and the building envelope, Bettina Schnedl brings a practical yet design-oriented and precise perspective to her teaching. Her ability to combine architectural concepts with structural logic and technical feasibility enriches the curriculum and strengthens the link between design, structure and execution.

The visiting professorship is made possible thanks to the support of proHolz Austria, opens an external URL in a new window.

© Smirnova/Sverdlov

Period: 1 September 2026 – 28 February 2027
Lehrveranstaltung: Green Porosity. Towards a Climate-Improving Infrastructure in Athens – design part
Visiting professors atInstitute of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, opens an external URL in a new window, Faculty for Architecture and Planning, opens an external URL in a new window

Smirnova-Berlin and Sverdlov have explored the concept of the porous city through their teaching at TU Delft, the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture, and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Their Netherlands-based team, SVESMI, is currently working on housing projects in Athens to increase the permeability of modernist city blocks and enhance urban microclimates.

Their studio, “Green Porosity: Vienna vs. Athens. Towards a Climate-Improving Infrastructure,” developed in collaboration with Friedrich Hauer, investigates how alternative green infrastructures can gradually emerge by being superimposed onto existing urban grids. The research focuses on two contrasting urban contexts: the nineteenth-century block districts of Vienna and the modernist neighbourhoods of Athens constructed during the second half of the twentieth century. Students will work with a practice-oriented toolkit that links research, design, and climate-adaptation methodologies.

Matias del Campo’s visiting professorship with focus on AI-supported design methods at the Institute of Architectural Sciences has been extended until 31 January 2027.

The Vienna University of Technology extends a warm welcome to its visiting professors and Global Fellows!