Our series re.searched presents researchers of the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences. First, we would like to introduce Frank Michelberger, Head of the Carl Ritter von Ghega Institute for Integrated Mobility Research.

To me, curiosity means…

… thinking what nobody has thought before, doing what nobody has done before. And asking, asking, asking! After all, research usually starts out with an unsolved problem or an open question. When we have that, we can start our research.

I do research because…

… it gives you a wonderful sense of achievement when a research project really comes to fruition in the end. I often think back to the time when we had a first rough idea in our heads, without knowing for sure whether it would lead to anything. That’s just the way it is with research. Later you look back and see how this idea has developed into something step by step. And this gives you a great deal of pride and pleasure.

In the next 20 years, our society will be characterised by…

… a lot of new technologies that will be put to use faster and faster. This can make our lives easier in many cases but also more difficult in other respects. When it comes to mobility, there will probably be more change in the next 20 years than in the past 50 or 60 years. We have to take care that this mobility revolution does not overrun and overwhelm us.

About the person

Frank Michelberger studied mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Ravensburg-Weingarten and worked as a technician for ÖBB Traktion GmbH and ÖBB Technische Services GmbH before becoming programme manager in the Mobility and Transport Technology division of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT). Frank Michelberger has been a lecturer at the St. Pölten UAS since 2010 and Head of the Carl Ritter von Ghega Institute for Integrated Mobility Research at the St. Pölten UAS since 2013.

More about the research at the St. Pölten UAS