During the ceremony, particular emphasis was placed on the school-leavers’ scientific curiosity and their outstanding achievements in terms of quality and commitment.
The winner in the Chemistry category is Nikias Lykos from the Sir Karl Popper School in the 4th district. As part of his ABA project, he analysed the composition of cola and attempted to reproduce it himself. Meinhard Fellner from the BG/BRG Wien 22/Heustadelgasse wrote his essay on the topic ‘Advertising in the digital age: the role of social media and influencers’ and was awarded first prize in Geography for it.
In the Computer Science category, this year’s winner was David Polt, a sixth-form student at the BRG Vienna 19. He designed and developed a CPU (Central Processing Unit) – the most important component of computers and electronic devices – all by himself. Benjamin Fassler from the Flora Fries Private Gymnasium and Realgymnasium focused his maths project on the topic ‘Modern data encryption and its current developments for the future’, securing first place.

Emily Niesner is this year’s winner in the Physics category. The sixth-form student from the Bundesgymnasium and Realgymnasium Wien XII Erlgasse wrote her ABA under the title: “Comparative Analysis of Transport Phenomena in Bulk and Low-Dimensional Type-I Clathrates”, in which she explored the question of whether and how heat from exhaust gases could be used to generate electricity. There was no first-place winner in Biology this year.
Winning the Dr Hans Riegel Specialist Prize not only comes with a cash prize but also enables all 14 prize-winners to become part of the MINT TANK network. This is an alumni support programme offering numerous networking opportunities as well as voluntary participation in a wide range of interdisciplinary specialist events.