After a break of two years due to the pandemic, Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) once again celebrated a glittering ball night. Students, members of TU Graz and illustrious names from politics, business and science – a total of about 2,300 guests – gathered yesterday, Friday, 27th January, at the TU Graz Ball 2023 in Congress Graz.
“The ball calendar is not yet as full as it was before the pandemic. So it’s even nicer that the TU Graz Ball – the highlight of the Graz ball season – is taking place again this year, and in a sold-out Congress Graz. The special thing about the TU Graz Ball is the presence of technology between music, dance and entertainment. This time, in keeping with the ball’s motto, it was about ‘new dimensions’ in physics, mathematics, geodesy and aviation,” says Harald Kainz, Rector of TU Graz.
TU Graz Rector Kainz welcomed a number of other rectors among the guests. For example Sabine Seidler (TU Vienna), Sir Jim McDonald (University of Strathclyde), Hans Jürgen Prömel (TU Nuremberg) and Karl Peter Pfeiffer from the co-organizers FH Joanneum. Representing the main sponsor Anton Paar AG were managing director Dominik Santner and Maria Santner, director of the charitable Santner Private Foundation. Also present were state minister Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, Josef Herk and Karlheinz Dernoscheg, president and director of the Styrian Chamber of Commerce, Gustav Spener, president of the Chamber of Civil Engineers and AVL boss Helmut List.
A ball night in the spirit of mathematics, physics, geodesy and aviation
Together with the main sponsor Anton Paar, the TU Graz organizers conjured up the ball motto “dancing new dimensions” on the dance floor. The traditional ball night focused on the research areas of physics, mathematics and geodesy on the part of TU Graz and aviation on the part of FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences. Some dazzling experiments such as the “flashbulb molecule” or the “billiard wave packet” took place in the theme room.
In addition, guests were entertained by a nuclear fusion game, computer simulations, geometric animations, nitrogen ice cream to taste and a quiz with mathematical questions. A drone, a real aircraft wing as well as insights into the JUICE mission to Jupiter’s icy moons, the possibilities of electron microscopy and the role of engineering geodesy in assessing the “state of health” of buildings rounded off the diverse exhibition programme.
Entertainment and music
As midnight interlude in the Stefaniensaal (Princess Stéphanie Room) there was a musical game of dice and a journey into the world of the invisible. The Conny&Dado dance school was responsible for the polonaise and quadrille. The musical framework was provided by the Ballroom Busters, the Graz Salon Orchestra, the Bad Gleichenberg Dance Orchestra Big Band, Montevideo, K’s Live, sax goes pop and in the cellar vault the popular Students’ Union clubbing with “The Phy-sicks”.
The 2023 TU Graz Ball was organized by TU Graz, the Chamber of Civil Engineers for Styria and Carinthia, alumniTUGraz 1887, FH Joanneum and the TU Graz Students’ Union.
Numerous photos of the ball night can be found at https://balldertechnik.at/ ("Fotorückblick").
