Teaching Robots a Delicate Touch: Serkan Ergun’s research in tactile perception

At the intersection of proximity sensing and tactile perception, Serkan Ergun at the University of Klagenfurt is researching novel near-field sensing technologies for robotics. The aim is to equip machines with precise awareness of their immediate surroundings — a key prerequisite for safe, adaptive interaction between humans and robots in dynamic environments.

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Menstruation, motherhood and the menopause: “Women work – and so do their bodies”

Psychologist Theresa Tschauko is conducting research into how different stages of women’s health affect their work behaviour as member of the research group Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management. The conclusion of her work to date is that women carry on working – even when it hurts.

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New research on Renaud de Montauban: What a rebellious knight reveals about centuries of European imagination

A newly approved project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) explores one of the most fascinating yet understudied figures of chivalric literature: Renaud de Montauban, cousin of Roland and a central character in the Matter of France. Giulia Zava, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Romance Studies at the University of Klagenfurt, will investigate how Renaud’s character changes across time, genres and cultural contexts.

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How does heat affect family violence?

Climate change is bringing rising temperatures and more frequent extreme heatwaves, with consequences at many levels. Over the next three years, Antonio Piolanti, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Klagenfurt’s Department of Health Psychology, will explore how extreme ambient temperatures may contribute to violence against women in intimate relationships and to child maltreatment. He has secured an MSCA Global Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European Commission (Horizon Europe) as well as an Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund FWF to support this research.

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