The departmental secretaries fulfil the important function of liaising between students and academic staff. Our institute secretaries not only have excellent organisational skills, but are always ready to help with any questions or concerns. Over the past few months, we have once again welcomed new employees and took this as an opportunity to organise a lab tour.
We started in the hydraulic engineering laboratory, where we were warmly welcomed by Dipl.-Ing. Valerie Neisch in her role as head. After a brief introduction to the various research projects that are analysed and implemented in the laboratory, we were allowed to get hands-on experience. The surf wave was definitely a highlight and aroused great enthusiasm among the visitors.
The tour continued in the geotechnicslaboratory . Barbara Schneider-Muntau is a professor at the AB for Geotechnics and gave an insight into the research field of soil mechanics. In addition to standard equipment, the laboratory is also equipped with devices for physical modelling. After inspecting various soil samples, the tour led to the last and largest station - the Technical Testing and Research Centre (TVFA) of the University of Innsbruck.
In addition to his specialist knowledge, laboratory manager Andreas Andreatta also shone with historical facts about the development of the Engineering Campus. The TVFA enables the faculty's departments to carry out experimental investigations in the field of structural engineering and develops sustainable technical solutions for the research and further development of building materials, construction methods and structures.
The compressive strength of a block of wood was of course measured directly on site and the findings led to a few surprised faces, as only a force of 900 kilonewtons led to cracks in the wood.
Another of the TVFA's areas of activity is providing support in carrying out laboratory exercises for students and also for Bachelor's and Master's theses, dissertations and post-doctoral theses. External company partners also have the opportunity to carry out research and development projects.
The TVFA has been an accredited test centre in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025 since 2008. Curious glances were cast over the shoulder of an employee on site to observe how a test procedure is carried out using a screw as an example.
The smell of fresh sawdust then led the group into the workshop of the timber construction department, where they were able to marvel at some great work by students.
We would like to thank everyone involved for their time, the many questions and the exciting dialogue.
