My project colleagues and I are involved in media technology, science and engineering. From left to right, they are Till Jelitt, PhD, DI Hannes Raffaseder, DI Gernot Kohl, MSc, Mag. Matthias Stadler, Barbara Schmid, MA, Dr. Frederick Baker, Mag. Barbara Weitgruber, MA, Dr. Fernandes, Mag. Lukas Mandl.

Click to see the large group picture.

Brain food: the main concept is the connection between eating and health. For example, there was a demonstration of cooking special organic foods from the region. People then had the chance to talk with researchers about nutrition.

We also had fitness studios. Videos were presented, but you need to do work (pedaling bicycles) to see the videos. Healthy, right?

Another area showed how computer technology is integrated into production of textiles, demonstrating vividly the link between fashion and technology.

There were also lectures for the brain. The world premiere of Media Opera "Echoes of the Echoes" was at this event. There was a strong emotional aspect to the lectures, which combined research with surround-sound music that incorporated stone-age percussion and multi-dimension projection.

What were some of the events that took place at Researchers Night?

The media opera brings the audience experiences from the stone age, specifically from the prehistoric rock art in Valcamonica in Northern Italy's Alps. This is a result of a strong link with Cambridge and Italy. The figures in the rocks are more than 4,000 years old. The project aims to find new tools for archeologists to study these finds, for example, using computer animation to generate insights into the figures.

This is a new tool which can also be used for the public to experience what it was like producing the 4,000-year-old figures. This technology can be presented in museums around the world. The public can explore the ancient art forms. It combines the "old media" in stone with new technology. The Opera tried to make art of the old stone drawings so the audience can understand, experience and feel what the artists experienced and felt 4,000 years ago.

I'm researching the compositional process of music, that is, teaching computers to compose. Some of it mimics what might be called "strange" avant-garde music, particularly for film and media music.

Its value is that it provides a way for low-budget film producers to have original music for their productions without having to pay large sums for composers. The film maker gives an idea about the type of music and they can produce a "rapid prototype" for the film, which can then be edited as needed. The computer music can also be used for professional composers, as the rapid prototyping of the sound helps the composers to quickly edit their compositionss.

We are still in the evaluation process, but it seems to have been quite successful, especially since we're a small institution and more than 40 miles away from Vienna. About 2,000 people attended, ranging in age from 14 months to over 70 years, and everyone seemed to be enjoying what was going on.