Every year, the Rotary Club Tulln honors outstanding contributions by young researchers in the city of Tulln. Florentina Freynschlag, Competence Unit Bioresources of the Center for Health and Bioresources, works on increasing the resilience of plants and is awarded second place for her work "Kinase-based Energy Homeostasis and Stress Resistance in Plants". For the award, it was important to explain how the project can be applied in practice.
Climate change-related weather disasters or infection with pathogens can lead to a switch in metabolism from growth to stress response and to energy deficiency, which limits agricultural yields. Florentina Freynschlag and Bioresources at AIT in Tulln are looking at how plants cope with low-energy conditions and what factors play an important role in plant responses to environmental stress and pathogen infection. This could lead to new methods for breeding programs that increase the stress tolerance and yield potential of crops. This can also enable the agriculturto optimise land use and protect the soil by reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides.
At Tulln Science, everything revolves around the topic of biobased technologies - and the submissions also come from these areas. Be it in the field of renewable raw materials or food and feed safety, which starts with healthy soil.
From the submissions of young researchers (under 31 years of age) who have completed their doctoral or master's degree or diploma thesis in the last two years at a research institution in Tulln and whose projects comply with the Rotarian principles, the following were awarded:
- First place: Rosenfeld Catherine: Carbohydrate-based amino adhesives for wood-based materials, WoodKplus. The winner conducted research on a carbohydrate-based adhesive for wood-based products as a substitute for formaldehyde. Here, the practical relevance of the research is also demonstrated in a cooperation with the furniture giant Ikea.
- Second place: Freynschlag Florentina: Kinase-based Energy Homeostasis and Stress Resistance in Plants, AIT
- Third Place:
- Abu Zahra Nadine: Short-term fertilization efficiency of biobased phosphate fertilizers, BOKU
- Draxler Manuel: The "orange" gold: Biotechnological exploitation and production of bio-based compounds from orange peel waste, BO
More information: https://www.ecoplus.at/newsroom/rotary-club-tulln-preisverleihung-2022
Video of ecoplus about Florentina Freynschlag on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=737800940844858&ref=sharing and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/technopol-tulln_forschungsprojekt-stressresistenz-von-pflanzen-activity-6963491401619652608-cJT2?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web
