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On the University of Vienna website, Christian Köberl is listed as a “university professor in peace” at the Department of Lithospheric Research. But there can be no talk of rest or even standing still. The number of his peer-reviewed publications is over 500 and is constantly increasing – retirement or not. For many years, the media has not been stingy with superlatives such as "a highly competent expert", "renowned geoscientist" or "top researcher" when reporting on the geo- and cosmochemist.
The “impact researcher with a flair for PR” also appears in public himself, be it through generally understandable lectures or books. “Beware of falling rocks – asteroids & meteorites, deadly danger and cradle of life” (Brandstätter-Verlag) he wrote with the science journalist Alwin Schönberger. When it comes to extraterrestrial rocks, meteorites or asteroids, the positive thinker and thoroughbred researcher has his own perspective: "When a chunk like this falls, it is not only a threat, but also a real treasure for science." (page 96f). Of the almost 200 known impact craters on Earth today, he has visited and/or worked on more than 80.
But how do you become a top researcher, a renowned expert? In the USA you would say, “From rags to president”, the Austrian short form would be: “Comes from a humble background”. Both worlds, the domestic and the transatlantic, are closely linked in Köberl's life.
In fact, he (born in 1959) comes from a humble background; his parents were furriers. After primary school in Vienna-Penzing, four years followed at high school on Maroltingergasse. His successes in Latin were limited, but his interest in chemistry and physics stood out. A change of school to HBLVA Rosensteingasse proved to be pioneering; there was no Latin here, but there was a lot of chemistry. The decision to study natural sciences was the right one. Parallel to chemistry, he discovered his love of astronomy at an early age. At the age of 15 he became a demonstrator in the Vienna Planetarium. Hermann Mucke, head of the planetarium and director of the Urania Observatory at the time, knew how to support young people. At that time there was great general interest in space, planets and stars. As a reminder: on July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.
After graduating from high school in May 1978, he studied chemistry at the Vienna University of Technology in the fall. Astronomy was out of the question, as it was a “profitless course of study,” according to his father. At the same time, he began studying astronomy at the University of Vienna in 1980 - initially without his father's knowledge. Everyday life as a student was very crowded: chemistry at the TU Vienna in the morning, astronomy at the University of Vienna in the afternoon and evening, and a demonstrator in the planetarium on the weekends. The question soon arose as to what future career he would pursue: chemist or astronomer. In 1982 he was able to combine both with the dissertation topic on trace element analyzes in tektites, which are melt products that are formed when meteorites hit the earth. In 1983 he received his doctorate at the University of Graz with a major in astronomy and a minor in chemistry under Hermann Haupt. His first scientific publications (1982 and 1983) focused on the astronomical orientation of medieval churches.
Seneca's Latin words, "Per aspera ad astra", which could be translated as "Through hardship one reaches the stars" or more casually as "No pain, no gain", accurately describe his further career. After completing his doctorate, Köberl was initially employed as a postdoc at the Institute for Analytical Chemistry at the University of Vienna. In 1985, he became a university assistant at the newly founded Institute for Geochemistry under Wolfgang Kiesl. The next year he took part in an Antarctic expedition as a visiting scientist at the invitation of the American National Science Foundation (NSF). The six-person team found almost 600 new meteorites in two months. The search for the extraterrestrial chunks, which were only a few centimeters in size, was anything but easy. Although the dark rocks on the glacier ice are relatively easy to see, the search was carried out on hands and knees in minus 20 degrees Celsius. So much for the topic: “Per aspera ad astra”.
In the following years he conducted research - supported by a Fulbright scholarship - at the Lunar and Planetary Institute and at the Nasa Johnson Space Center in Houston (Texas). Here he also met his future wife, the artist Dona Jalufka. In 1990 the next important milestone took place at the University of Vienna: the habilitation in "Geo- and Cosmochemistry". While he stayed in Vienna during the semester to research and teach, he used the vacation months to conduct research abroad. This was followed not only by stays and visiting professorships at the Carnegie Institution in Washington DC, at Dartmouth College in New Hamphire, but also a visiting professorship at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (South Africa). In 1996, when the START Prize of the Research Fund (FWF), one of the most highly endowed scientific awards, was awarded for the first time, Köberl was one of the eight prize winners. “With the considerable research funding, I was able to build up a good research group and set up my own laboratory,” he remembers looking back (commemorative publication “100 Years of Rosensteingasse”).
In the fall of 1997, the journalist Michael Freund published the book “GeistesBlitze. Portrait of important Austrian scientists” (Springer). He brought together well-known domestic researchers who were part of the elite at the time and addressed questions such as "But what do they do? How and what do they work on?" after. Among the 60 people portrayed are Anton Zeilinger, born in 1945, then full professor at the University of Innsbruck (2022 Nobel Prize in Physics), the meteorologist and climate researcher Helga Kromp-Kolb and also the then 38-year-old Christian Köberl. When asked where he would like to be in five years, he replied: "The ideal would be a professorship, whether in Vienna or abroad, that's not all that important." Just one year later, Köberl became an associate professor at the University of Vienna, followed in 2009 by a full professorship for impact research and planetary geology at the University of Vienna.
He had not planned that he would succeed Bernd Lötsch as general director of the Natural History Museum in Vienna (NHMW) from December 2009 (started in June 2010) to May 2020. A full-blooded researcher, a man without a museum background, as head of one of the largest natural history museums? How can that work?
Köberl, who knew how to clearly explain science to a broad public, had achieved a certain level of popularity and was invited to apply. No sooner said than done. He was promptly shortlisted from seven people. After another round, a conversation with Claudia Schmied, the Minister for Education, Art and Culture, was on the agenda. When the minister visited him at his workplace at the university, he presented her with his plan to promote research at the museum. That was well received. The minister had chosen him. “A top researcher as museum director,” was the headline of DER STANDARD on December 16, 2009.
In an interview with Klaus Taschwer on May 25, 2010, a few days before he started working at the museum, he emphasized the importance of research. "Especially since I was told in discussions with Minister Schmied that an active scientist was desired as director. It is also the case that you can only convey something new to the audience if you do your own research and are up to date."
Here are some of the milestones of his era as General Director: First there was a new website with a new logo, followed - as announced in the interview - by the renovation of the Dinosaur Hall (Room 10). In addition to the historically valuable skeletons that were moved to the middle of the hall, there was a more than six meter long animatronic model of an allosaur that not only moves but can also roar loudly. The Meteorite Hall (Room 5) was also completely redesigned in 2012. On display are more than 1,000 meteorites and - an absolute rarity - three rock samples from the moon, including an 83.7 gram basalt rock from the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. Köberl initially chose the official channel, i.e. he contacted the US embassy about moon rocks. He was given three rehearsals, which was completely out of the question. Then he used his personal contacts at NASA and got what he wanted. The samples did not arrive by post, but were presented personally by NASA boss Charles Bolden in June 2013. What more could you want?
During his ten years as General Director at the Natural History Museum, he gave lectures, supervised theses and dissertations and also held a leading position (Principal Investigator, PI) on international projects. For example, during a drilling on the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico). Here scientists were able to locate the impact of the asteroid that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. When it came to exploring the crater's subsurface from 2013 to 2017, Köberl was one of the five principal investigators of the international drilling project "Chicxulub: Drilling the K-Pg Impact Crater". Where “K” stands for the Cretaceous Period (Metrozoic Period) and “Pg” stands for Paleogene (Ecozoic Period). With that he set the bar high. “I always wanted to exemplify research at the museum itself and not demand something that I don’t do myself,” he explains in an interview.
He not only promoted research, but also art, in which he has a great interest, at the Natural History Museum. A highlight in 2015/2016 was the exhibition of “Balloon Venus (Orange)” by the American artist Jeff Koons in the lower dome hall. It is evident that Koons was inspired by the 29,500-year-old Venus of Willendorf. This shows again that art and science complement each other and enter into dialogue.
And what does he do when he's not researching, traveling, lecturing or teaching? He relaxes while cooking. His heart beats for Italian cuisine. He makes ravioli and pasta himself (grippy flour, egg and a pinch of salt). It makes sense that he and his wife spend their holidays in Italy, where they have had a house in Coldigioco for 30 years and are with people like them. A blind kitten came to them there and they took it in. Few people know that the cat lover and passionate cineaste can also gain a lot from the underwater world as a diver. Among the numerous international honors and awards, the Barringer Medal (2007) and the asteroid 15963, which bears his name, are worth mentioning. With a diameter of around 8.5 kilometers, it would have fatal consequences for the earth, similar to the meteorite that led to the death of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Please don't let "(15963) Koeberl" hit us!
Anyone who sees outside the box (“think big”), has visions and is prepared to do more than just do things by the book will find in him an ally with a handshake quality. When it comes to lessons learned, he knows what is important: “Patience overcomes everything” (“100 Years of Rosensteingasse”). (Thomas Hofmann, November 7, 2025)