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In the guest blog, geologist and librarian Thomas Hofmann looks at the life of the creative science communicator Ferdinand von Hochstetter.
Scientists have a difficult time when it comes to publicly communicating their research work. "Excellent science needs solid science journalism that can distinguish sense from nonsense and translate the researchers' sometimes highly complex findings into easily understandable information for the general public," says Eva Stanzl, chairwoman of the Club of Education and Science Journalists, in a nutshell. Anton Zeilinger, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics this year, explained this in the "Zeit im Bild" on October 4th: "I see skepticism about science as a problem, but that is also because science journalism has been reduced. There are far fewer science journalists, and that is not a good thing."
The scientists themselves play an important role. The more active and creative their participation is, the easier it is to convey messages. The example of the geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter (1829–1884) shows that not only openness and willingness, but also personal initiative and the use of suitable communication channels are the be-all and end-all of successful scientific communication.
Before Hochstetter left the port of Trieste on the frigate Novara on his 28th birthday, April 30, 1857, he had written a report for the "Wiener Zeitung" the day before. Almost three weeks later his lines appeared under the title "Expedition of the Imperial and Royal Frigate Novara (1. Before departure. Trieste, Bay of Muggia, April 29th on board the Novara)". This first letter was followed by further messages from all the ports where the Novara was anchored. The further the expedition was from Vienna, the longer the publication took. Episode 36, a description of the island of Puynipet in the Caroline archipelago, was written in September 1858; the Viennese public read it in the evening paper of the Wiener Zeitung on January 22, 1859.
From the perspective of the time, this was news in real time; things couldn't get any faster back then. Hochstetter was in the lead at the time, because the official report of the circumnavigation, the "voyage of the Austrian frigate Novara around the earth in the years 1857, 1858, 1859 under the orders of Commodore B. von Wüllerstorf-Urbair" by Karl von Scherzer, did not appear until 1864 and 1865. Hochstetter knew that he only had a series of reports that he made at every opportunity given to him sent to Vienna, was able to reach his readership, who was eager for news from around the world, in a timely manner. Anyone who did not collect the reports at the time was able to purchase "Ferdinand v. Hochstetter's collected travel reports from the circumnavigation of the frigate Novara from 1857 to 1859" as a 340-page booklet posthumously after Hochstetter's death.
When Hochstetter, who had stopped in New Zealand to research the geology there, returned to Vienna at the beginning of 1860, he was appointed professor of mineralogy at the Polytechnic (today TU Vienna).
In order to make his lectures more lively and to clearly demonstrate scientific theses, he used experiments. As obvious as this was and is in physics and chemistry lessons, it was just as strange in the earth sciences. Geological and tectonic processes are too large and too slow to be reproduced at the push of a button.
Showing the formation of volcanoes required creativity. Hochstetter was resourceful; the decisive observation came during a visit to the “first Austrian soda factory” in Hruschau (today: Hrušov) near Mährisch-Ostrau. The sulfur that solidified there formed small-scale structures that looked like large-scale lava flows. The idea of mini volcanoes was born. Hochstetter also chose sulfur with a melting point of 115 °C. Together with the chemist Karl Opl, he made models and was completely thrilled: "The models are so deceptively natural-like, such true miniature images of real volcanoes, that anyone who sees them will initially be of the opinion that they were cast in a matrix that was artificially and carefully formed in the image of a real volcano, and yet you can see them being created before your eyes in the space of an hour."
The model that was on display in the rotunda at the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873 is still preserved today. It can be assumed that Hochstetter also demonstrated the volcano experiments to his most famous student, Crown Prince Rudolf, whom he taught natural sciences for two hours a week as a private teacher from November 1872 onwards. Thanks to the experiments with the mini-sulfur volcanoes, Professor Hochstetter's lectures were anything but dry matter. And the twelve-year-old Crown Prince probably had fun with it too; The innovative Hochstetter could not have conveyed volcanic phenomena more impressively.
After graduating from the Polytechnic, Hochstetter's next career step was to be appointed director of the k. k. Natural History Court Museum on April 30, 1876. The monumental building on Vienna's Ringstrasse is based on plans by Gottfried Semper (1803–1879) and Karl von Hasenauer (1833–1894). They were available at the end of 1869, construction took place from 1871 to 1881, and the opening took place in 1889. Hochstetter's order during the construction phase still offered design options. In particular, the facade and the balustrade, for which life-size statues of naturalists were intended, were not yet carved in stone. As an architect, Semper had presented a concept.
Hochstetter – himself a renowned natural scientist – had other ideas. He knew exactly which of his colleagues he wanted to offer a public stage here and which he didn't. He knew that statues and portrait heads of scientists brought maximum recognition, so it was important to him to include his personal selection and not leave the decision to the architect alone. 16 of a total of 36 figures on the balustrade are based on Hochstetter's will. His handwriting can also be seen on the portrait heads; People who could not find space on the balustrade were positioned here, including Charles Darwin (1809–1882), the only scientist still alive at the time.
A further detail about Wilhelm von Haidinger (1795–1871), the founder of the k. k. Geological Reichsanstalt and early sponsor of Hochstetter. It was he who made sure that the young Hochstetter could ride on the Novara.
No wonder that the director positioned his now deceased mentor prominently above the side entrance (Burgring 7, on the Ringstrasse side), the entrance that is used daily by all of the building's employees. (Thomas Hofmann, November 1st, 2022)