Vienna's Daughters' Day 2025 at the Faculty of Chemistry – Exploring the World of Science
The City of Vienna's Daughters' Day ("Töchtertag") offers female students from schools in Vienna, Lower Austria, and Burgenland the opportunity to explore careers in technology, craftsmanship, and natural sciences. In 2025, the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna participated for the first time, opening its doors to interested high school students.
The day began with a short presentation in the historic Carl Auer von Welsbach Lecture Hall, where students have attended chemistry lectures and exams for over a century: What are the faculty's areas of research? What can you study and what careers are there? Who was the first woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry from the university? And what is the current status of women in science?
The students then split into small groups and visited the laboratories of various institutes, including Analytical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Functional Materials and Catalysis, Organic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry. They gained insights into current research projects, from laboratory experiments to computer simulations.
Women in Chemistry
The scientists from the Faculty initiative Women in Chemistry (WoChem) were particularly committed. Evelyn Rampler, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, described her impressions: "I was able to show the participants our mass spectrometers and cleanrooms - a glimpse into the world of analytical chemistry. I hope we were able to show that women are not only welcome in chemistry and science, but that they have an exciting future ahead of them. Maybe we'll see some of them back at university or in the lab!"
Hands-on science...
From production of dyes to fighting tumours to modern analytical methods: The students used genetically modified bacteria to isolate an enzyme, examined cell cultures under the microscope, measured pH levels, made soap - which they could take home - and learned how soap actually cleans. They explored how light and matter interact and how these processes can be used to identify substances. Researchers demonstrated a synthesis reaction and provided introductory sessions on mass spectrometry.
A seminar room was transformed into a lounge area for lunch, where students and staff could interact. Rampler noted: "Initially, the girls were a bit shy, but when I introduced Hoang Anh, a master's student from my research group, they quickly started asking questions about studying and daily research life. It was evident how they became more confident and genuinely interested over time."
... in the lab and on the PC
The Institute for Computational Biological Chemistry was also actively engaged, demonstrating that chemistry does not always require lab work. At interactive stations, students received an introduction to programming with Python and performed simple quantum mechanical calculations on a molecule. A simulation illustrated how a drug interacts with the body on a molecular level.
PhD students Márta Gődény, Anna Picha and Marion Sappl summed up their group's enthusiasm: "We at the Institute of Computational Biological Chemistry are delighted with the interest shown in the University of Vienna's Daughters' Day! As women in research, it's particularly important to us to provide young girls with an exciting insight into the world of science—perhaps even into their own future as students, researchers, or dedicated professionals behind the scenes of scientific discovery."
The Faculty would like to thank everyone involved for their outstanding commitment and enthusiasm in sharing their passion - and the students for their interest!
By the way, the first woman to earn a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Vienna was Margarethe Furcht, whose 1902 graduation made the front page of the "Illustriertes Wiener Extrablatt." Today, the Faculty is significantly more diverse: approximately half of the students are women, and there are ten female professors and two junior professors.
