Basic research means expanding the boundaries of our knowledge. My expectation? That the assumptions on which our theories are based do not contradict each other. In other words, our scientific world view should be consistent at its core. This is currently not the case.
Two of the major pillars of modern physics, quantum theory and the general theory of relativity, have been outstandingly confirmed by experiments, but they are based on world views that exclude each other. For more than half a century, there has been speculation as to whether there could be experiments that resolve this fascinating dilemma. Today, we are closer to solving it than ever before.

For me, imparting knowledge means passing on this fascination and curiosity: across generations and borders. Last year alone, our team consisted of researchers from 17 countries worldwide, aged between 16 and 86. It is an unconventional and creative atmosphere in which new ideas and approaches are constantly emerging.

Building a bridge between generations, internationality, openness to new ideas: the Viennese ball tradition has long stood for this as well. The Vienna Science Ball builds a bridge to the sciences in a unique way. I wish us all a glittering ball night with lots of exchange, and a successful research year 2025!

Markus Aspelmeyer is a professor of quantum information at the University of Vienna. He and his research group are part of quantA, a research network funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF as a cluster of excellence.