“Science – why not think about it with joy? Some say, it is easier to think of God as someone who knows how to dance – Nietzsche even advises to exclusively think of him in this way. Even though the ball was established with a political message in mind, it would be nice to spend a night without talking politics – unless, it is a joyful one just like science.”

Our ninth ball ambassador, Michael Köhlmeier, is one of Austria’s most renowned authors. In addition to his studies of political science and German philology in Marburg, Köhlmeier also dedicated a second academic pathway to mathematics at the Justus-Liebig University Gießen. His affection for the subject becomes apparent in works of his like “Abendland” (Hanser, 2007), in which he refers to the Austrian mathematician Leopold Vietoris. Among his many accolades he was also awarded the Austrian Cross for Science and Art in 2016 – an appropriate appreciation for the traveller between the spheres of science and art.

Foto: (c) Hassiepen