The focus is of course on the well-deserved award as Scientist of the Year 2024, which Sigrid Stagl received today at the Concordia Press Club from the Club of Education and Science Journalists. But the economist at the Department of Socioeconomics at WU Vienna was also delighted to receive an invitation to the Science Ball that came with the award.At WU Wien, Stagl researches and teaches on climate, environmental economics and sustainability. Her precise way of conveying expertise was recently demonstrated again in connection with the flood disaster in autumn 2024. Whether on the “gas crisis” in the wake of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the energy transition or the climate crisis–the WU professor consistently provides well-founded and at the same time pointed assessments in the media and on the public podium and places current events in the sustainability discourse. Stagl does not cultivate alarmism, but conveys knowledge in an objective, analytical and constructive manner, says club chairwoman Eva Stanzl. She is also involved in climate issues on advisory boards and at Scientists4future. For the ball, she is now moving from the lecture hall to the ballroom for one night.