Studies of Biology at the Karl Franzens Universität in Graz and Agriculture at the University of applied Sciences in Wiesbaden, Geisenheim branch (1990 – 1996).
Specialisation in Tropical Plant Production, Phytomedizin and Fruit Crops.
More than ten years of practical experience in managing and developing tropical crops like macadamia orchards and oil palm plantations. He lived and worked in Ecuador, South America from 1996 to 2007. Heinz Gattringer has gained good insights into the societies of developing nations and the dysfunctions which lead to dependencies, depletion oriented exploitation of resources and inadequate social development.
Since 2007 he is a permanent staff member of alchemia-nova.
E-mail: heinzjos(at)alchemia-nova.net
After years of working in the art and music industry in Germany, Austria and Brazil, Galya embarked on a new endeavor in the field of natural sciences. She moved to Vienna in 2006 where she completed her studies in landscape planning and landscape architecture at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences.
In her work as a landscape architect, she uses as guiding principles the sustainable use of natural resources and the preservation of biological diversity. She has since collected extensive practical experience in the consulting, planning, management and execution of garden design and vertical interior greening projects, and in the planting of roofs and façades in Austria, Portugal and Italy. Her enthusiasm comes from her passion for plants, their diverse applications and multifunctional properties.
Her interest and commitment to promoting sustainable practices has brought her 2018 to alchemia-nova, where she continues her work on plants and greening management projects. Since 2022, she is also head of the human resources department.
E-mail: taneva(at)alchemia-nova.net
Ever since, the desire to act according to the principles of nature shaped Helmut’s thinking and acting very strongly, he loved being in nature and playing with the elements, applying and testing feelings about how things work. Many years of formal education gave him the opportunity to root these more intuitive approaches in a sound foundation of Physics and Engineering, enabling him to see these phenomena from various angles and sharpen the image of sustainable acting. Participation in various international projects in the fields of rural water management, renewable energy, resource efficient snow production, plastic pollution and climate change added the global dimension to the picture. However, at the same time, discomfort with the predominant mechanistic thinking in science and the increasing technologisation and atomisation of the world into narrower and narrower, lifeless disciplines grew. This urged him to find other ways of looking at things and dealing with the apparent gap between how things are and how they should be. Extensive travels helped bringing along some profound insights of more spiritual nature, Yoga, Nuad and meditation should become new pillars of Helmut’s life. As a result, also his idea of sustainability changed: Understanding the importance of social sustainability, he started working with refugees and other people with difficult backgrounds. After these years of working hands-on, mainly following upcycling- ideas, and simultaneous efforts to make his home more self-sustaining, beginning of 2019 Helmut was just ready to take the opportunity to “be the change he wants to see in the world” by merging all those different approaches and applying them in his work for alchemia-nova.
E-mail: helmut.schabschneider(at)alchemia-nova.net
Fascinated by the element of water, I try to understand the processes and its role in ecosystems and to gain benefits from. I am a dedicated engineer with solid communication, technology and water management skills. By time my areas of specialization became Atmospheric Water Generation, so extracting water from the air, and Solar Desalination. In addition to water, the power of plants plays a major role. In my work, I value integrative designs in which plants perform in technological processes. In collaboration with partners, I benefit from five languages and experience from development cooperation and several EU projects. I strive to innovate in the water sector through efficient collaboration, to relegate water scarcity to the history books.
E-mail: igor.luketina(at)alchemia-nova.net
Marco Hartl (M) (PhD and MSc. in Ecological Engineering) has been working and conducting research in the field of Constructed Wetlands (CWs) for wastewater treatment since more than 7 years. After his master thesis about a vertical flow CW with an innovative two-stage design in the alpine region of Austria at BOKU University, Vienna, he explored the opposite climatic extreme by working for BAUER Nimr LLC in the Sultanate of Oman for 15 months. There he coordinated a research project at the world’s largest industrial CW, which is situated in the middle of the Omani desert and treats highly polluted wastewater from the oil industry. In the following years he conducted and finalized his PhD research on the use of CWs operated as bioelectrochemical systems at UPC BarcelonaTech, Spain and Ghent University, Belgium. He speaks fluent English and German, as well as basic Spanish. Now he is part of several projects in alchemia-nova.
E-mail: marco.hartl(at)alchemia-nova.net
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcohartl/
Dominik has developed a great interest in all areas of craftsmanship and technology since he was a child. According to the attitude “everything can be fixed if you give me the right tools” he developed a Hands-on mentality.
During his bachelor’s degree in mechatronic systems, which he completed in Weingarten in March 2019, his field of expertise expanded in automated processes, digitalization, and robotics. He gained experience in these areas as an employed engineer at a subsidiary of FFT Production Systems, one of the largest production plant manufacturers in Germany. The desire to deepen the experience led Dominik to Vienna to start a master’s degree in mechatronics/robotics. This brought him to alchemia-nova, where he supports the tech-team in automation.
E-mail: dominik.richter(at)alchemia-nova.net
Efecan was born and raised in Turkey, decided to study abroad and moved to Vienna in 2012. After he spent a few years learning German in order to qualify for an Austrian university, he graduated successfully from UAS Technikum Vienna in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He got attracted by the 3D printing laboratory during his studies and decided to write his theoretical bachelor thesis about printing mechanical components with a Selective Laser Sintering system.
During his practical internship during his last semester in south Turkey, he participated in designing the engine room of a steel yacht and wrote his 2nd thesis concerning the subject. The practical training and hands-on mentality of his study program allows him to realize technical concepts, work with various manufacturing methods and materials. He enjoys production-orientated design, which led him to work in the construction of an escape-room in Vienna. After his graduation, he now got the opportunity to become a part of the alchemia-nova family.
E-mail: efecan.toker(at)alchemia-nova.net
Having grown up in a family-run construction company, Franz had the opportunity to learn various trades and to delve deeper into the subject of “construction”. To scientifically underpin his technical knowledge, as well as his great interest in nature, he studied extra-occupational cultural engineering and water management and environmental engineering. Therefore, he can draw on more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. His studies also aroused his interest in the topics of sustainability, ecology and circular economy, which ultimately led him to his thesis topic “Greywater Treatment Performance in Living Walls”. The topic did not lead him past alchemia-nova, where he now supports various projects from the technical side.
E-mail: franz.panzenboeck(at)alchemia-nova.net
