Since its establishment in 2015, the Science Ball has quickly gained a reputation as one of the most successful and largest events[1] in the Viennese ball season The establishment in 2015 goes back to an initiative of then-Mayor of Vienna, Michael Häupl, and the University Commissioner of the City of Vienna, Alexander Van der Bellen.
Since its establishment, the science ball has traditionally been held on the last Saturday in January in the festive ballrooms of Vienna City Hall.
Traditional components of a ball, such as the opening by the debutante committee, the Midnight Quadrille and table decorations, are expanded through scientific content.
[2] Honorary aegis is granted by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, the chairmanship of the ball committee and the honorary presidium are held, as of 2019, by EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, Mayor Michael Ludwig (until 2018 Mayor Michael Häupl), Science Minister Heinz Fassmann, city councilors Veronica Kaup-Hasler (until 2018 Andreas Mailath-Pokorny), and Maria Vassilakou.
At the Ball 2019, computer scientist Bernd Bickel (ISTA), winner of the Sci-Tech Award 2018 (awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), Nobel Prize for Chemistry laureate 1988 Robert Huber and Austria's Scientist of the Year 2018, chemist Nuno Maulide (University of Vienna) attended as honorary guests.
The only danger for the guests was the distribution of the 'Swedish bomb', a sweet Viennese temptation that is not entirely harmless to body weight due to the many calories "(Handelsblatt, February 1, 2015)[6] “Vienna's academic community often comes off as fragmented and contentious, but by highlighting the core values of 'tolerance, excellence, and creativity,' the Science Ball made everyone feel, for at least one night, like they were dancing to the same beat.