Report - EGU General Assembly 2026 in Vienna by Hao Liang

I travelled together with colleagues from MIDS (Mathematical Institute for Machine Learning and Data Science) from Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and arrived in Vienna on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Even before the conference officially began, the city already felt connected to EGU. Around metro stations, cafés, and the conference venue, it was easy to spot participants wearing name badges or carrying poster tubes. Vienna itself provided a beautiful setting for the week, with its grand historical buildings, churches, parks, and opera houses creating a calm yet lively atmosphere.

The scale of the conference was impressive. Oral sessions, poster presentations, short courses, and networking events ran throughout the day. What impressed me most, however, was how much effort people put into presenting and discussing their work. Researchers from very different backgrounds were all eager to exchange ideas and explain their research in detail.
During the week, I mainly attended sessions related to ocean dynamics, turbulence, numerical modelling, and machine learning applications in geoscience, especially the OS1.11 and NP6.4 sessions organised by members of the TRR 181 project. The talks covered a wide range of topics, from physical ocean processes to modern computational and data-driven methods, and the discussions were often lively and inspiring. Researchers from the TRR 181 project also contributed several excellent talks and poster presentations throughout the week, and unexpectedly meeting familiar faces across different sessions added another enjoyable part to the conference experience.

My own poster presentation took place towards the end of the conference. It was my first time presenting a poster at such a large international meeting, and I really enjoyed the experience. Compared with oral presentations, the poster session allowed for more direct and relaxed discussions. I had several interesting conversations about possible applications of the method, which gave me useful ideas for future research.

Outside the sessions themselves, the conference had a very lively atmosphere. During breaks, many participants gathered outside in the sunshine, sitting on the grass and continuing scientific discussions. Others explored the exhibition area, where journals, scientific companies, and research organisations presented new projects, software, and publications. There were also quiet working areas filled with researchers preparing talks, answering emails, or making last-minute changes to posters.
Vienna itself also became an important part of the experience. After the conference sessions ended, colleagues and I often spent the evenings walking through the city centre while continuing discussions from the day. The architecture constantly changed from one street to another: monumental buildings, quiet courtyards, churches, statues, and elegant parks appeared almost everywhere.

After the conference, I stayed an extra day in Vienna and visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The museum’s collections span thousands of years of history, from Egyptian and Classical antiquities to Renaissance paintings and sculptures. One highlight for me was seeing Pieter Bruegel’s The Tower of Babel in person, part of the museum’s remarkable Bruegel collection.
Overall, EGU 2026 was a highly valuable experience for me. Beyond presenting my own work, the conference provided many opportunities for discussion, inspiration, and new perspectives on interdisciplinary research. At the same time, Vienna itself added a unique atmosphere to the week, combining science, history, art, and music in a memorable way.

At the beginning of May, I travelled to Vienna to participate in the EGU General Assembly 2026. The meeting brought together around 20,000 scientists from all over the world working across many areas of geoscience. Coming from a mathematical background and working on spectral recovery from sparse observations, it was exciting to experience such a large and interdisciplinary conference environment.

I travelled together with colleagues from MIDS (Mathematical Institute for Machine Learning and Data Science) from Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and arrived in Vienna on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Even before the conference officially began, the city already felt connected to EGU. Around metro stations, cafés, and the conference venue, it was easy to spot participants wearing name badges or carrying poster tubes. Vienna itself provided a beautiful setting for the week, with its grand historical buildings, churches, parks, and opera houses creating a calm yet lively atmosphere.

The scale of the conference was impressive. Oral sessions, poster presentations, short courses, and networking events ran throughout the day. What impressed me most, however, was how much effort people put into presenting and discussing their work. Researchers from very different backgrounds were all eager to exchange ideas and explain their research in detail.

During the week, I mainly attended sessions related to ocean dynamics, turbulence, numerical modelling, and machine learning applications in geoscience, especially the OS1.11 and NP6.4 sessions organised by members of the TRR 181 project. The talks covered a wide range of topics, from physical ocean processes to modern computational and data-driven methods, and the discussions were often lively and inspiring. Researchers from the TRR 181 project also contributed several excellent talks and poster presentations throughout the week, and unexpectedly meeting familiar faces across different sessions added another enjoyable part to the conference experience.

My own poster presentation took place towards the end of the conference. It was my first time presenting a poster at such a large international meeting, and I really enjoyed the experience. Compared with oral presentations, the poster session allowed for more direct and relaxed discussions. I had several interesting conversations about possible applications of the method, which gave me useful ideas for future research.

Outside the sessions themselves, the conference had a very lively atmosphere. During breaks, many participants gathered outside in the sunshine, sitting on the grass and continuing scientific discussions. Others explored the exhibition area, where journals, scientific companies, and research organisations presented new projects, software, and publications. There were also quiet working areas filled with researchers preparing talks, answering emails, or making last-minute changes to posters.

Vienna itself also became an important part of the experience. After the conference sessions ended, colleagues and I often spent the evenings walking through the city centre while continuing discussions from the day. The architecture constantly changed from one street to another: monumental buildings, quiet courtyards, churches, statues, and elegant parks appeared almost everywhere.

After the conference, I stayed an extra day in Vienna and visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The museum’s collections span thousands of years of history, from Egyptian and Classical antiquities to Renaissance paintings and sculptures. One highlight for me was seeing Pieter Bruegel’s The Tower of Babel in person, part of the museum’s remarkable Bruegel collection.

Overall, EGU 2026 was a highly valuable experience for me. Beyond presenting my own work, the conference provided many opportunities for discussion, inspiration, and new perspectives on interdisciplinary research. At the same time, Vienna itself added a unique atmosphere to the week, combining science, history, art, and music in a memorable way.