At a festive graduation ceremony on February 16th, 2024, Sebastian Moser received his doctorate in mining sciences “sub auspiciis Praesidentis rei publicae” from the Technical University of Leoben. He is only the ninth person to receive this exceptional academic honor at TU Leoben.
Research stay in Taiwan: Science and culture exchange
During his first research stay in August 2025, Dr. Moser spent time in Taiwan. At the beginning of his stay, he worked as a visiting scientist at National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) in Kaohsiung in the Extreme Mechanics & Materials research group led by Assoc. Prof. Bo-Shiuan Li. The focus was on fracture mechanics investigations of semiconductor samples and scientific exchange with local researchers, for example during a tour of the Joint Lab for Semiconductor Technology on campus led by Chia-Ling Chi. Dr. Moser's concluding seminar lecture at the Department of Mechanical & Electromechanical Engineering at NSYSU was met with great interest.
During his stay in Taiwan, Dr. Moser completed a language course in Mandarin Chinese and visited Prof. Fan-Yi Ouyang at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in Hsinchu for further scientific exchange. His two stays at NSYSU and NTHU enabled him to deepen his expertise in the manufacture, characterization and testing of materials in microelectronics. In addition, he was able to expand his contacts in the scientific field and gain valuable cultural experience.
Research stay in Sweden: In-depth investigations
In September 2025, Dr. Moser undertook another research stay in Stockholm, Sweden, at Excillum AB, a company specializing in the development of laboratory X-ray sources and very active on the scientific stage. Together with scientific partners, X-ray computed tomography measurements were performed there on a demonstration system using the state-of-the-art NanoTube N3 X-ray source.
The investigations focused on characterizing the damage development of metallization layers in microelectronic chips during on-site stress tests. New possibilities for laboratory-based X-ray characterization were tested. A joint scientific publication is in preparation. The time spent in Sweden enabled Dr. Moser to further his education in the fields of material characterization and test automation.
About the person
Sebastian Moser attended BG/BRG Villach St. Martin and then studied technical physics at TU Wien. He came to the Technical University of Leoben for his doctoral studies, where he specialized in materials science. His dissertation, supervised by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Megan J. Cordill from the Erich Schmid Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Department of Materials Science, dealt with the fatigue of metallization layers in microelectronic applications. Dr. Moser conducted most of his research at KAI Kompetenzzentrum Automobil- und Industrieelektronik GmbH in Villach, a subsidiary company of Infineon Technologies Austria AG, where he now works as a staff engineer in the field of materials science.
The two research stays impressively demonstrate how the sub-auspiciis distinction not only recognizes outstanding achievements, but also acts as a springboard for international scientific cooperation and professional and personal development.
