How power abuse can actively undermine innovation and career opportunities:
a case in Austria

In 2020, I was invited to develop a research project for a Lise Meitner Fellowship—a grant from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) specifically designed to promote young scientists as Principal Investigators (PIs). One week before submission, my mentor proposed expanding the project from two to three years by applying for a different funding line with himself as the formal PI to accommodate a PhD student without a scholarship. He assured me that I would remain the project’s intellectual leader, thus preserving the grant's original purpose: the promotion of a young researcher’s career. I agreed to these conditions.

The core hypothesis of the proposal was centered on the physical concept of "entropy."

However, as soon as the project commenced and the mentor acquired the formal PI title and directive power, he informed me that my ideas on entropy were flawed, claiming he did not understand how they could still be suggested given they had been profoundly criticized by other scholars. Consequently, the topic of entropy was removed from the project and was not mentioned again in official documentation for the following 14 months. My ability to influence the project’s development was effectively revoked; I was told my contributions had been mostly "unhelpful" and was pressured to dedicate less time to my own research and instead redirect my efforts toward the PI’s goals.

I reported the situation to the FWF, which confirmed my right to implement my ideas as originally planned and granted me research freedom. However, the FWF claimed they could not consider personal correspondence (such as emails) as evidence due to data protection regulations and eventually found no misconduct.

The FWF informed me that I could appeal to the Austrian Agency for Scientific Integrity (OeAWI). While the OeAWI initially accepted the submission, during their review they stated they saw no reason for a second investigation. Crucially, they excluded part of the evidence supporting my submission and subsequently deemed my allegations "partially misleading and inaccurate."

Following the termination of my contract, the PI removed my profile from the project website. When I reported this to the University Ombudsman, they dismissed the incident as an "oversight" without providing supporting evidence. They explicitly cited in their response that I had previously provided "partially misleading and inaccurate allegations."

The very ideas that served as the hypothesis in the grant proposal—but were then characterized as "flawed" and excluded from the funded project—were later published in the Journal of New Music Research, where they were praised for their innovation.

Conversely, in December 2025, the journal Die Musikforschung (GfM) has opened an investigation into an article published by the PI after I raised concerns regarding the reliability of their methodology—concerns I had consistently expressed throughout my employment.

This case highlights two critical issues:

(1) Without challenging what I consider an abuse of power by the PI, a discovery (that was rightly funded) later praised by the scientific community for its innovation might never have emerged. This highlights how power abuse can directly stifle innovation within our research system.

(2) Challenging this abuse of power to regain my research freedom arguably had unfortunate results that affected me substantially both in terms of future protection, career, and mental health.

While the FWF formally granted me research freedom, the subsequent actions of the OeAWI illustrate the risk that oversight bodies may inadvertently undermine whistleblowers, effectively weaponizing the complaint process against them, as evidenced by the response of the University Ombudsman.

To date, these organizations have failed to provide a substantive response on the matter. The OeAWI is currently evaluating a new submission I have filed regarding these issues.

Find my "Allegations of a Hostile Research Environment at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (KUG)" on Zenodo.
You can find the full story, including excerpts of the available evidence, at this link.
You can also find additional video materials below.