Tunnels were the life’s work of Ladislaus von Rabcewicz. He was involved in more than 200 km of construction worldwide and was instrumental in developing the New Austrian Tunneling Method. Today, this concept is used all over the world.
After studying civil engineering at the Technical Universities of Vienna and Graz, Rabcewicz initially devoted himself to railroad alignments and flood protection structures in Austria and abroad, including Java, Iran, southern Anatolia and Germany. From 1940, he was a full professor of railroad engineering at the Vienna University of Technology. In 1951, Rabcewicz received his doctorate in technical sciences from the Graz University of Technology. He then moved to Venezuela as a UN consultant for tunnel construction, tunnels built at that time can be mentioned as the first NÖT constructions.
Ladislaus von Rabcewicz was awarded the Johann Joseph Ritter von Prechtl Medal in 1973, he was an honorary doctor of the Graz University of Technology, the Vienna University of Technology and the University of Leoben.