The Wittgenstein Award (German : Wittgenstein-Preis) is an Austrian science award supporting the notion that "scientists should be guaranteed the greatest possible freedom and flexibility in the performance of their research." [1] The prize money of up to 1.5 million euro make it the most highly endowed science award of Austria, money that is tied to research activities within the five years following the award. The Wittgenstein-Preis is named after the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and is conferred once per year by the Austrian Science Fund on behalf of the Austrian Ministry for Science. [1]
The award provides aims to express recognition and to support "excellent scientists" [1] up to 55 years of age who "have produced exceptional scientific work and who occupy a prominent place in the international scientific community". Awardees receive financial support up to 1.5 million euro to be spent over a period of five years. The award should enhance and extend the research possibilities of the awardees and their research groups. [1]
Nominations can be expressed by rectors as well as vice rectors for research of Austrian universities; the president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences; the president of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA); and all previous Wittgenstein-Preis awardees. Self-nomination is not permitted, researchers of any discipline are entitled. There are no quotas regulating the distribution of awards between subject areas. [1] Nominees must be 60 years old or younger; permanently employed at an Austrian research institution; internationally recognised in their respective academic field; and have their center of life in Austria for at least one year at the time of the nomination. [1] The awardees are selected by an international jury of experts, the same jury also selects the recipients of the related Start-Preis. [2]
TU Wien is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recognition in teaching as well as in research, and it is a highly esteemed partner of innovation-oriented enterprises. It currently has about 28,100 students, eight faculties and about 5,000 staff members.
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, in short Leibniz Prize, is awarded by the German Research Foundation to "exceptional scientists and academics for their outstanding achievements in the field of research". Since 1986, up to ten prizes are awarded annually to individuals or research groups working at a research institution in Germany or at a German research institution abroad. It is considered the most important research award in Germany.
The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) is an international research institute in natural and mathematical sciences, located in Maria Gugging, Klosterneuburg, 20 km northwest of the Austrian capital of Vienna. It was established and inaugurated by the provincial government of Lower Austria and the federal government of Austria in 2009.
Otto Haxel was a German nuclear physicist. During World War II, he worked on the German nuclear energy project. After the war, he was on the staff of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Göttingen. From 1950 to 1974, he was an ordinarius professor of physics at the University of Heidelberg, where he fostered the use of nuclear physics in environmental physics; this led to the founding of the Institute of Environmental Physics in 1975. During 1956 and 1957, he was a member of the Nuclear Physics Working Group of the German Atomic Energy Commission. From 1970 to 1975, he was the Scientific and Technical Managing Director of the Karlsruhe Research Center.
Georg Carl Stetter was an Austrian-German nuclear physicist. Stetter was Director of the Second Physics Institute of the University of Vienna. He was a principal member of the German nuclear energy project, also known as the Uranium Club. In the latter years of World War II, he was also the Director of the Institute for Neutron Research. After the war, he was dismissed from his university positions, and he then became involved in dust protection research. After his dismissal was overturned, he became Director of the First Physics Institute of the University of Vienna, and he began research on aerosols. In 1962, Stetter became a full Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In that same year, the Academy established their Commission for Clean Air, and Stetter served as its chairman until 1985.
Heinz Maier-Leibnitz was a German physicist. He made contributions to nuclear spectroscopy, coincidence measurement techniques, radioactive tracers for biochemistry and medicine, and neutron optics. He was an influential educator and an advisor to the Federal Republic of Germany on nuclear programs.
The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) is a biomedical research center, which conducts curiosity-driven basic research in the molecular life sciences.
Friedrich Stadler is an Austrian historian and philosopher and professor for history and philosophy of science at the University of Vienna. He is the founder and long-time director of the Institute Vienna Circle, which was established as a Department of the Faculty of Philosophy and Education of the Vienna University in May 2011. Currently he is a permanent fellow of this department and serves at the same time as the Director of the co-operating Vienna Circle Society, which is the continuation of the former Institute Vienna Circle as an extra-university institution.
Monika Henzinger is a German computer scientist, and is a former director of research at Google. She is currently a professor at the University of Vienna. Her expertise is mainly on algorithms with a focus on data structures, algorithmic game theory, information retrieval, search algorithms and Web data mining. She is married to Thomas Henzinger and has three children.
Thomas Henzinger is an Austrian computer scientist, researcher, and president of the Institute of Science and Technology, Austria.
The VRVis Zentrum für Virtual Reality und Visualisierung (VRVis) is the largest independent research center in the area of Visual Computing in Austria, and one of the largest in Europe. It is one of currently 22 centrally funded COMET – Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies of Austria. The VRVis Center is located in Ares Tower in Vienna.
Albert Joseph Maria Defant was an Austrian meteorologist, oceanographer and climatologist. He published fundamental works on the physics of the atmosphere and ocean and is regarded as one of the founders of physical oceanography.
Nuno Maulide, born in 1979, is a Portuguese chemist, currently professor of organic chemistry at the University of Vienna.
Harald Grobner is an Austrian mathematician at the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Vienna. His research focuses on questions of algebra and number theory within the Langlands program.
The Vienna BioCenter is a cluster of life science research institutes and biotechnology companies located in the 3rd municipal District of Vienna, Austria. It grew around the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), which opened in 1988. The entities at the Vienna BioCenter employ more than 2,000 people, including 600 students.
Elly Margaret Tanaka is a biochemist and senior scientist at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria. Tanaka studies the molecular cell biology of limb and spinal cord regeneration as well as the evolution of regeneration.
Meinrad Busslinger is a biochemist and immunologist, renown for his work on B cells. He is a Senior Scientist and Scientific Deputy Director of the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria.
The Vienna Ball of Sciences is a ball held annually in January in Vienna, Austria. It combines classic traditions with contemporary impulses from the field of science communication. Since its establishment in 2015, the Science Ball has quickly gained a reputation as one of the most successful and largest events in the Viennese ball season
Adrian Constantin is a Romanian-Austrian mathematician who does research in the field of nonlinear partial differential equations. He a professor at the University of Vienna and has made groundbreaking contributions to the mathematics of wave propagation. He is listed as an ISI Highly Cited Researcher with more than 160 publications and 11000 citations.
Kerstin Susanne Jobst is a German historian and professor. Since 2012 she has taught at the Institute for East European History at the University of Vienna.