Institute of Science and Technology, Austria Moves a Step Closer to Fruition. (July 18, 2008)

Two years ago TFW reported on the machinations taking place regarding the formation of a new Austrian Institute of Science and Technology.

Tobias Bonhoeffer to head IST,   Austria -   Photo, IST

[The] interdisciplinary graduate institute originally to be headed by Anton Zeilinger, head of physics at the University of Vienna, last year looked to be all but dead in the water when Zeilinger left, decrying political interference. Of particular concern was the decision to place the institute in the town of Gugging, 45 minutes from Vienna, at the site of a former psychiatric hospital.

     [Then] Haim Harari, a theoretical physicist and the former president of Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science joined the project in late 2005, on the understanding that the politicians should give the scientific community more control over the project, while acquiescing with regard to placing it at Gugging.

     IST, Austria "is now actively searching for its first Scientists". Its primary focus is listed as three interdisciplinary fields:

• The interface area connecting cognition, brain functions and neurobiology, on one hand, and computers and machines, on the other;

• Theoretical Biology, Mathematical Biology, elements of System Biology and other areas at the interface between Biological Sciences and the Physical and Engineering Sciences;

• Advanced materials, including all extensions of that field into Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Engineering.

Tobias Bonhoeffer, currently a director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, has been selected to be IST's first president, and Science has put three questions to him:

Q: What got you interested in this job?

Over the last couple of years, I've been interested in making an impact on a bigger scale. It's an opportunity where one can really shape something. And Vienna is a very nice city.

Q: The institute's supporters initially said they were hoping for an "Austrian MIT." Do you see MIT as the best model for IST Austria

We want an MIT, but only in terms of quality, not in terms of breadth. It is not possible to create an MIT from scratch. One will have to think hard and strategically about disciplines where we can be world-class and make a difference and those where it would be hard to compete. … I would like to give Austria something to be proud of--as proud as they are of the men's downhill ski team.

Q: Will you be able to do any science?

I would like to be able to organize things in such a way that I would not need to leave science completely. I also have to think about the future. I'm 48, so even if I were to stay for 12 years, I won't be retiring. And I don't want to have to start from scratch at 60.

The institute is scheduled to open in 2009. It has been promised A$885million over 10 years in state funding and will be expected to raise significant additional funding.

One thing is certain, Professor Bonhoeffer will have a hard row to hoe, after all Austria's population is just over 8.2 million.