| Austrian Academy of Sciences | |
|---|---|
| Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften | |
| Logo ÖAW | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1921 |
| Preceding agency | Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien (founded 1847) |
| Jurisdiction | Austria |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria |
| Agency executives | Helmut Denk, President Sigrid Jalkotzy-Deger, Vice President |
| Child agencies | Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) Institute for Studies of Ancient Culture Institute for European Integration Research Institute for High Energy Physics Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics [3] Acoustics Research Institute |
| Website | |
| ÖAW Home Page | |
The Austrian Academy of Sciences ("Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften") is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research. In 2009, the Austrian Academy of Sciences was ranked 82nd among the 300 topmost research institutions in the world by Webometrics Ranking of World Research Centers [4].
In 1713, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz suggested to establish such an Academy, inspired by the Royal Society and the Académie des Sciences. The "Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien" was finally established by Imperial Patent on May 14, 1847.
The Academy soon began extensive research. In the humanities the Academy started with researching and publishing important historical sources of Austria. Research in natural sciences also covered a wide variety of topics.
The 1921 federal law guaranteed the legal basis of the Academy in the newly founded First Republic of Austria. And from the mid-1960s onwards it became the country's leading institution in the field of non-university basic research.
The Academy is also a learned society, and its past members have included Christian Doppler, Theodor Billroth, Anton Eiselsberg, Eduard Suess, Ludwig Boltzmann, Paul Kretschmer, Hans Horst Meyer, Roland Scholl, and the Nobel Prize winners Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Victor Hess, Erwin Schrödinger and Konrad Lorenz.[1]
Among the Academy's numerous publications is the Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum.
During his term as president of the Academy (1991-2003), Prof. Werner Welzig initiated the establishment of the Galerie der Forschung.[2] In 2005 the Gallery organised its pilot event "Mapping controversies: the case of the genetically modified food"[3], which was staged in the Alte Aula in Vienna.