Awards and honors are an important metric for measuring research excellence. The most prestigious grants for basic science on the European level are awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). Set up in 2007 by the European Union, the European Research Council is the first pan-European funding organization for frontier research. It aims to stimulate scientific excellence in Europe by encouraging competition for funding between the very best, creative researchers of any nationality and age.

Selected recent awards and distinctions for faculty members of IST Austria:

ERC Advanced Grants: Nick Barton (2009), Tom Henzinger (2010), Peter Jonas (2010)
ERC Starting Grants: Sylvia Cremer (2009), Krzysztof Pietrzak (2010), Krishnendu Chatterjee (2011), Jozsef Csicsvari (2011), Michael Sixt (2011)
Mega Grant by the Russian Government: Edelsbrunner (2011)
START Award: Michael Sixt (2011)
HFSP Grants: Calin Guet (2011), Harald Janovjak (2011), Michael Sixt (2011), Gašper Tkačik (2011)
Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship: Krishnendu Chatterjee (2011)
Darwin-Wallace Medal: Nick Barton (2009)
Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW): Tom Henzinger (2011)
Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW): Herbert Edelsbrunner (2012)
Members of the Junge Akademie (Germany): Sylvia Cremer (2008), Tobias Bollenbach (2011)
Member of the Young Academy (Austria): Sylvia Cremer (2011)

ISI Highly Cited Scientists: Nick Barton, Herbert Edelsbrunner, Tom Henzinger