IST Austria introduces Donor Club

Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria yesterday evening staged its first donors’ appreciation dinner to introduce the IST Donor Club. Chairman of the Board of Trustees Claus J. Raidl, Chairman of the Executive Committee Haim Harari and IST President Thomas Henzinger gave a warm welcome to leading representatives of donor companies in the Raiffeisen Lecture Hall. The presentation by Architect Heinz Tesar, who designed the signature building of IST Austria, was followed by a talk by Biologist Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, who was one of the first professors to start at IST Austria in June 2009. Professor Heisenberg works in the field of Cell and Development Biology and uses zebra fish as model organisms for his research.

The subsequent dinner set the stage for honoring the donors and introducing the IST Donor Club. So far IST Austria received donations worth 17 million Euro, with the 10 million Euro donation by the Invicta Foundation being of an unparalleled magnitude in Austria and Europe. All donations are given for purely philanthropic reasons, i.e., accepting the donation does not put IST Austria under any obligation. By investing in the future of IST Austria, the donors show a strong commitment to supporting and developing excellent basic science in Austria at international level.