May 4, 2020
Thomas Henzinger elected to two prestigious American academies
The computer scientist and president of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) has been elected to the US National Academy of Sciences and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Founded in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a society of distinguished scholars which is charged with providing independent, objective advice to the United States on matters related to science and technology. Scientists are elected by their peers to membership in the NAS for outstanding contributions to research.
Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists, and innovators and engages them in sharing knowledge and addressing challenges facing the world. Among its members are icons of American history, arts, and science from Benjamin Franklin to Albert Einstein and Bob Dylan.
Thomas Henzinger notes on the honor of joining these select groups: ”I am humbled to be chosen by my peers to become a member of both of these prestigious academies. Achieving excellence in science is always a collaborative effort. This is why I want to thank also all of my students and collaborators throughout the years.”
Scientific career and achievements
Thomas Henzinger was born in Linz, Austria. He received his diploma in Computer Science from Johannes Kepler University in Linz and a PhD degree in Computer Science from Stanford University (1991). He held prestigious positions around the world, including a directorship at the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science in Saarbrücken, Germany, a professorship of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a professorship of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California in Berkeley, USA.
In 2009, Thomas Henzinger was appointed the first president of IST Austria and, within the past ten years, has led the institute to global success: During Henzinger’s third consecutive term in office, IST Austria was ranked third among the world’s top research institutions by Nature Index in June 2019 (normalized ranking). With his appointment to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Thomas Henzinger joins Herbert Edelsbrunner as the second member on IST Austria’s faculty.
Professor Henzinger’s research focuses on the design and verification of reliable software, hardware, and embedded systems. Besides many other distinctions, he received the Robin Milner Award of the Royal Society and the Wittgenstein Award of the Austrian Science Fund.
