Tom Henzinger begins term as President of IST Austria

Professor Thomas Henzinger has begun today his official function as the first President of the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria in Klosterbeuburg. Henzinger, born 1962 in Linz (Upper Austria), is a renowned computer scientist who returns to Austria after a distinguished career at top international research institutes, including the University of California in Berkeley, the Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik and the Swiss ETH in Lausanne. Henzinger will continue his scientific work with his research group at IST Austria.

The president of IST Austria is the chief executive of the Institute, having the highest authority regarding all scientific, academic and administrative matters. For the last three years, since the founding of the new Institute and during the interim founding and construction period, all of these functions have been temporarily carried out by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, and by its chairman Professor Haim Harari from the Weizmann Institute in Israel. Since Henzinger’s appointment as president by the Board of Trustees, in December 2008, he has been closely involved in all decisions of the Executive Committee and has taken an active role in building the new Institute, in parallel with continuing his scientific duties in Lausanne. With the official beginning of his term, Henzinger and his family have now moved to Vienna area and he will devote his full time and energy to building the new organization and to recruiting additional top scientists.

Dr. Claus Raidl, Chair of the Board of Trustees, stated: “With President Tom Henzinger IST Austria moves on to the next phase of its development. I am convinced that Prof. Henzinger will succeed in establishing IST Austria as a world-class research institute.” Professor Haim Harari, Chair of the Executive Committee, added: “It has been a privilege to cooperate with Tom in the transition phase of the past few months. The young Institute has already made important steps towards becoming a great scientific center, but creating a tradition of excellence and of major achievements must take many years. Tom’s outstanding abilities both as a scientist and as a manager are strong indicators for the success of the Institute in the future”. Professor Thomas Henzinger replied: “It is an enormous honor to be handed the responsibility for the Institute by this dedicated team of pioneers. Their spirit will continue to guide us in the future.”