Annual Report 2014 years IST Austria Annual Report 2014 Content 5 years of networking As IST Austria celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2014, this annual report not just reviews the last year but also provides facts, figures, and numbers relevant to the first five years of IST Austria. forewords Scientists at IST Austria rely on professional networks to conduct 02 Foreword by the President excellent research. They work in teams and collaborate with research 03 Guest Commentary by Arnold Schmidt groups from numerous universities and institutes in Austria, Europe, and elsewhere. They meet colleagues at international events to exchange the institute ideas and share their findings. As academic networking is crucial for 04 IST Austria at a Glance scientists at IST Austria, “network” has been chosen as an ancillary theme for the 2014 annual report. 5 years IST Austria 08 Interview Nick Barton: The 1st to Accept the Challenge 10 Recognizing 5 Years of Excellence 11 Science is a Network 12 PhD Students and Postdocs at IST Austria research 14 Research Highlight Evolutionary Biology 16 Current Research at IST Austria 18 Barton Group 19 Benková Group 20 Bollback Group 21 Bollenbach Group 22 Chatterjee Group 23 Cremer Group 24 Csicsvari Group 25 Edelsbrunner Group 26 Erdős Group 27 Friml Group 28 Guet Group 29 Heisenberg Group 30 Henzinger Group 31 Hippenmeyer Group 32 Hof Group 33 Janovjak Group 34 Jonas Group 35 Kolmogorov Group 36 Lampert Group 37 Lemeshko Group 38 Maas Group 39 Novarino Group 40 Pietrzak Group 41 Seiringer Group 42 Shigemoto Group 43 Siekhaus Group 44 Sixt Group 45 Tkačik Group 46 Uhler Group 47 Wagner Group 48 Wojtan Group 49 Starting in 2015 and 2016: New Professors r of 51 Grants & Prizes Numbe 53 Publications 2014 chemical explosions 009: outreach since 2 58 Scientific events Almost none 60 Public events organization 64 Tech Transfer & Tech Park 64 Boards of IST Austria 66 Administration 68 Scientific Service Units 70 Donors 72 Location & Directions IST Austria Scientists (December 31, 2014) 4 Postdocs 1 Postdoc 2 Postdocs, 2 PhD students 2 Postdocs, 5 PhD students 1 Professor, 2 Postdocs, 2 PhD students 4 Professors, 2 Professors, 5 PhD students 4 PhD 7 Postdocs, 8 Postdocs, students 1 Postdoc, 8 PhD students 4 PhD students 2 PhD students 6 Postdocs 9 Professors, 11 Professors, 26 Postdocs, 2 PhD students 1 PhD student 10 Postdocs, 7 PhD students 2 PhD students 2 PhD students 4 PhD students 1 Professor, 1 Postdoc, 5 Postdocs, 1 PhD student 1 Professor, 1 PhD student 5 Postdocs, 7 Postdocs, 4 PhD students 2 PhD students 2 PhD students 7 Postdocs, 5 Postdocs, 19 PhD 2 PhD students students 4 PhD students 1 PhD student 2 PhD 1 PhD students 1 Postdoc 4 Post- student docs, 4 PhD students 1 PhD student 3 Postdocs, 1 PhD student 3 PhD students 16.9% Germany 2 Postdocs 2 Professors, 7 Postdocs, 10.5% Austria 1 Phd student 9.3% United States 7.7% United Kingdom 2 Professors 5.6% Belgium 1 PhD student 4% Switzerland 3.6% France 1 Postdoc 3.2% Italy 3.2% Japan 2.8% Canada 2.8% Czech Republic 2.8% Spain 2.4% Hungary 2.4% Poland 2% Netherlands 2% Russian Federation Scientists from all over the world come to IST Austria. The world map indicates less than 2% each Australia, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, India, Iran, Israel, Kazahkhstan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, the countries where their previous institutions are located. The graphics on the Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine left-hand side give an overview of their nationalities as represented on campus. 2 IST Austria Annual Report 2014 rs Forewords 3 interdi ree sciplin ca no boundar ar ing ies y rt e k po r ac The up nu r s te t Vision of 1 ecade 0 Half a d h Alive 1 searc PhD sic re gra a gr n b ad ti nal sc ua ng tio h langu ho te aenglis age ol rn The annual report is an opportunity to look back at what e we have achieved. As we celebrated the fifth anniversary t of IST Austria last year, I would like to invite you to take in a brief journey with us through time, and learn about s of Year how we grew from 30 employees in 2009 to 430 in 2014. 5 ependen Thomas A. Henzinger President, IST Austria Ind cy In June 2009, the IST Austria campus opened in has taken the first steps towards being put on Klosterneuburg, only 18 months after beginning the map in physics. the renovation and construction work at a for- Ten students have already graduated from the mer hospital site. I arrived from Switzerland to Institute with a PhD degree, most of them pur- start work together with three other research suing postdoc positions in Europe and North groups and almost 20 administrative employ- America. Several of our postdocs have been Guest Commentary by Arnold Schmidt ees. In 2010, the first laboratory building for hired as professors in 2014 in the Czech Repub- g Vice Chairman of the Scientific Board experimental science was completed and the lic, France, and the United States. Our scientists in from 2007 to 2013 Graduate School was in its first recruiting sea- have already published more than 660 research te d son. What had once been an idea of a new articles, many of them in renowned journals a institute for basic research had become reality such as Nature and Science. We have hosted i v n In 2006 an international committee released a answers. It is the spirit of the endeavor, the and duly featured on the cover of our first annual close to 600 scientific talks and welcomed more r u concise report recommending the establishment chance to engage with like-minded people, and report titled “From Vision to Reality”. The main than 220 scientific visitors. 15 of our current p f of a high-class research institute for basic the pleasure to work at a place whose primary challenge was, and still remains, to attract 31 faculty members have been awarded the e science in Austria. Authored by Haim Harari of aim is to conduct science for science’s sake. An excellent researchers while developing the nas- coveted ERC Grants of the European Union. In & s the Weizmann Institute, Olaf Kübler of the ETH American-style graduate school and the tenure- cent institute and its evolving campus step by 2014, in addition to the many ongoing collabora- c r Zurich, and Hubert Markl of the Max Planck track career model are also considered major step. Our continued success in meeting this tions, 13 new networking projects were selected l i e Society, the report prompted the Austrian assets. challenge is perhaps best illustrated by the by international peers for funding scientists at b v parliament to pass a law that constituted the steadily increasing number of applications that IST Austria together with researchers in Austria, u i legal basis for the foundation of IST Austria. As As a long-time observer of Austrian science IST Austria receives at all levels. the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, p d the law was received with much acclaim at home policy, I think that the skepticism which IST In 2014, six new professors, chosen from about Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and and abroad – it also spurred some parochial Austria was facing in the beginning did not come 1’000 applicants, signed a contract with us. the United States. So far, three of our assistant skepticism – work could start right away. New as a big surprise. Neither the foundation of the Three of them, together with 25 new doctoral professors have been promoted to tenured buildings and facilities were erected, eventually Austrian Science Fund (FWF) in 1968 nor the students selected from about 1’500 applicants professors after undergoing extensive reviews. i changing the premises of an old hospital establishment of the Institute of Molecular from almost 100 countries, started working on The development of IST Austria had so many nt complex into a modern university campus. Pathology (IMP) some years later had been campus. This brings the total number of mothers and fathers that any list would be inher- el greeted with much enthusiasm. Within a few e lec research groups to 31, among them are 16 ently incomplete. I would like to thank our x tu Scientifically speaking, IST Austria has come to years, however, the FWF had a significant effect experimental groups, bringing the current num- donors and funders, our collaboration partners, p al life in a remarkably short time. The research on science in Austria, raising the quality of ber of students to almost 100. There are now advisers and friends all over the world, the fed- r lo p institute has been going to great lengths to science funding to a high and internationally more than 250 scientists on campus, from more eral and provincial governments, the members i ro attract highly motivated, ambitious, and gifted respected standard. Additionaly the IMP played than 50 countries, supported by seven scientific of our boards and committees, and especially es ti pe professors, postdocs, and graduate students a decisive role in forming the Vienna Biocenter, a service facilities. In 2012, we opened a second the family of IST Austria for their passion and u n rt from all over the world. More than anything else, potent cluster of life sciences institutes. All this laboratory building and the third one will be fin- enthusiasm.