News from the Network: Austrian Researchers Abroad
Moves and Milestones
bridges vol. 22, July 2009 / News from the Network: Austrian Researchers Abroad
In its "moves & milestones" section, bridges presents
career steps and other outstanding events in the professional lives of
Austrian scientists and scholars in the US and Canada.
Peter Schuster
was appointed foreign associate of the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS) in April 2009. NAS has approximately 2,100 members and 380 foreign associates worldwide.
Born in Vienna in 1941, Schuster received his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna in 1967 and in 1973 he was appointed full professor in the field of theoretical chemistry. He holds numerous memberships in various academies of sciences and was elected president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, a post which he held from 2006 to 2009. His research interests lie in such scientific disciplines as theory of the hydrogen bond and intermolecular forces, theory of molecular evolution, and genetic regulatory networks and metabolic networks.
was appointed assistant professor in the Strategy and Policy Group at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
An economist by training, his research interests include organizational economics, contract theory, the economics of innovation, and experimental economics. His current research focuses on how firms design compensation and performance evaluation schemes to motivate workers, in particular incentives for innovation in single- and multi-agent settings, the interplay of incentives and deception, the design of incentive systems that prevent gaming, and the optimal use of feedback mechanisms in organizations.
Prior to joining UCLA Anderson School of Management, Ederer received his Ph.D. in economics at MIT in 2009 and his M.Phil. in economics at Oxford in 2004.
was awarded the Early Career Life Science Award of the American Society of Cell Biology in 2009. Since 2009 he has been an American Cancer Society Research Scholar (2009-2013).
Martin Hetzer is Hearst Endowment Associate Professor at the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California.
bridges vol. 22, July 2009 / News from the Network: Austrian Researchers Abroad
The OST network of
Austrian scientists & scholars abroad was established by the
Office of Science & Technology (OST) at the Austrian Embassy
in Washington, DC, and focuses on the outreach of
government-related agencies to Austrian scientists in North America. Its
main objective has been to support the scientific community with
information and specific advice wherever necessary and requested.
Encouraged by the OST, an independent association - ASciNA
(AustrianScientists and Scholars in North America) - was founded in
2002 with local chapters being established throughout the US and Canada.
For further information about ASciNA please visit: www.ascina.at
Austrian Scientist Helmut Jenkner Gives Presentation on Hubble Space Telescope
Dr. Helmut Jenkner
Helmut Jenkner , deputy head of the Hubble Mission Office at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), gave a lecture hosted by the Embassy of Austria in cooperation with the American-Austrian Cultural Society. Jenkner's presentation outlined the history of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) from the first idea to Servicing Mission 4 (SM4) this past May, during which astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis completed the upgrades on the telescope during five space walks. Jenkner, on assignment from the European Space Agency, is generally responsible for maximizing the science return from Hubble, and most recently for coordinating the STScI activities leading up to the servicing mission.
On May 11, Jenkner was present at the launch of Atlantis from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For him, it was the first space shuttle launch he had attended -
and it will probably also be the last. Currently, there are no plans for other missions to upgrade or repair Hubble after SM4 and the telescope will be allowed to degrade.
With the revitalizations made during SM4, Hubble is expected to carry on its mission until at least 2014. "It's wonderful," said Jenkner to bridges, explaining the excitement of watching the launch three miles away - the closest you can
The Hubble Space Telescope as seen from the Space Shuttle Discovery
get to the launch site. "It's so immediately gripping. At the same time, you feel for your astronaut colleagues because you're frightened for them. There's no doubt about it - it's dangerous. On the other hand, the launch signals the culmination of what we have been preparing for seven years since the last servicing mission."
The Atlantis crew returned safely from Hubble on May 24, after their 13-day mission. The Hubble project has not been without its difficulties and setbacks, yet with all the challenges it faced, Hubble has produced some of the most iconic science results and images of space that the world has ever seen: the "Crab Nebula ," the "Pillars of Creation ," and the "Sombrero Galaxy ." Although the last servicing mission is over, Jenkner's work with Hubble is not yet finished: Currently Jenkner and his colleagues are going through the three-month program, Servicing Mission Observatory Verification (SMOV), that is the gradual testing and calibration of HST's instruments to make sure everything is in order for the continuation of the telescope's science program. With its new and repaired instruments Hubble will now be at the peak of its capabilities.
Once Hubble degrades to a point where it stops functioning, it will be taken out of orbit. "One of the things that was put on the telescope during SM4 was a fixture on the back end of it called a soft capture mechanism that will allow a small spacecraft to attach to the telescope to take it out of orbit safely," said Jenkner. "To prevent the telescope from falling out of orbit in an uncontrolled way and landing on someone, it will be brought down somewhere in the Pacific Ocean where it can fall safely into the water." Current planning suggests that Hubble's return to Earth will not occur until the 2020s.
Time is very limited in Gerlinde Wernig's life, but she and her husband still don't want to miss the pleasure of homemade Apfelstrudel, so she got herself an apple "peeling-and-cutting" machine with which she proudly claims to make an Apfelstrudel with 6 kg of apples in half an hour! It is enjoyable to hear this energetic woman, who currently works at the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University, while finishing her surgical pathology medical training, talking as enthusiastically about her apple peeler-corer as she does about her work. Grasping things instead of quarreling about them seems to have given Gerlinde Wernig a competitive edge throughout her career and in her daily routine.
Coming from a strong family background in the humanities, Gerlinde decided to study law and moved to Vienna after high school. Having come from Braunau, a small town in Upper Austria, she enjoyed her academic years in the city and it was in Vienna that she met her future husband, Marius Wernig. However, after her first year of studies, she was not happy to continue learning laws and regulations. She realized that, given her fascination with biology and her preference for literally taking things into her own hands, studying medicine would be much more in line with her aptitudes. Marius, who had already been enrolled at the medical university in Vienna for a year, was a bit bewildered at first by Gerlinde's change of plans, but the following years demonstrated the benefits of exchanging and sharing their medical knowledge in different but often overlapping fields.
In their relationship Gerlinde was the one who, from the onset, focused on receiving training in internal medicine, while Marius felt more attracted to doing laboratory research (click here to read the introduction of Austrian Scientist Dr. Marius Wernig, Associate Professor of Pathology at the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University).
"As early as I can remember, there has been music," said Marius Wernig, associate professor of pathology in the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University . Wernig, the principal investigator in the Wernig Laboratory, also at Stanford, has always seemed since his birth to be a man of two places. Born in Innsbruck, he was quickly moved to Munich, Germany, where his father, Anton Wernig, had accepted a position at a Max Planck Institute . Even while living in Munich, Wernig spent all holidays - and any other chance he got - with his family in Austria, either in Innsbruck, his mother's original home, or Carinthia, where his father grew up. During his stays in Carinthia as a young child, Wernig was first introduced to traditional Austrian folk music by listening to his father, uncles, and their wives sing together. Although Wernig can say that his earliest memories were filled with the sounds of music, his memories also played the notes of a future scientist: "Well, I always had a great interest in how the world works, too," said Wernig.
Music vs. Science
The first instrument that Wernig learned to play was the violin, which he enjoyed playing - especially in a group. Later, he learned to play the piano. Seeing that his family had an assortment of different musical instruments in their circle - a cello, played by his younger sister, an accordion, played by his father, and a flute, played by his mother - he decided that they should compose some music that would fit with their mixture of instruments. Eventually, the compositions that Wernig worked on with his family caught the ear of his high school teacher at Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium in Bonn. Wernig's teacher quickly put him in touch with a composition coach, from whom he took lessons. "I learned composing music in a more professional way instead of trying to learn everything on my own, and I learned a lot in a little bit of time," said Wernig about his experience learning composition writing. These lessons really paid off for Wernig, who later went on to premier his compositions in Bonn and Cologne, Germany, and in Vienna, Austria, and also at a chamber opera in the Opera House of Cologne. In 1991, his achievements and work were acknowledged when he won 2nd place in Germany's national composition competition. "You can imagine that you can write a lot of music, but there are not so many people interested in playing it, especially if you're completely unknown," said Wernig. "You're not Beethoven and you're not Stravinsky, so it was so exciting when I had won the competition that they actually organized an orchestra to perform the piece. It was one of the most moving and rewarding things that has happened to me in music."
By this time, Wernig's musical interests began to compete with his interest in science. Even in high school, Wernig said, he always picked science courses like physics and chemistry over anything else offered. One thing was certain: Wernig wanted to go to Vienna to begin his university studies, mostly as a way to "get back to his roots" and be closer to family - and the mountains. It is no surprise that Wernig came to this crossroads: His father, Prof. Anton Wernig, neurophysiologist at the University of Bonn - the same man who first introduced him to music - subtly introduced him to science. "My father never forced anything. He gave all the freedom to do what I wanted. But I think he provided an academic environment so it naturally led me to this fascination with science."
The battleground between the pursuit of a science career versus a music career took place at the University of Vienna. Wernig observed a few composition courses at the University's music conservatory and then a few physics courses. The decision was made: Science won. "It was a difficult decision for me," said Wernig. "I decided to start with physics and not music. In the end, it probably was the right decision. I think music is one of the best things you can participate in, but to live off it is really difficult. You have to make compromises doing music - which may be a little true for a life in science as well."
Marius and Gerlinde Wernig.
Wernig completed his graduate studies in physics at the University of Vienna and ventured into the medical field, studying briefly at the Medical School of the University of Vienna. While at the medical school, he met his future wife, Gerlinde - who lived on the same floor of the dormitory where he also lived. However, living in proximity to one another quickly ended when he decided to continue his medical studies at the Medical School of Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich and Technical University of Munich. The couple went through several years of a long distance relationship: five-hour train rides on the weekends and expensive long distance phone calls. Then Wernig took a residency position in neuropathology and general pathology at the University of Bonn. After a previous failed attempt to move and find a position in Munich, Gerlinde eventually found a position at the University of Bonn and the two were reunited once again. The Wernigs have been married since 2002 and are expecting their first child in the fall (click here to read the introduction of Austrian Scientist Dr. Gerlinde Wernig, Leukemia Research Fellow at Stanford University).
was appointed foreign associate of the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS) in April 2009. NAS has approximately 2,100 members and 380 foreign associates worldwide.
was appointed assistant professor in the Strategy and Policy Group at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. 
was awarded the Early Career Life Science Award of the American Society of Cell Biology in 2009. Since 2009 he has been an American Cancer Society Research Scholar (2009-2013). 
