Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna
| Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften | |
Logo ÖAW
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1921 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Type | National Academy |
| Jurisdiction |
 Austria
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| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria |
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| Child agencies |
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| Website | ÖAW Home Page |
The Austrian Academy of Sciences (German: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in fundamental research. In 2009, the Austrian Academy of Sciences was ranked 82nd among the 300 topmost research institutions in the world, based on its internet presence, by Webometrics Ranking of World Research Centers.
In 1713, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz suggested to establish such an Academy, inspired by the Royal Society and the Académie des Sciences. The "Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien" was finally established by Imperial Patent on May 14, 1847.
The Academy soon began extensive research. In the humanities the Academy started with researching and publishing important historical sources of Austria. Research in natural sciences also covered a wide variety of topics.
The 1921 federal law guaranteed the legal basis of the Academy in the newly founded First Republic of Austria. And from the mid-1960s onwards it became the country's leading institution in the field of non-university basic research.
The Academy is also a learned society, and its past members have included Christian Doppler, Theodor Billroth, Anton Eiselsberg, Otto Hittmair, Eduard Suess, Ludwig Boltzmann, Paul Kretschmer, Hans Horst Meyer, Roland Scholl, Julius von Schlosser and the Nobel Prize winners Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Victor Hess, Erwin Schrödinger and Konrad Lorenz.
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