The Austrian Academy of Sciences was founded as the „Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien“ in 1847. In 1857, the Academy was granted the use of the old University in the centre of Vienna as its permanent headquarters. The Austrian Academy of Sciences is a legal entity under the special protection of the Federal Republic of Austria. Its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every field, particularly in basic research.
The Austrian Academy of Sciences is the leading organisation promoting non-university academic research in Austria. Research of the Academy is carried out in institutes, research units and departments (commissions) located all over Austria. Currently, 60 research institutions are promoted by the Academy and up to 700 scientists carry out research there. The Austrian Academy of Sciences consists of two sections - the Section for Mathematics and the Natural Sciences and the Section for the Humanities and the Social Sciences.
The primary aim of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is to support top-quality research institutions in various fields. Interdisciplinary and complementary approaches are essential criteria of research of the Academy. Examples of interdisciplinary and complementary performance of the Academy institutions are space research, demography, ageing research, and „Institutional Change and European Integration”. These institutions are also engaged in applied research, they write reports and statements related to research policy and are closely interlinked with international research projects and scientific organisations. Young and successful researchers presenting excellent results of scientific research are promoted by the Academy with awards and for scholarship programmes. Another important task of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is the administration of numerous national and international research programmes. For further information: http://www.oeaw.ac.at