IST Austria celebrates 23 PhD graduates

On Tuesday July 9th, the Institute of Science and Technology (IST Austria) celebrated 23 new graduates of the Institute’s PhD program. They are not only from 13 different countries – from Chile and Mexico over Austria to the Ukraine and Palestine, but also from all scientific fields of research at IST Austria: physics, mathematics, computer and life sciences. After years of dedication, learning, and independent research, these new alumni will go on to pursue careers in academia and industry. Since its foundation 10 years ago IST Austria now has a total of 73 graduates.

Nick Barton, Dean of the „Graduate School“ of IST Austria, welcomed the graduating class and their friends and family, who filled the Raiffeisen Lecture Hall and then passed on to the keynote speaker of the evening: Thomas J. Silhavy, Professor for Molecular Biology at Princeton University. Silhavy was not only deeply impressed by the achievements of IST Austria over the last 10 years but especially by the achievements of the graduates. He spoke about what it means to do a PhD, which involves not only the technical mastery in the chosen field but also includes independent genuine research. He encouraged the graduates not to be afraid of failure and mistakes but also to pursue something they really love. He closed with: ”Now is the time to chase your dreams! Go out and change the world! “

The graduate students then crossed the stage one by one, and the crowd cheered as they received their sashes and shook hands with their supervisors and the dean. In the short laudation to each graduate, the common theme was that although the graduates now leave IST Austria to pursue a career in research elsewhere the results of their thesis will be the base for further research at IST Austria. Professor Krish Chatterjee announced the Outstanding Thesis Award: Claudia Espinoza Martinez her thesis in neuro science completed under the supervision of Professor Peter Jonas.

Lada Vukusic, quantum physicist and the representative of the class 2019, reminded everyone in her speech that no goals can be obtained without commitment and sometimes stubbornness this holds especially true for finishing a PhD. She thanked everyone for supporting the graduates from professors to their own families.

Educating PhD students as well as basic research on a world-class level is a core mission of IST Austria. At IST Austria the new graduates were able to build the foundation of their careers not only in academia, but in any careers they choose to pursue. Therefore, for the alumni of IST Austria can be found everywhere in the world and their career include professor positions at top universities such as Stanford, TU Vienna or positions in industry like Genentech, NVIDIA or Google. The IST Austria Alumni Club stays in touch with the graduates after their time in Klosterneuburg and looks forward to watching their progress and following their successes as they make their marks on the world.

The graduating class of 2019 comprises:
Daniel Capek (Heisenberg Group), Matthew Case (Shigemoto Group), Hannes Watzinger (Katsaros Group), Johannes Alt (Erdös Group), Igor Gridchyn (Csicsvari Group), Catherine McKenzie (Janovjak Group), Lada Vukusic (Katsaros Group), Magdalena Steinrück (Guet Group), Vera Belyaeva (Siekhaus Group), Thomas Moser (Seiringer Group), Hamza Abusala (Pietrzak Group), Alexander Zimin (Lampert Group), Susanne Laukoter (Hippenmeyer Group), Marta Lukacisinova (Bollenbach Group), Madhumitha Narasimhan (Friml Group), Roshan Prizak (Tkaik Group), Claudia Igler (Guet Group), Barbara Casillas Perez (Cremer Group), Dominik Schröder (Erdös Group), Sarah Cepeda Humerez (Tkacik Group), Katarina Valoskova (Siekhaus Group), Martin Lukacisin (Bollenbach Group), Claudia Espinoza Martinez (Jonas Group)