The Wittgenstein Award () is an Austrian science award supporting the notion that "scientists should be guaranteed the greatest possible freedom and flexibility in the performance of their research." The prize money of up to 1.9 million euro (2025) make it the most highly endowed science award of Austria, money that is tied to research activities within the five years following the award. The Wittgenstein-Preis is named after the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and is conferred once per year by the Austrian Science Fund on behalf of the Austrian Ministry for Science.
Objectives The award provides aims to express recognition and to support "excellent scientists" up to 60 years of age who "have produced exceptional scientific work and who occupy a prominent place in the international scientific community". Awardees receive financial support up to 1.5 million euro to be spent over a period of five years. The award should enhance and extend the research possibilities of the awardees and their research groups.
Nomination, requirements and selection Nominations can be expressed by rectors as well as vice rectors for research of Austrian universities; the president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences; the president of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA); and all previous Wittgenstein-Preis awardees. Self-nomination is not permitted, researchers of any discipline are entitled. There are no quotas regulating the distribution of awards between subject areas. Nominees must be 60 years old or younger; permanently employed at an Austrian research institution; internationally recognised in their respective academic field; and have their center of life in Austria for at least one year at the time of the nomination. The awardees are selected by an international jury of experts, the same jury also selects the recipients of the related Start-Preis.
Recipients and affiliation
1996: Erwin Friedrich Wagner, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) 1996: Ruth Wodak, Institut für Sprachwissenschaften, Universität Wien 1997: Marjori and Antonius Matzke, Institut für Molekularbiologie, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften 1997: Erich Gornik, Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Technische Universität Wien 1998: Peter Zoller, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innsbruck 1998: Walter Schachermayer, Institut für Informationssysteme, Technische Universität Wien 1998: Georg Gottlob, Institut für Informationssysteme, Technische Universität Wien 1999: Kim Nasmyth, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) 2000: Peter Markowich, Institut für Mathematik, Universität Wien 2000: Andre Gingrich, Institut für Ethnologie, Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie, Universität Wien 2001: Heribert Hirt, Department für Pflanzenmolekularbiologie, Universität Wien 2001: Meinrad Busslinger, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) 2002: Ferenc Krausz, Institut für Photonik, Technische Universität Wien 2003: Renée Schroeder, Institut für Mikrobiologie und Genetik, Universität Wien 2004: Walter Pohl, Forschungsstelle für Geschichte des Mittelalters, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften 2005: Rudolf Grimm, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Innsbruck 2005: Barry J. Dickson, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) 2006: Hannes-Jörg Schmiedmayer, TU Wien 2007: Christian Krattenthaler, Fakultät für Mathematik, Universität Wien 2007: Rudolf Zechner, Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften, Universität Graz 2008: Markus Arndt, Fakultät für Physik, Universität Wien 2009: Gerhard Widmer, Institut für Computational Perception, Universität Linz 2009: Jürgen Knoblich, Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie (IMBA) 2010: Wolfgang Lutz, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Department of Socioeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business 2011: Jan-Michael Peters, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) 2011: Gerhard J.Herndl, Department für Meeresbiologie, Fakultät für Lebenswissenschaften, Universität Wien 2012: Niyazi Serdar Sariçiftçi, Institut für Physikalische Chemie und Institut für Organische Solarzellen, Universität Linz 2012: Thomas Henzinger, ISTA 2013: Ulrike Diebold, Institut für Angewandte Physik, TU Wien 2014: Josef Penninger, Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie (IMBA) 2015: Claudia Rapp, Institut für Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik, University of Vienna 2016: Peter Jonas, Institute of Science and Technology Austria 2017: Hanns-Christoph Nägerl, University of Innsbruck 2018: Herbert Edelsbrunner, ISTA and , Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna 2019: Philipp Ther, Institute for Eastern European History and , Department for Microbiology and Eco Systems Research, both University of Vienna 2020: Adrian Constantin, Department of Mathematics, University of Vienna 2021: Monika Henzinger, Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna 2022: Christa Schleper, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna 2023: Hans J. Briegel, University of Innsbruck"Hans J. Briegel | 2023". fwf.ac.at (in German). Retrieved 26 June 2025. 2024: , Institute of Science and Technology AustriaIn 2024, the award went out to Czech cell biologist Jiří Friml. Through his groundbreaking research in the field of cell biology. https://www.fwf.ac.at/en/discover/awards/fwf-wittgenstein-awards/2024-jiri-friml 2025: Elly Tanaka, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the Vienna Biocenter"Wittgenstein-Preis an Biochemikerin Tanaka". science.orf.at, 26 June 2025 (in German). Retrieved 26 June 2025. 2026: Markus Aspelmeyer, University of Vienna. univie.ac.at, 24 June 2026. Retrieved 02 August 2026.
References
External links
web page with information on recipients