With the APART-USA scholarship programme, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, opens an external URL in a new window responded to the changes in the American research landscape under the Trump administration, which have led to considerable uncertainty in the United States and internationally. The programme is aimed specifically at postdocs, i.e. researchers who have completed their doctorates, and offers them an attractive opportunity to continue their work at Austrian universities and non-university research institutions.

The researchers come from some of the world's most renowned universities and conduct research in a wide range of disciplines: from physics and chemistry to computer science and life sciences to cultural studies and the humanities. The first US scientists will begin their research at their new home institutions in Austria this year. The 25 scholarships that have now been awarded will run for 48 months and are endowed with 500,000 euros each. APART-USA is financed 75 per cent by the Fonds Zukunft Österreich (FZÖ) and 25 per cent by the host research institutions where the fellows are employed.

At TU Wien, we will welcome the three researchers Emma McDonnell (University of Washington, opens an external URL in a new window), Noah Jäggi (University of Virginia, opens an external URL in a new window) and Miguel Steiner (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, opens an external URL in a new window). They will continue their research at the Institute of Visual Computing and Human-Centered Technology, opens an external URL in a new window, the Institute of Applied Physics and the Institute of Materials Chemistry. We are delighted to welcome them and extend a warm welcome to them already.