It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to Professor Emerita Dr Inge Troch, who died on 20 September 2026 at the age of 85 in the tragic partial collapse of the residential building in which she lived in Vienna’s 1st district. With her passing, TU Wien has lost a pioneer in applied mathematics, one of its first female professors and a scholar who shaped our university for decades.
Inge Troch was born in Vienna on 24 February 1941. After passing her school-leaving examination with distinction, she began her studies in 1959 at what was then Technische Hochschule Wien. As early as 1962, she passed the second state examination in actuarial science with distinction; in 1963, she also completed the university course “Modern Computing Techniques”. From December of that same year, she worked at the I. Institut für Mathematik of Technische Hochschule Wien, initially as a research assistant and, from 1966, as a Hochschulassistentin. On 1 July 1966, she received her doctorate in technical sciences. Her thesis was entitled “Investigations into the Behaviour of Algebraic Non-linearities in Control Systems”.
In recognition of her exceptional academic achievements, she was awarded the Caroline and Guido Krafft Medal upon completing her doctorate, an honour bestowed by the then Technische Hochschule Wien for outstanding academic achievement. According to the archives of TU Wien, Inge Troch was the only woman ever to have been awarded this medal.
In 1972, Inge Troch obtained her habilitation with the thesis “Contributions to the Problem of n-Controllability and n-Observability” and received her venia docendi in Control Mathematics and Hybrid Computing. She was thus the first woman to obtain her habilitation in her field at TU Wien. Following several research stays abroad, she was appointed associate professor in 1974; in 1975 she was appointed Universitätsprofessorin (full professor) für Regelungsmathematik, Modellbildung und Simulation. At a time when women were even more under-represented in mathematics – and particularly at technical universities – than they are today, she was one of the pioneers of her generation.
Her academic background also linked her to a long mathematical tradition. Her doctoral supervisor, Erich Bukovics, the first head of our institute, had himself obtained his doctorate under Nikolaus Hofreiter. Via Philipp Furtwängler, Felix Klein, Julius Plücker and Christian Gerling, this academic lineage traces back to Carl Friedrich Gauss. Bukovics supported Inge Troch’s academic development and encouraged her to pursue an academic career.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Inge Troch conducted extensive research into control mathematics and hybrid computing. At that time, analogue and hybrid computers enabled the rapid solution of differential equations and played a particularly important role in time-critical control problems. Inge Troch combined these new computational possibilities with the mathematical description of dynamic systems and with control engineering methods. From an early stage, she worked at the interface between mathematics, computing and automatic control – an area that was later to become of central importance in fields such as robotics.
Not only did she make the transition from the analogue to the digital world herself, but she also helped her staff and students to make that transition. Her academic interests extended to applied mathematics as a whole, with a particular focus on mathematical modelling, simulation and optimisation. In addition to her teaching at TU Wien, she also taught courses in Linz and Krems.
Inge Troch had a comprehensive understanding of university work: for her, research and teaching were just as much a part of it as scholarly exchange, academic self-governance and links with other disciplines. In this context, she spoke of a division into one-third each for teaching, research and “networking” – long before this term became an established part of academic life.
As an academic teacher, she treated both staff and students with great fairness and objectivity. She supported people regardless of time or circumstances and gave the younger scholars she mentored considerable freedom in their academic work. For her, this naturally included supporting women at a time when this was by no means a given at a technical university. This attitude was carried forward by her students and continues to have an impact today, spanning several generations of academics.
Many former students remember her above all for her friendly and approachable manner. For some, her very own system for oral examinations is also unforgettable: she kept numerous index cards with examination questions in a small box, from which the candidates drew their questions. What used to cause a fair bit of excitement back then is now one of those little memories that help preserve a vivid picture of her as a teacher.
Even as head of the institute, she was remembered by many as fair, friendly and warm, yet firm at the same time. From 2003, she headed the Institut für Analysis und Technische Mathematik, and from 2004, the Institut für Analysis und Scientific Computing, which had emerged from it. She retired on 30 September 2006. However, she remained closely connected to academia, TU Wien and her institute.
Inge Troch published more than 100 academic papers as well as several books and had a lasting influence on the international community for mathematical modelling and simulation. Her name is particularly closely associated with the journal “Mathematical and Computer Modelling of Dynamical Systems”. She was one of the key initiators of the journal and served as its founding editor-in-chief for 25 years. To this day, she is listed by the journal as “Founding Editor-in-Chief”.
In addition, she served on numerous national and international scientific committees and professional societies. She was a Senior Member of the IEEE, the Austrian representative on committees of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), and was active on VDI/VDE committees as well as, for many years, within the Austrian Mathematical Society and on its journal “Internationale Mathematische Nachrichten”.
The excursions co-organised by Inge Troch for students and staff to research institutions and companies across Europe working on the use and application of robots were legendary. She did not merely provide scientific inspiration on these trips; the cultural context of the places visited was just as important to her. For her, academic exchange and personal interaction went hand in hand.
This connection also became the hallmark of the international conference series MATHMOD Vienna, which she founded and which took place for the first time in 1990. Since then, experts from all over the world have been meeting regularly at TU Wien to exchange ideas on mathematical modelling and simulation. Her opening lectures remain unforgettable, in which she consistently managed to link scientific topics with Viennese and Austrian culture. It is a remarkable coincidence that, on the very day of her death, an international committee meeting in Genoa on modelling and simulation decided that MATHMOD will continue at TU Wien as an international conference. Her scientific legacy lives on in this conference as well.
In recognition of her services to science and technology, Inge Troch was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class, on 19 June 2015.
Her commitment extended far beyond the university. For decades, Inge Troch devoted a considerable amount of her time to voluntary work for the Protestant Church. From 1982 to 2006, she was a member of the presbytery of her parish, Pfarrgemeinde A.B. Wien-Innere Stadt (Lutherische Stadtkirche), where she served as treasurer for many years. From 2006 to 2018, she served as Superintendentialkuratorin of the Superintendenz A.B. Wien, one of the highest voluntary leadership positions in the ProtestantChurch in Vienna.
There, too, we encounter qualities that her colleagues at TU Wien recall: she combined analytical thinking and determination with warmth, attentive listening and a deep appreciation for those around her. For her, scientific thinking and her Christian faith were by no means at odds with one another. Looking back, she herself described faith and technology as two recurring themes in her life.
Alongside all these responsibilities, Inge Troch retained her great love of travelling and visited numerous countries and continents. She retained her remarkable physical and mental agility right up until the end. Her next trip had already been planned for the day after the tragic accident.
At the same time, she remained a natural part of life at her former institute. She attended events, kept in touch with former colleagues and fostered a sense of community in very personal ways too. For many years, she made her own rum balls in the run-up to Christmas and gave them as gifts to numerous people at the institute. It is a small gesture, but it is precisely such memories that reveal a great deal about the person behind all the academic and institutional achievements.
Many of us particularly remember the celebration of her 75th birthday in the Kuppelsaal at TU Wien: classical music, a shared celebration and an extraordinary conversation about two constants in her life. A representative of religion and a representative of mathematics asked her – echoing Gretchen’s famous question in Goethe’s “Faust” – the questions: “Inge, what is your view on religion?” and “Inge, what is your view on mathematics?” In her answers, she spoke of a rich life in which science, faith, responsibility for others, curiosity and personal commitment were never separate from one another.
Inge Troch helped shape mathematics at TU Wien for decades. She was a researcher and academic teacher, a pioneer and a networker, a mentor and a colleague. For generations of students and staff, however, she was also simply “die Frau Professor” – an affectionate Austrian form of address that conveyed both respect and personal connection.
We miss her very much. We will remember her extraordinary personality and all that she gave us with deep gratitude.
Felix Breitenecker, Dirk Praetorius, Frank Rattay
Information about the funeral
Due to the tragic circumstances surrounding her death, the date of the funeral has not yet been confirmed. This page will be updated as soon as further details regarding the funeral are available.
Condolences may be sent to: wien@evang.at
Further links
Obituary from the Evangelical Church in Austria:
https://evang.at/wien-ehemalige-superintendentialkuratorin-inge-troch-toedlich-verunglueckt/, opens an external URL in a new window
“House collapse: Mourning the loss of mathematics pioneer Inge Troch” – Der Standard:
https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000341146/hauseinsturz-trauer-um-mathematik-pionierin-inge-troch, opens an external URL in a new window