On October 7, 2017, the Austrian Research and Innovation Talk (ARIT) brought together over 130 scientists and policy makers from both the United States and Austria in Austin, Texas. The annual three-day conference, now in its 14th year, is organized by the OSTA Washington. The ARIT is the most important Austrian science & innovation gathering in North America.
The 2017 ARIT took place under the theme of "We are NOT playing games here!", during which leading gamification experts from the MIT GameLab, DARPA and Triseum gave insights into how the sciences are able to leverage elements of gamification into their research and products.
Aside of gamification, the ARIT 2017 included Austrian delegation visits to Houston and Austin that were centered around the topics of medical innovation, aerospace, and the vibrant Austin entrepreneurial ecosystem.
For the first time ever, the Research and Innovation Network (RINA) awarded the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Poster Award together with the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation. The award supports science communication and recognizes excellence in communicating science to a broader audience. Patricia Bubner, Analytical Scientist at Boehringer Ingelheim received the 2017 Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Poster Award.
Acknowledging true scientific excellence, the ARIT also hosted the ASCINA Awards Ceremony again this year. Thanks to the generous support of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and ASCINA, three young outstanding Austrian scientists were awarded for their work in the United States. Dietmar Offenhuber, Assistant Professor at Northeastern University received the "Junior Principal Investigator" award, and Sandra Eibenberger, Schroedinger Fellow at Harvard University, as well as Isabella Rauch, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California at Berkeley received the "Young Scientist" award.