University of Vienna
Contact: Eberhard Widmann
The University of Vienna is one of Austria’s leading universities and is home to around 90,000 students, of which are 27,000 international students, and 10,000 members of staff. This is a university with an international focus and each year more than 2,700 exchange students are welcomed and supported. The university was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich history, the University of Vienna has developed into one of the largest universities in Europe.
The Faculty of Physics, and the Isotope Physics research group specifically, operates the particle accelerator "VERA" (Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator), a modern facility for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Research projects focus on the investigation of the world by means of elements occurring in minute traces, using long-lived radioisotopes of both natural and anthropogenic origin. The group conduct basic physics experiments as well as a variety of interdisciplinary research programs. Research at VERA contributes to the faculty focus "Physics and Environment".