IIASA

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international non-governmental research organization located in Laxenburg, near Vienna, in Austria. IIASA conducts interdisciplinary scientific studies on environmental, economic, technological and social issues in the context of human dimensions of global change.

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Organization

IIASA now brings its unique experience of managing international tensions through science to today’s global issues. Its multinational and multidisciplinary teams of researchers have a growing membership, now including the world's largest three economies and the emerging world power of China.

The institute is currently directed by Leen Hordijk. Past directors have included Howard Raiffa, a professor at Harvard's Business School and Kennedy School of Government and Roger Levien, former Vice President for Strategy at Xerox.

Membership is by senior scientific organisations. IIASA is sponsored by its National Member Organizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.

History

The IIASA is founded in 1972 during the Cold War to link the best scientists from East and West.

Original founder members included the Royal Society of Great Britain, the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

One of the major achievements was the establishment of the first computer network link between the USSR, their satellites and the Free World in the late 1970's.

Furthermore IIASA published studies which dealt with the ecology of the budworm, the effects of mass geotourism on the ecology of the Alpine valleys and energy in a finite world. It was the first East - West scientific research institute, with recruitment left to the director.

Current research

The world is faced with complex systems problems, too big for one country to solve alone. Only a research institute that is both international and neutral can discover effective solutions to global problems and facilitate their implementation. For over 30 years IIASA, the only such institution in the world, has helped many countries tackle major international issues by, for example, reducing air pollution and better managing land, water and energy resources.

The IIASA research areas covered link a variety of natural and social science disciplines. The work is based on original state-of-the-art methodology and analytical approaches. The methods and tools generated are useful to both decision makers and the scientific community.

Its scientists help resolve key concerns, from energy security to climate change, providing practical and cost-efficient solutions covering all aspects of a problem, from the economic to the environmental, and from the local perspective to the international repercussions.