Klement TOCKNER

“The commitment to strengthening excellent research in Europe is fundamental for attracting and supporting the most creative minds and ideas. At the same time, a similar commitment is required nationally, as the European and national levels are intertwined. There is clear evidence that only strong national support ensures success at the European level. Moreover, the European and the national portfolios complement each other, and diversity fosters productivity and innovation. Indeed, creative research requires freedom and trust; hence, we need to advance a political and institutional “culture” that values diversity, academic freedom and scientific excellence”.

Klement Tockner is president of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and professor for Aquatic Ecology at the Freie Universität Berlin. He received a PhD in zoology and botany from the University of Vienna and a Titulary Professorship at ETH, Switzerland. Between 2007 and 2016 he was director of the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin. He is a globally-recognized scientist on freshwater ecology and management.
In 2009, he edited a comprehensive book on European Rivers (Rivers of Europe, Elsevier).
Klement Tockner has successfully managed large inter- and transdisciplinary projects (e.g. EC-funded project BioFresh), and he is member of several scientific committees and international advisory boards including the National Institute of Environmental Studies, Japan (NIES). He is elected member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the German Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina). He became Chairman of the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (OeAWI) in October 2017.

Foto-Credit: FWF