The sociologist Georg Aichholzer has been as a senior scientist with the Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences since its early days. He started his academic career at the IHS, the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna, in the beginning as a scholar, and after his PhD as a research and teaching assistant in the Sociology department with a focus on the sociology of organisations, industry and technology. From 1984 onwards he had regular teaching assignments at the University of Vienna and the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. 24 years ago we could get him on board for doing technology assessment and he remained faithful to the Academy ever since 1993.
No doubt, Georg Aichholzer has co-shaped the ITA. In particular, he developed our longtime focus on electronic government (or e-government) and worked on all facets of this topic. Since 1999 he acquired altogether twelve projects in that field – and finished the last of them, for the STOA panel of the European Parliament, over the last days only before leaving for the vacation. His publication record is noteworthy: in the ITA database alone we find, as of today, 337 entries of scientific publications and papers. On average he edited a volume every fourth year and published a refereed article every year. From 2002 on he also served as our diligent editor of the ITA manuscript series.
It will not be easy to fill the intellectual gap now left with his retirement. Without any doubt, those who were so lucky to get to know him better will assume that his retirement will be restless, as with most academics. So we look forward to stay in contact not only on private but also on professional terms, and wish Georg all the best for this new chapter in his life.
Michael Nentwich