“Developing rapid algorithms to solve difficult mathematical problems has always fascinated me,” says Sylvia Frühwirth-Schnatter, who holds a doctorate in technical mathematics with a special focus on mathematics in economics from the Vienna University of Technology. This interest led her to the field of computer intensive statistics, where her research focuses mainly on the development of efficient methods for the model-based analysis of complex data. “Even as a student, I knew I wanted to become a scientist,” she remembers. She obtained her habilitation at WU in statistics, and then took a position as Professor of Applied Statistics at the University of Linz in 2003.

Frühwirth-Schnatter, who has published in numerous top academic journals and has excellent contacts to the international scientific community, was recently elected as a corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. She sees the opportunity to return to WU as a great opportunity: “I find it incredibly intriguing to apply the methodological arsenal of computer intensive statistics to problems in the fields of finance, economics and social sciences. Over the past few years, WU has been moving in a direction that opens up a great deal of potential for interdisciplinary projects that I can contribute to.”