30-YEAR ICG-PARTY – Greetings by Franz Leberl

Aren’t those the key concepts describing our academic endeavors? How does this fit in with a look at the past? At a very distant past of 30 years? These were very momentous 30 years. Realize, please, that the Institute was started 7 years before Google, 12 years before Facebook, 15 years before Netflix kicked off its streaming service. During these 30 years, price-performance ratios of computing have improved by an unbelievable 12,5 million.

These facts alone make it worthwhile to look at the history. Therefore, I thank Tom Pock for his review of the Institute’s accomplishments. Let me augment Tom Pock’s review by pointing you to this Institute’s website [this refers to the “old” ICG – not the new 2025 IVC Website] and there was a button to describe the history of this Institute, written for its 20th anniversary in 2012, and encompassing 29 pages. Suffice it to say that since most of these 30 years, the Institute has maintained a team size of about 70 people and a rolling soft-money backlog level at about EUR 3 million.

That history-report on the web also presents some anecdotes. Let me quote the one about the German name of the Institute.

Recall that this was “Computergestützte Geometrie und Grafik” [Computer-aided geometry and graphics]. And recall also, that until 2004 Universities in Austria were subordinated offices of the Ministry of Science in Vienna, and thus tightly managed by ministry staff. Soon after the setup of the then-new Institute, a civil service person in the ministry noticed that in Graz there were 2 institutes with the word Geometry in their name. This was our institute, and then also the Institute of Geometry in the Mathematics team. Our then-rector Helmuth Kahlert called from the train ride returning from the typical Vienna-ministry-visit. “We are told to merge the two institutes with the name Geometry. Can you think of something to kill this idea?” On the spot I proposed a new name without the word “Geometry”, namely “Maschinelles Sehen und Darstellen”. Rector Kahlert instantly “legislated” this new name. As a result, there is no other institution of higher learning with “Sehen und Darstellen” in its name. It remains unique.

This Institute has been very successful, don’t we all agree on this? Let me reflect on why. There exists a spirit that pervades this assembly of people, its often quoted “value system”, consisting of five identifiable bullets.

First, a total scientific research focus. Research and innovation are why we are here. Learning and classroom work, all the administrative actions or interaction with industry serve to achieve innovation.

Diploma students, doctoral candidates and scientific staff all are becoming experts in how to do science. They publish, attend conferences, spend time at international centers of excellence., globally.

Second, spotting talents. Academic excellence builds on the ability to spot talents, starting at the local undergraduate levels among bachelor students, and on to international talents encountered at conferences. We must teach undergraduates to recruit them into the Institute’s specialization for a Masters-degree. And talents can also be found via a dense network of global contacts.

Third, internationality. We recognize how the participation in the international scientific dialogue through conference attendance and publication builds a reputation, an exposure to the groundswell of world-wide innovation. Can we call this “marketing”?

Fourth, grant culture. To fund the salaries of talented people, to enable conference attendance, to send doctoral candidates to far away centers of excellence for a few months, one needs funding. And this comes from competitive research proposals. These will succeed with capable team members and a principal investigator of international standing.

Fifth and last, applications attitude. The people of the Institute do separate between scientific research and its application in industry. Yet, we do not wish to compete with industry. Instead, we transfer results to existing industrial partners. And there has been a steady stream of start-up companies sprung from Institute activities.

I believe that this value system not only has led to the past exceptional success of the Institute but will also lead to future success.

Many things have led a boy from Kirchberg am Wechsel in Niederösterreich to think in those terms. Here is an important one.

In 1969, my first employment was in the Netherlands, and it was with an international institute, attached to the Technical University Delft. This was created by Professor Wilhelm Schermerhorn, the first prime minister of Holland after the liberation of the country from Nazi occupation in 1945. I was his new employee, so he came to my office in 1969 and offered but one advice: “work hard and do good science”.

That is what I wish will continue to happen in the coming decennia! To a happy future!