The 2014 Start-Preis awarded by the Austrian Science Fund recognized the research contributions of Karin Schnass in the intersection of mathematics and computer science. Born in 1980 in Klosterneuburg, Austria, she built her career through focused investigations into sparse dictionary learning, establishing her expertise within the European academic landscape before securing a faculty position in the Tyrol region.
Academic Foundations and Doctoral Training
Schnass began her formal studies in mathematics at the University of Vienna, where she completed a master's degree in 2004. Her early research focused on Gabor multipliers, supervised by Hans Georg Feichtinger. Following this, she shifted her focus toward communication and information sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. She earned her Ph.D. there in 2009, with a dissertation titled Sparsity & Dictionaries – Algorithms & Design, conducted under the supervision of Pierre Vandergheynst.
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Her postdoctoral experience involved several distinct roles. She held a position at the Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics, part of the Austrian Academy of Sciences located in Linz. She opted for this placement to remain near her family rather than accepting an offer at Stanford University. She subsequently served as an Erwin Schrödinger Research Fellow, conducting studies at the University of Sassari and the University of Innsbruck. In 2016, she formally joined the University of Innsbruck as an assistant professor of mathematics.
Professional Recognition
The scope of her research, particularly in sparse dictionary learning, has integrated her into international networks of computational researchers. Beyond her 2014 receipt of the Start-Preis, she has participated in technical discourse as a keynote speaker, most notably at the 2016 iTWIST workshop. These engagements highlight her ongoing involvement in the development of modern mathematical foundations and computational applications.
Fast facts
- Born: 1980, Klosterneuburg
- Citizenship: Austria
- Master of Mathematics: University of Vienna, 2004
- Ph.D. in Communication and Information Sciences: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, 2009
- Key Award: Start-Preis, 2014
- Primary Employer: University of Innsbruck, 2016
- Key research area: Sparse dictionary learning
Questions readers ask
Where did Karin Schnass complete her doctoral studies?
She earned her Ph.D. at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne in 2009.
What is the primary focus of her research?
She specializes in mathematics and computer science, specifically regarding sparse dictionary learning.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Innsbruck
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