Felix Unger, speaking at the Alma Mater Europaea graduation ceremony

Felix Unger (born 2 March 1946 in

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, Austria) is a heart specialist who served as the president of the

European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 37 Nobel Prize laur ...

for three decades. He is the president of Alma Mater Europaea. In 1986 he performed the first

artificial heart An artificial heart is a device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in the case that a heart transplant (from a deceased human or, exper ...

transplantation in Europe."New Artificial Heart is Tried"

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', December 16, 1986.

Life

Unger studied medicine at

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, graduating in 1971. After graduation, he practiced at University Clinic for Cardiology in Vienna (1971, 1972) and at the local University Surgical Clinic (1972–1977) and in 1975 as a researcher in the field of Cardiovascular medicine in Houston, Cleveland and Salt Lake City in USA. In the year of 1978, he received his Ph.D, became Associate Professor (and later Full Surgical Professor). In Salt Lake City, he invented Ellipsoidherz, later used by Unger for his 1986 artificial heart transplant procedure. In 1990 he founded the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, together with Kardinal König and Professor Lobkowitz. From 1985 to 2011 he was the leader of the University Clinic for cardiac surgery in Salzburg. From 2001, he has been the president of the European Institute of Health. Prof. Unger is a member of a number of academies of science: a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Latvia,

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

; a regular member of the German Leopoldina, Slovakia and the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wi ...

; and the world and the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts.http://www.sazu.si/o-sazu/clani/felix-unger.html

Awards

*1975 Dr. Preis Karl Renner, *1980 Sandoz Preis, *1980 German Society of Surgery, *1982 and 1989, Planseepreis für Wissenschaft, *1991 Purkyne Medaille (Brno), *1992 Billroth Preis der Österr. Ges. F. Chirurgie, *1992 Humes Professorship, *1992 Karylins Medaille, *1992 Bundesverdienstkreuz first class *2005 Verdienstkreuz des Landes Salzburg, *2006

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian ...

first class *2009 Paul Stradins Preis, Riga *2011 Medal of the President of the Slovak Republic *2012 Großes Silbernes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich Honorary professor: *2002 in Marburg *2012 in St. Petersburg Honorary doctorates: *1994 in Budapest, Timișoara and Tokyo, *2003 in Riga *2007 in Belgrade *2009 in Athens *2010 in Tbilisi. *2012 in St. Petersburg *2013 in Arad and Cluj-Napoca

References

External links

Europäische Akademie der Wissenschaften und Künste
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unger, Felix 1946 births Austrian cardiac surgeons Living people Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany