ETH Zürich Rector to lead UN university

Konrad Osterwalder is to succeed  Hans van Ginkel at the helm of the United Nations University. Osterwalder will assume his position as Rector at the university’s headquarters in Tokyo on 1 September.

“I am convinced that the close cooperation between the United Nations University and ETH Zurich will expand to include leading institutions around the world,” said Osterwalder, commenting on his appointment. “It will certainly strengthen Switzerland’s reputation for education and research.”

Osterwalder was born in Frauenfeld, Switzerland in 1942 and studied at the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Zürich , where he earned his doctorate in theoretical physics in 1970.

After a year at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, he accepted a research position at Harvard University in 1971, where he became assistant professor of mathematical physics in 1973, and was promoted to associate professor in 1976. From 1974 to 1978 he was a fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

In 1977 Osterwalder returned to Switzerland to become professor of mathematical physics at ETH. He was head of the Mathematics Department from 1986 to 1990. For over ten years he has been Rector of ETH Zurich, and in November 2006, he was named President ad interim.

The United Nations University was established in 1973 as a think tank for the United Nations and as its educational research and teaching arm. The university’s scholars provide a bridge between the UN and the international academic community. The UNU has13 research and training centres and programmes, and several hundred cooperating research institutions, as well as academics from more than 90 countries.

The mission of the United Nations University is to use research and capacity building through teaching, to help resolve global problems. It is focused on issues of peace and governance and environment and sustainable development.