1992-2007

Professor Alexander Zehnder, a biochemist, became Director of Eawag in 1992 at a time of great changes. The ETH legislation had been amended, and in 1993 Eawag became an independent institute like the ETH Zurich and the ETH Lausanne and the other three research institutes (Empa, WSL and PSI). With his scientific commitment, his ambassadorial activities and his global contacts with respected institutes, Zehnder motivated many colleagues to make their mark with their own innovative research studies. Under his management, Eawag started to involve itself in the question of water availability, especially for food manufacturing. He made many advances in the fields of degradation of pollutants, biofilms and corrosion protection. In the field of ecotoxicology he promoted the change to understanding the process instead of simply describing the effects. Even more clearly than Stumm, Zehnder promoted interdisciplinary cooperation and the embracement of implementation and practice, for example in initiatives such as Fischnetz (fish decrease in Switzerland) and Greenhydro (environmentally friendly use of water power).

When Professor Alexander Zehnder was appointed President of the ETH Board in the summer of 2004, his deputy, Ueli Bundi, became the temporary Director of Eawag.