She not only had to overcome cultural barriers, but also state ones. At the time, those who wanted to go to university in Tanzania had to complete one year’s military service. And so, at the age of 20, Salome spent 360 days in a military camp on the border of Mozambique, armed and dressed in camouflage.

She completed her bachelor’s degree in zoology and marine biology at the University of Dar es Salaam in 1984, and managed to get a job at the National Fisheries Institute, where she worked on sustainability projects for fishing in the Indian Ocean. Four years later, she received a scholarship to study fish resources and fishery management at the University of Bergen in Norway.

After working for a couple more years in Tanzania, she received a scholarship to study for her doctorate in the UK, researching the taxonomy of haploid cichlids at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

By then a mother of three, she thus emigrated with her children to Europe. Since her husband wasn’t happy there, Salome was soon having to fend for herself—in a new country, a new culture, with three school-age children and a PhD to finish, which began to look very elusive as her supervisor in the UK died only a few months after Salome arrived in the country.

“I was very close to giving it all up and going back to Tanzania”, says Salome. But then, by a stroke of good fortune, she got to know Ole Seehausen, who took over as her supervisor and eventually brought her to Eawag.

For her family, this meant getting to know yet another country. “My children hated me when they realised that they were going to have to learn German”, says Salome, with a hearty laugh. Although her oldest daughter has now returned to Tanzania, she and her other two daughters feel very much at home after 15 years in Switzerland—and she has no desire to go back to Tanzania.

The Canadian has been working at Eawag for just over a year now. She is a research assistant in Martin Schmid's group, where she investigates the influence of hydropower on alpine small rivers. She followed her husband to Switzerland, who was given a Post Doctoral position at ETH Zurich. Claire also brought her dog Fern with her from Canada, "she accompanies me always and everywhere, she has been in my life longer than my husband," says Claire laughing. And when she says she takes Fern with her everywhere, she means it: whether on splitboard tours, climbing, hiking, or trail running -  Fern is there.

The proximity of Lucerne to the mountains is what Claire appreciates most. In her spare time, you can mainly meet her in Engelberg, Andermatt, or somewhere in the Uri Alps. "That's what I love about Switzerland: easy access to the mountains." Unlike in Canada, public transport takes you virtually anywhere - and ski tickets are affordable. Still: "I'm missing Canada quite a bit," she admits. The seasons are much more pronounced there and nature is more lonely.

Claire will still be at Eawag until the end of April 2020. "Where we're going next is in the stars," says Claire. She prefers to live from week to week and is open to all the possibilities that life will offer her.

Tim has been back in Tasmania since January, where he lives with his wife and their two children in a community of 400 people—in their house on around 5,000 square metres of land. There are a dozen or so pademelons – a small, kangaroo-like animal – living in the garden, while Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles soar above the house, keeping the rabbit population in check.

Tim was at Eawag for almost six years, where he was primarily responsible for Project Lac, in Ole Seehausen’s group. Before that, he completed his doctorate in Tasmania and a postdoc on the Solomon Islands, where he met Karin from Switzerland—now his wife, who was on an overseas placement as a medical student. And so Tim found his way to Europe, and finally to Eawag.

When asked about his favourite moments in Kastanienbaum, he comes up with many: the daily bike ride from Lucerne to Kastanienbaum, the inspiring work environment, the view over Lake Lucerne from the cafeteria, the forests and mountains – and the “fizzy water” that comes straight from the tap. Just one thing, though: “I definitely missed the surfing”, says Tim. Although he tried all kinds—from river surfing in the Aare, through bungee surfing, to surfing a standing wave in the Mall of Switzerland!

Back on the other side of the world, he’s not only back into his surfing, but has also found himself a new job, and is working as a consultant in an environmental office in Tasmania. “The work is incredibly varied”, says Tim. It’s mostly about supporting companies in environmental matters – from aquaculture, to salmon farming and harbour expansion.

During his chemistry studies, Bernhard took a gap year, and, having realised very early on that the pharmaceutical route wasn’t for him, he instead worked for an NGO that was engaged in protecting high Alpine habitats and attempting to prevent hydroelectric power plants. “Sadly, we weren’t able to do that, but we nevertheless managed to save the Greina plateau from being flooded by a dam”, says Bernhard, whose interest in the crossover point between water protection and chemistry was kindled during that time.

He later completed his PhD in Dübendorf, and has remained with Eawag ever since, apart from a short postdoc stint away from the Aquatic Research Institute in the USA, and a couple of sabbaticals in France and Israel. Even when he was appointed Associate Professor at ETH Zurich in 1991, he never seriously considered upping sticks from Kastanienbaum. Since he has been regularly commuting between the two locations, he has come to appreciate the collegiality of Eawag all the more. “At ETH, everyone is very specialised, and so collaboration there is often difficult”, says Bernhard. He also greatly values the excellent field work situation at Eawag, as well as the huge support from the technicians.

Bernhard is currently focusing his research on the ecological value of wetlands and on the effects of dams on water chemistry.

And even though he is often sitting in front of a computer or in meetings, he hates to miss out on field work. Even though he confesses he may be “almost a hindrance rather than a help” amongst all the young, energetic researchers nowadays.

Cover Picture: May we present: our employees from around the world (Photo: Eawag)