Glarus attorney Fritz Schiesser (54) has served as President of the ETH Board since the beginning of January. Today on Monday, 4 February, Fritz Schiesser paid his first visit to PSI since assuming office. Interim Director Martin Jermann, designated PSI Director Joël Mesot, and other high-ranking PSI officials and researchers introduced Dr. Schiesser to the mysteries of energy research, proton therapy, the Swiss synchrotron light source SLS, and the neutron source SINQ. Fritz Schiesser was deeply impressed with the pioneering achievements of PSI in the field of proton therapy and the scanning technique developed by PSI. He praised the energy research conducted by the Competence Center for Energy and Mobility (CCEM) and its enormous potential for Swiss science and business, as well as the pooling of know-how in the energy field by the institutions of the ETH Domain.
Dr. Schiesser also showed particular interest in the plans for construction of a new x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). This light source will provide PSI with new experimental possibilities in physics and materials and life sciences, thanks to extremely bright and ultra-short x-ray pulses. The XFEL facility has great potential for applications in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, the electronics industry, and environmental technology. According to Fritz Schiesser, With major research facilities like this, PSI continues to strengthen its excellent international reputation in the 20th year of its existence. As a user laboratory, PSI makes an important contribution to the ETH Domain and Switzerland as a location for higher education.
Designated PSI Director Joël Mesot expressed his satisfaction with the first visit of the President of the ETH Board to Villigen: With our light, neutron, and muon sources, we are able to strengthen the international competitiveness of PSI and the Swiss higher education location. We are pleased that, thanks to his 17 years of experience as a Member of the Council of States, President of the ETH Board Fritz Schiesser can provide the necessary political backing for our ambitious but strategically important investments.
Florian Meyer, Communication ETH Board
Images
