Prior to that, he completed a postdoc at the UC Davis in California, having earned his PhD from the University of Basel. It is hoped that the newly created professorship will help to further promote synergies between Eawag and the University of Zurich.

Florian Altermatt’s research focusses on biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. With the help of mathematical models, laboratory experiments and natural river networks, he and his team are, for example, investigating how terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems influence one another. His research group is also developing and testing methods of gathering data on biodiversity in rivers using DNA traces.

The goal for Altermatt in his new professorship is clear: “I want to drive biodiversity research forward in the aquatic sphere”, he says. This is even more urgent now than it ever was, as waterbodies are coming under ever-increasing pressure as a result of climate change, invasive species, pesticides and other agricultural inputs. Alongside the research activities however, Altermatt also plans to strengthen teaching in this field – and he is walking the talk: For the first time this autumn semester, he has been running the newly-formed field course “Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring”.