Michael Berg joined Eawag in 1992 and took over the position as department head in 2014. He received a PhD in geochemistry from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. His research focuses on the occurrence, fate and behavior of organic and inorganic contaminants in groundwater and surface water environments, with a specific interest in biogeochemical processes. Since 1998 he has been involved in environmental research in Vietnam, Cambodia and China where groundwater arsenic and manganese contamination are of major concern. His contributions in Vietnam were awarded with the medal of honour from the Vietnamese Government. He was also engaged in large-scale groundwater surveys and arsenic risk modelling of further countries in South- and Southeast Asia and in Africa. A recent interest is the Amazon Basin where little is known about groundwater quality to date. In the last decade he and his colleagues have pioneered in geospatial risk modelling of geogenic contaminants at local to global scales, with the latest outcome being the free groundwater assessment platform GAP (www.gapmaps.org). He has authored and co-authored numerous research articles in international top journals. Several of his (co-)authored studies had significant impacts on society and were highlighted in public media around the globe.

Contributing essential expertise on arsenic issues

The members of the ”UNESCO Chair on Groundwater Arsenic” aim to help finding solutions with arsenic of geogenic origin for both small communities with decentralized water supply as well as for large water industries and food sectors fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Arsenic is the most serious natural contamination of drinking water resources worldwide, with more than 200 million people at risk of poisoning”, Michael Berg points out. He will contribute his personal expertise in large-scale (arsenic) groundwater studies as well as on the development of decision bases for policy and practice. Furthermore, Berg will bring in the experience of Eawag as a whole in the global arsenic issue, which is based on the important disciplinary and transdisciplinary contributions of many Eawag researchers.