Inadequate access to safe sanitation in developing and emerging countries is one of the most pressing global challenges in the water sector, according to Eawag Director Janet Hering, who is interviewed in the latest issue of Aqua & Gas. In Switzerland, she says, invasive species displacing native aquatic organisms or adversely affecting ecosystem functions represent an urgent problem. Hering discusses the wide range of research conducted at Eawag – from assessments of gammarid distribution to social scientific studies on acceptance of higher energy prices; in future, Eawag intends to increasingly exploit the potential of data science.