Rector's Welcome

Welcome to unu.edu and to the United Nations University

Hans van Ginkel (right), fourth Rector of UNU, hands Konrad Osterwalder the charter of the university symbolising the passing of the rectorate. Photo: UNU

On Friday, August 31, Professor Dr. Konrad Osterwalder assumed the rectorate of United Nations University. UNU sincerely thanks Professor Dr. Hans van Ginkel for a decade of outstanding service and wishes him and his wife the very best for the future. We warmly welcome Professor Dr. Osterwalder and his wife, and look forward to this new era in the university's history.

A welcome message from Rector Osterwalder will be posted shortly.

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• Rector's Biography

Konrad Osterwalder

Konrad Osterwalder was born in Switzerland in 1942. He studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule; ETH) in Zurich, where he earned a diploma (1965) and a doctorate (1970) in theoretical physics. After working for one year at New York University, he joined Harvard University, eventually becoming Associate Professor of Mathematical Physics (1976). In 1977, he returned to Switzerland as a full Professor of Mathematical Physics at ETH Zurich. He served as Head of the ETH Department of Mathematics (1986–1990) and Head of the Institute's Planning Committee (1990–1995); in 1995, he was appointed Rector of ETH, a post he held for 12 years.

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