Abstract of the Commemorative lecture
From Nature to Natural Science
I was born and raised in the rural environment of a small town in Switzerland, where my early childhood was spent in close contact with nature and I got used to detailed observation of plants and animals. My education added degrees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and physical education, and participation in competitive sports became an important hobby. My professional career led to a professorship in a technical university. Today I find myself in a hightech job, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for research in structural biology, and I am also the chairman of the Biology Department at my university. In this lecture I review some stations of my life, and reflect on the ways in which the different activities pursued over the years contributed to my development as a scientist and as a human being.
