Outstanding Doctoral theses awarded

• Stefan Achermann with the Doctoral thesis title «Exploring linkages between micropollutant biotransformation reactions and microbial community characteristics in activated sludge» supervised by Kathrin Fenner, for «shedding light on the links between micropollutant biotransformation in wastewater and the microorganisms involved».

• Meret Aeppli with the Doctoral thesis title «Assessing the control of reduction thermodynamics on electron transfer to iron (oxyhydr-)oxides» supervised by Thomas Hofstetter, for «solving important knowledge gaps in the redox reactivity of iron using an interdisciplinary approach».

• Désirée Bäder with the Doctoral thesis title «Population dynamics of bacteria exposed to antimicrobial peptides» supervised by Roland Regös, for «developing mathematical frameworks that will improve the understanding of microbial antibiotic resistance and help tackle the current antibiotic crisis».

• Reza Naderpour with the Doctoral thesis title «Passive L-band Remote Sensing Applications Over Cryospheric Regions» supervised by Koni Steffen, for «implementing a new approach for the estimation of snow liquid water content and the onset of snow melt by using L‐band radiometry».

• Martha Vogel with the Doctoral thesis title «Temperature extremes in a changing climate. Processes, emergent constraints and impacts» supervised by Sonia Seneviratne, for «a comprehensive and innovative analysis of impacts of future temperature extremes and of the involved processes».

• Karl Voglmeier with the Doctoral thesis title «Hot spots and more: Multi-scale measurements for a better understanding of gaseous emissions from grazing systems» supervised by Jo Six, for «providing new insights into the net greenhouse gas budget of different pasture-based livestock farming systems».

• Michael Zumstein with the Doctoral thesis title «Environmental fate of synthetic biodegradable polyesters: enzymatic hydrolysis and microbial utilization» supervised by Kris McNeill, for «improving understanding of enzymatic hydrolysis of synthetic polyesters in an elegant and innovative experimental approach».

The Department of Environmental Systems Sciences offers its sincere congratulations!