Obituary for Hans Sticher
D-USYS
Hans Sticher, Professor of Soil Chemistry, head of the former Forestry Department and later head of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, passed away on 18 March 2022 at the age of 88. Hans died just weeks after his brother Otto Sticher, who was two years younger and a Professor of Pharmacognosy at ETH Zurich.
Hans Sticher studied chemistry at ETH Zurich. Between 1960 and 1963, he was a scientific employee and assistant at the Agrochemical Institute and in 1963 was awarded a doctorate in technical sciences. Following a research visit to Imperial College of Science and Technology in London and several years as a Senior Researcher and lecturer at ETH, he was appointed Associate Professor of Soil Chemistry by the Federal Council in 1975. The Federal Council promoted him to Full Professor in the same field in 1982. Between 1984 and 1988, he headed the Forestry Department and from 1990 to 1992 the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology. For several years he was also Prorector for Diploma Courses, President of the Admissions Examination Committee and a member of the Lecturers’ Committee. Hans Sticher was awarded emeritus status at ETH Zurich in 1999.
An active networker
Hans Sticher was primarily interested in interdisciplinary research topics, often working in collaboration with other researchers. His focus was on exploring chemical processes in the field of soil chemistry, soil science and the social and political application of scientific findings. Hans Sticher organised numerous symposia and presided over various expert committees. Among other roles, he was co-founder and President of the Soil Science Society of Switzerland, member of the board of the German Soil Science Society and President of the Expert Committee of the national research programme “Nutzung des Bodens in der Schweiz” (Land Use in Switzerland).
Unforgotten excursions
Hans Sticher excelled at conveying to students the complex relationships between local and economic history, climate, geology, soil composition, soil characteristics and vegetation, both in the lecture theatre and in the field. His excursions to Davos as part of the “Alpine Flora” course, among the oldest programmes at ETH Zurich, are a cherished memory. Members of ETH Zurich, his former staff and students and his colleagues will remember him with great fondness.
Otto Sticher, the brother of Hans, was Professor of Pharmacognosy at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at ETH Zurich and one of the leading natural product researchers.
Obituary by the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, 24.03.2022