Waldvogel, Albert

Biography

Albert Waldvogel was full Professor of Atmospheric Physics beginning in 1985 and head of the Department of Environmental Sciences beginning in 1996. From December 1997 to November 2001 he has held the position of vice president for research at ETH Zurich. As Senior Vice president he was responsible for the research policy and technology transfer and Strategic Projects and Resource Development. He retired end of September 2006. Born in Basle in 1941, he studied mathematics and physics at the ETH Zurich. From 1966-1972 he worked as a scientific assistant at the Osservatorio Ticinese of the Swiss Meteorological Institute in Locarno-Monti, undertaking research in the field of radar meteorology and cloud physics. Two notable scientific achievements during this time were the development of the Joss-Waldvogel disdrometer - an instrument, which is used worldwide today to measure drop size distribution - and the discovery of characteristic changes in the rain drop size-distribution in certain precipitation settings. After 1972 he participated in the largest weather modification experiment in Europe, first as a project leader and subsequently as director. From 1985-1992 he was actively involved in a large interdisciplinary field experiment, designed to analyze the influence of atmospheric pollutants on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Research Interest

Radar meteorology and cloud physics.