New  global  ETH  alumni  newsle2er  In   addi'on   to   the   magazine   “Globe”   ETH   Zurich  alumni   will   receive   a   revamped   monthly   global  newsle@er  “Update”  that  is  sent  via  email.  In  case  you   have  missed   the   recent   emails   you   can   s'll  read  the  reports  on  the  alumni  homepage  under  “News  and  Media”.  Besides  news  from  Zurich  and  informa'on   about   a@rac've   offers   for   alumni  (currently   discounted   leadership   assessmnet  course,  for  example)  the  newsle@er  also  contains  news   from   country   chapters.   Most   recently   it  reported  about  the  visit  of  Prof.  Renate  Schubert  who  met  the  alumni  at  the  Singapore  ETH  Centre  (SEC)  on  the  24.August  2015.  we  will  con'nue  to  contribute  ar'cles  to  Update  to  inform  about  our  local  ac'vi'es.    

Singapore   chapter:   New   commi2ee  composi:on  In  the   last  newsle@er  we  were   looking  for  a  new  secretary   for   the   chapter.  As  most   of   you  would  have  seen  from  the  emails  sent  from  his  address,  we  are  very  happy  that  we  could  appoint  Lincoln  Lewis  from  SEC,  as  our  new  secretary.    At   the   same   'me,   unfortunately,   commi@ee  member   Max   Meyer   resigned   due   to   a  increasingly  travel-­‐intensive  work  schedule.    

The   commi@ee   now   consists   of   the   following  members:  President:  Katja  Fink  

   Vice-­‐president:  Hans  Jaeger      Secretary:  Lincoln  Lewis      Treasurer:  Manohar  Velpuri  

                 

   Swissnex   closure   and   opening   of   the  Science   and   Technology   Office   of   the  Embassy  of  Switzerland  in  Singapore  Since   the   inaugura'on  of   the  ETHalumni  chapter  in  Singapore  we  have  been  in  constant  touch  with  the  local  swissnex  office.  Suzanne  Hraba-­‐Renevey  and   her   team  have   been   instrumental   in   several  ways,  par'cularly  by  providing  informa'on  about  visi'ng  Swiss  VIPs  for  poten'al  mee'ngs  with  the        

Newsle@er  October  2015  

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Singapore  Chapter  

When  I  was  in  Europe  early  September  this  year,  friends  in  Singapore  texted  me:  “Don’t  come  back,  we  have  bad  haze  again”.  And  I  thought,  lucky  me,  escaped.  How  could  I  know  that  the  haze  would  persist  for  WEEKS!  This   is  different   from  2013  when  we  had  a  very  bad  weekend  with  PSI  values  over  300   (at  which  point   I   fled   to  Hong  Kong)  but  were   spared  week-­‐long  exposure.   In  previous   years   I   had  always  thought  that  land  was  cleared  for  palm  oil  planta'on.  Only  this  year  we  hear  about  the  part  that  paper  produc'on  plays  in  the  burning  of  the  forests  in  Sumatra  and  Kalimantan.  One  Singapore-­‐based  company  responsible  for  some  of  the  burnings  had  their  paper  products  (Paseo,  Jolly,  Nice,  etc)  removed  from  the  shelves  of  major  local  supermarket  chains.  This  will,  however,  not  change  the  fact  that  people  will  always  buy  the  cheapest  paper  available,  which  likely  comes  from  uncontrolled,  unsustainable  sources  (much  to  my  dismay  I  discovered  Jolly  toilet  paper  in  my  cupboard…).  In  the  long  run,  policies  and  regula'ons  must  change   and   in   the   even   longer   run   the   en're   produc'on   approach   must   change.   New   research   into  alterna've  ways   of   sustainable   produc'on   of   paper   and   other   products   is   greatly   needed.   The   ar'cle  “Resources:  Scarcity  and  waste”  in  the  latest  issue  of  Globe,  the  magazine  of  ETH  Zurich  and  ETH  Zurich  Alumni  gives  insight  into  the  work  of  ETH  researchers  trying  to  tackle  resource-­‐related  problems.  

L eh :   T h e   n ew   SG  c h a p t e r   s e c r e t a r y  Lincoln  Lewis  

 W e   n e e d   m o r e  commi2ee   members!  If   you   think   that   this  could   be   something  for   you   please   don’t  be   shy   and   contact  singapore@alumni.ethz.ch  (goes  to  Katja)  

 

SEC   Future   Ci:es   Laboratories   Lunch  Talks  The   Singapore-­‐ETH   Centre’s   Future   Ci'es  Laboratory   (FCL)   invites   ETH   alumni   and   their  friends   to   the   Lunch   Talk   series   on  Wednesdays  (12:00  -­‐  1:00pm)  at  their  workspace.  The  topics  of  the   lectures   range   from   architecture   and  photography   to   physical   sciences,   and   are  followed   by   a   ques'on   and   answer   period   with  the  speaker.  Please  refer  to  FCL’s  website  for  the  schedule  and  details  of  upcoming  talks.   If  you  would   like  to  be  added   to   the   Lunch   Talk   email   no'fica'on   list  please  inform  lewis@arch.ethz.ch      The  following  are  a  selec'on  of  upcoming  talks:  ·∙       Living   with   Tsunami   Risk:   Migra:on   and  Evacua:on  Decisions  by   Jamie  McCaughey   (NTU   Earth  Observatory   of  Singapore,  and  an  ETH  doctoral  student)  11  November  2015,  12noon  –  1pm    ·∙         Singapore’s   Na:onal   Science   Experiment:  Using  Personal  Data  to  Inspire  Students  by   Erik   Wilhelm   (SUTD   faculty,   and   an   ETH  alumnus)  2  December  2015,  12noon  –  1pm  

 

Upcoming  alumni  events:    •  12.   Nov   2015,   7pm,   Brewerkz  

Clarke  Quay:  ETH  meets  HSG.  If  you  would   like   to   join   please   RSVP   to  chris'ne.scheef@unisg.ch  

•  14.  Dec  2015:  Visit  of  the  new  SUTD  campus  in  Changi.  Details  will  follow  soon.  

 •  Nasi   Lemak   Kukus:   A   new   date   will   be  

announced   once   the   haze   condi'on   has  improved  and  al  fresco  dining  is  safe  

 Katja  Fink  and  the  Singapore  chapter  commi@ee      

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local  alumni,  by  maintaining  and  sharing  contacts  of   all   alumni   and   key   interac'on   partner   in  Singapore,   and   by   coordina'ng   bigger   events,  which   were   ini'ated   by   the   ETHalumni   or   in  which   we   par'cipated.   The   highlights   were   two  Swiss   alumni   mee'ngs,   which   could   not   have  been   realized   without   the   professional   and  financial  help  of  Swissnex:  a  panel  discussion  and  networking   evening   with   the   visi'ng   federal  councilor   Johann   Schneider-­‐Ammann   and   the  “Water  resources”-­‐centered  panel  discussion  and  visit   of   the  Marina   Barrage  with   Prof.   Alexander  Zehnder   and   representa'ves   from   local  organiza'ons  Hyflux  and  PUB.  The  swissnex  office  in  Biopolis  has  closed  its  doors  and  the  ETHalumni  chapter  has  moved  its  official  address  to  the  SEC.  Fortunately,  a  plan  for  con'nuity  has  been  taken  care   of   and   has   already   been   implemented,   we  are  happy  that  two  experienced  former  Swissnex  employees,   Mr.   Sebas'en   Monnet   and   Ms.  Rebecca   Zay,   have   started   their   du'es   at   the  Science  and  Technology  Office  of  the  Embassy  of  Switzerland.  The  office  has  opened  officially  on  1.  October  2015.    As  the  president  of  the  ETHalumni  chapter  and  in  the  name  of   the   chapter   commi@ee   I  would   like  to   sincerely   thank  Suzanne  and  her   team  for   the  past  good  working  rela'onship.  We  wish  Suzanne  a  great  start  in  her  new  endeavors  in  Switzerland  and   look   forward   to  con'nuous,   solid  Singapore-­‐Swiss   rela'ons   managed   by   Sebas'en   and  Rebecca.    

From   leh:  Suzanne  Hraba-­‐Renevey,  Sebas'en  Monnet  and   Katja   Fink   at   Suzanne’s   farewell   dinner   at   the  embassadors  residence.