Dr. Patrick Wäger

Current Position
  • Head of Technology and Society Laboratory
Area of Expertise
anthropogenic resources, circularity, critical raw materials, environmental audits, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, recycling, resource management, simulation games, sustainability transitions, WEEE
Membership in National and International Committees (selected)
  • Member of the Executive Board of the World Resources Forum Association (WRFA)
  • Chair of the Scientific Committee of the WRF '23 conference, September 4-6 in Geneva;
  • Member of the Editorial Board of the inter- and transdisciplinary journal GAIA (since 2021);
  • Member of the UNECE Expert Group on Resource Classification (EGRC) (since 2017);
  • Member and vice president of the Boarf of Trustees of the ESM Foundation (since 2017);
  • Swiss National Delegate and member of the Management Committee of the COST Action Mining the European Anthroposphere (MINEA) (2016 - 2020);
  • Member of the evaluation committee of the Zuger Wissenschaftspreis and Helmut Fischer Jugendpreis (2013 - 2016);
  • Member of the Board of the Swiss Academic Society for Environmental Research and Ecology (saguf) (since 2010);
  • Member and lead auditor of the Swiss take-back systems of WEEE audit teams (1996 - 2019).
Teaching (selected)
  • University of St. Gallen (HSG), Contextual studies, "Energy Transition and Material Flows in a Net Zero Economy" (Master course), lecturer (since 2016)
  • University of St. Gallen (HSG), Contextual studies, "Auf dem Weg zu einer Kreislaufwirtschaft: Bedingungen, Möglichkeiten und Grenzen" (Bachelor course), lecturer (since 2018);
  • ETH Zurich, Department of Materials, "Sustainable Materials Management: Concepts, Methods and Principles" (Master course), lecturer (since 2016);
  • University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), Energy and Environmental Technology, Waste Management & Recycling (Bachelor course), guest lecturer (since 2014).
Projects (selected)
  • Horizon Europe project CE-RISE, work package leader (2023 - 2026)
  • Horizon Europe project FutuRaM, work package leader (2022 - 2026)
  • COST Action "Mining the European Anthroposphere", Swiss National Delegate (2016 - 2020, MINEA)
  • NRP 73 project "Post-fossil cities", principal investigator (2018 - 2022)
  • NRP 73 project OASES, co-applicant (2018 - 2022)
  • EIT Raw Materials projects IRTC and IRTC-Business, participant (2018 - 2022)
  • EIT Raw Materials projects SusCritMat and SusCritMOOC, participant (2017 - 2022)
Publications
Curriculum Vitae

Professional Career

  • Head of Technology & Society Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), St. Gallen, Switzerland (since 2016)
  • (Senior) Scientist, Technology and Society Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), St. Gallen, Switzerland (1993 - 2016)
  • Project manager at Elektrowatt Engineering Ltd., Zurich, Switzerland (1992 - 1993)
  • Research assistant at the Institute of Toxicology, ETH and University of Zurich, Switzerland (1988 - 1991)

Education

  • Bachelor studies in philosophy and sociology at University of Zurich, Switzerland. Final Degree: Bachelor of Arts UZH (2004 - 2010).
  • PhD studies in environmental sciences at the Institute of Toxicology of ETH and University of Zurich, Switzerland. Final degree: Dr. sc. nat. ETH (1988 - 1992)
  • Master studies in chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. Switzerland, with focus on organic, bio-organic and analytical chemistry. Final Degree: Master of Science ETH (1982 - 1988)

Dr. Patrick Wäger
Head of Laboratory

Empa
Technology & Society Laboratory
Lerchenfeldstrasse 5
CH-9014 St. Gallen

Phone: +41 58 765 7845


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