I seek to comprehend the World, its unfolding, and myself, based on our current scientific understanding, but not limited by it. And I wish to pass on what I thus gain in the stream of our culture.

my professional path

Born in 1955 in Switzerland, I was educated as a mechanics and electronics technician and worked in industry until 1978. After passing the examination for academic maturity, I studied Physics and Mathematics, followed by doctoral work in Environmental Sciences, all at ETH Zürich. Following were two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside, USA, and my habilitation at ETH Zürich. In 1992, I became an associate professor of Soil Physics at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, and in 1998 a full professor of Physics at Heidelberg University, Germany, where I stayed until my retirement in 2021. For my research, I spent time in China – as guest of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing, Lanzhou, and on the Qinghai-Xinjiang-Tibetan plateau – and much too little time also in the Arctic, on Svalbard.

my task – comprehend and pass on

I strive to comprehend as much as I can, from observing myself and my environment, from what those who came before left for us, from today’s knowledgeable ones and from other seekers. In return, I wish to pass on my comprehension to those who want to know it, to share my inklings with those who also seek beyond, to pass silently by those who have no desire to learn from me, and to leave some traces for those who come after.

contact

I prefer contact by email: kurt.rothfauchere@bluewin.ch

If you don’t get a response, which may happen when I am overwhelmed, please just re-send exactly the same email again.