Konrad Osterwalder

Konrad Osterwalder was born in Frauenfeld, Thurgau, Switzerland on 3 June 1942. He studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule; ETH) in Zurich, where he earned a Diploma in theoretical physics in 1965 and a Doctorate in theoretical physics in 1970. He was married to Verena Osterwalder-Bollag, an analytical therapist. They had three children.

After one year with the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, he accepted a research position at Harvard University with Arthur Jaffe in 1971. He remained on the faculty of Harvard for seven years and was promoted to Assistant Professor for Mathematical Physics in 1973 and Associate Professor for Mathematical Physics in 1976. In 1977, he returned to Switzerland upon being appointed a full Professor for Mathematical Physics at ETH Zurich. His doctoral students include Felix Finster and Emil J. Straube.

During his tenure at ETH Zurich, Osterwalder served as Head of the Department of Mathematics (1986–1990) and Head of the Planning Committee (1990–1995), and was founder of the Centro Stefano Franscini seminar center in Ascona. He was appointed Rector of ETH in 1995 and held that post for 12 years. From November 2006 through August 2007, he also served concurrently as ETH President pro tempore.

On 1 September 2007, Osterwalder joined the United Nations University as its fifth rector. In that role, he held the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Osterwalder's research focused on the mathematical structure of relativistic quantum field theory as well as on elementary particle physics and statistical mechanics. During his long and distinguished career, he has been a Visiting Fellow/Guest Professor at several prominent universities around the world, including the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES; Bures-sur-Yvette, France); Harvard University; University of Texas (Austin); Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics (Munich), Università La Sapienza (Rome); Università di Napoli; Waseda University; and Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel).

From 2014, he was a member of International Scientific Council of Tomsk Polytechnic University.^[2]

Osterwalder was appointed to the position of United Nations Under Secretary General and United Nations University Rector by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon May 2007^[3] and served until 28 February 2013. He succeeded Prof. Hans van Ginkel from the Netherlands to be the fifth Rector of the United Nations University.

He was credited with turning United Nations University into a world leading institution, ranked #5 & #6 in two categories according to the 2012 Global Go to Think Tank Rankings.^[4] He was responsible for ensuring that UNU's charter was amended by the United Nations General Assembly^[5] in 2009 allowing the United Nations University to grant degrees, introducing UNU's degree programmes and creating a new concept in education, research and development by introducing the twin institute programmes. A concept that is changing the way that development, aid and capacity building is approached both by developed countries and developing and least developed countries.

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  Rector Osterwalder chairing UNU event on the work of the UN SC 1540 committee
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  UNU Rector Osterwalder with UNHCR Commissioner Gutteres at Rio+20 Press Conference

In March 2000, following the Bologna Declaration by 28 European Education Ministers, the European University Association and the Comite de Liaison within the National Rector's Conference convened the Convention of European Higher Education in Salamanca Spain, hereinafter referred to as the "Salamanca Process" with the aim of discussing the Bologna Declaration and delivering an overall, univocal response to the Council of Ministers. Professor Osterwalder, Rector of ETH, was chosen by the conference as the Rapporteur of the Salamanca Process and the voice of Higher Education institutions. The meeting concluded with a declaration and a report that led to the basis of Higher Education reform within the Bologna process and the EU. In addition, the two conveners of the conference formed the European University Association.

Osterwalder died on 19 December 2025 at the age of 83.^[6]

Osterwalder career encompasses service on many advisory boards, committees and associations including as

• Editor of Communications in Mathematical Physics;
• Treasurer and president of the International Association of Mathematical Physics;
• Member of the visiting committee of the Harvard Department of Physics;
• President of the IHÉS National Committee of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences;
• Member of the advisory council of the Euler Institute in St. Petersburg;
• Vice-president of the Conference of Rectors of Swiss Universities;
• President of the Conference of European Schools of Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER);
• Member of the International Academic Advisory Panel of the Government of Singapore;
• President of UNITECH International (a collaboration between several European Technical Universities and more than 20 leading multinational corporations);
• Chairman of the Bologna-Project Group (Swiss Rectors Conference);
• President, Jury of the Brandenberger Foundation;
• Member of the Nucleo di Valutazione (supervisory council) of the Politecnico di Milano;
• Member of the Conseil d'administration of the École Polytechnique de France (Paris);
• Member of the "Comité de l'Enseignement" of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris;
• Member of the University Council of the Università della Svizzera Italiana;
• President chair of the University Council of the Technical University Darmstadt;
• Head of the Evaluationsverbund Darmstadt-Kaiserslautern-Karlsruhe;
• Member, Strategic Council, Free University of Berlin;
• Member, Comitato Scientifico Alta Scuola Politecnica (Politecnici di Milano e di Torino);
• Member, Beirat Robert Bosch Stiftung; and
• Member, Academic Council of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)
• Member, Consiglio Fondazione Italian Institute of Technology
• Member, The International Selection committee for the Millennium Technology Prize, the world's biggest technology prize (1.5 Million US$), awarded by the Technology Academy Finland
• Executive Committee Member, Club of Rome

Osterwalder has been a recipient of many honours and prizes including:

• having one of the top-cited mathematical physics papers of all time
• Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (1974–1978);
• member of the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences;
• Honorary degree from the Helsinki Technical University
• Honorary Member of Riga Technical University.
• 2009 Matteo Ricci International Award
• 2010 Leonardo da Vinci Medal (SEFI, European Society for Engineering Education)
• 1987 until 1995 awarded by ETH's students the prize of the best teacher of the term
• Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, 2012.^[7]
• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2025)^[8]