I became almost immediately fascinated by the possibilities of trying out all conceivable reactions with them, some leading to explosions, others to unbearable poisoning of the air in our house, frightening my parents.

I recognized that teaching and research institutions vitally depend on the involvement of active scientists also in management functions.

I wanted to understand the secrets behind my chemical experiments and behind the processes in nature.

Experiments were not attempted at that time, we did not believe in the usefulness of the concept anyway, and I finished my thesis in 1962 with a feeling like an artist balancing on a high rope without any interested spectators.

On the theoretical side, I was concerned with stochastic resonance.

I thus decided to leave the university forever and tried to find an industrial job in the United States.

In recent years, more and more of my time has become absorbed by administrative work for the research council of ETH-Z of which I am presently the president.