EPFL pays homage to Silvia Hostettler

With the unexpected death of Silvia Hostettler, we lose a generous and committed person, an environmental scientist and an international development specialist. Silvia's heart was always on how to contribute to sustainable development. In her research, she was passionate about the challenges of sustainable development. In teaching, she trained students on how to achieve a transition towards a more sustainable world in an international context by combining innovative technologies and new governance systems.

Having obtained her PhD in Environmental Science at EPFL in 2007, she studied and worked in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mexico, Chile, Honduras and India, then at EPFL, first from 2001 to 2007 as a researcher, then upon her return from India, from 2012 to 2019, as deputy director of the Center for Cooperation and Development. It followed her work at the EPFL Vice presidency for Responsible Transformation and her work at ENAC, at the laboratory for human-environment relations in urban systems. She always worked for promoting the development of advanced technologies to meet social, environmental, and economic needs, in order to contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Linked to the Environmental Science and Engineering Section, she conveyed her vision and her values in her teaching. She embodied the theme of sustainable development and the involvement in favor of Southern countries.

She has been a member of the AE and the CCE for several years, always invested herself in the issues that were important to her, and worked for the EPFL community. Silvia had the courage to stand up for her opinions and had tremendous energy that she always used to face challenges and solve issues at hand.

We fondly remember Silvia and offer our heartfelt condolences to her children and family.