The Adolphe Merkle Foundation Board has appointed Prof. Hans Jörg Limbach as the new Director of the Adolphe Merkle Institute at the University of Fribourg. He will be taking over the position from Prof. Ullrich Steiner, who is stepping down from the position after four years of service. Prof. Christoph Weder will take over the position of Deputy Director.

Starting on June 1, Prof. Hans Jörg Limbach will take the helm of the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI), which is affiliated with the Faculty of Science and Medicine at the University of Fribourg. As part of this institute management rotation, the outgoing Director, Prof. Ullrich Steiner, will continue in his role as the Chair of Soft Matter Physics at the AMI.

From Nestlé to Unifr
Prof. Hans Jörg Limbach has served as the AMI’s Chair of Food Science and Technology since 2025. He studied at the University of Stuttgart, the Justus Liebig University Giessen and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz (doctorate, post doctorate). Starting in 2004, he worked in food research at Nestlé in Lausanne as a researcher, project manager and group leader.

Prof. Christoph Weder, the AMI’s Chair of Polymer Chemistry and Materials and new Deputy Director, previously led the institute from 2010 to 2022 and is therefore very familiar with both the AMI and the university. He will be serving the institute alongside Limbach, who will benefit from Weder’s valuable experience.

The Foundation Board would like to thank the outgoing Director and Deputy Director Profs. Ullrich Steiner and Michael Mayer for their valuable work, passion and commitment to the institute over the past four years. 

An ideal team: fresh perspectives and experience
The Foundation Board is very satisfied with the configuration of a new director with a comprehensive private-sector background as well as a seasoned former director with extensive experience at the institute, which are both great assets. This augurs a fusion of new approaches and ideas building upon the institute’s major achievements.  

For an institute dedicated to excellence in its field of research, this is a promising team to pursue the institute’s tradition of innovative science. The AMI currently employs around 100 researchers and has repeatedly produced groundbreaking scientific results since its creation.

The University of Fribourg’s Rectorate and the Foundation Board back the new Director and the Deputy Director with their full support and wish them both success and satisfaction in their new positions.

About the foundation

The Adolphe Merkle Foundation was established in 2007 by the Fribourg industrialist for whom it is named. Endowed with a donation of CHF 100 million, the foundation supports research and teaching at the University of Fribourg. This private donation, at the time the highest given to a Swiss university led in particular to the creation of a research institute with an international reputation in the field of nanomaterials (Adolphe Merkle Institute). The endowment also supports additional work within the Faculty of Science and Medicine (FRIMAT) and the Faculty of Humanities (Institute of Multilingualism). The Foundation works within the Council of the Adolphe Merkle Institute alongside the University to enable the center to fulfil its mission and ensure its ongoing integration within the University of Fribourg.

Photo: Peter Huber, Christoph Weder, Hans Jörg Limbach, Katharina Fromm