In his welcoming address, SATW President Benoît Dubuis expressed gratitude for all the work carried out and thanked those present for attending in such large numbers. He explained that the 2024 General Meeting was taking place as a one-day event with subsequent Annual Congress for the second time, as there was evidently a great deal of interest in this format. Just like last year, the Annual Congress was dedicated to the topic of the year, ‘sovereignty’, with a focus in 2024 on health and food security. One goal of the full-day event was to promote networking among Full Members and Member Organisations.
Benoît Dubuis was particularly pleased that 14 new Full Members were elected at this year’s General Meeting. In his closing remarks, Benoît Dubuis noted that the day’s event was another milestone on the way towards SATW’s goal of analysing and advising on technological developments for the benefit of society – in line with the slogan: Technology for Society.
Executive Committee members Ulrich Claessen, René Hüsler and Fabienne Marquis Weible were unanimously re-elected.
Daniel Petermann from Roche Diagnostics, member of the SATW Industrial Advisory Board, was thanked. Adam Gontarz, member of management and Head of Digitalisation at Swissmem, and Lamia Kacem, Business Portfolio Manager for Network Design, Systems and Technology at SBB and 1st Vice-President at Swiss Engineering STV, were newly elected to the IAB.
Rolf Allenspach, Silvio Bonaccio and Jane Royston were thanked for their services on the Nomination Committee. Greta Patzke (University of Zurich, Department of Chemistry), Giovanni Dietler (EPFL, Micro- and Nanotechnology), Paul Seidler (IBM Research Ltd. liab. Co., Micro- and Nanotechnology) and Olga Sorkine-Hornung (ETH Zurich, Professor of Computer Science) became new members of the committee.
Djordje Filipovic (AB2 Bio Ltd.) and René Hüsler (HSLU, Lucerne School of Computer Science and Information Technology) were unanimously re-elected as members of the Scientific Advisory Board.
The Swiss Association for Standardization (SNV) and VaLoo, the network for recyclable sanitation systems in Switzerland, were unanimously elected as new Member Organisations. Representatives of these two new Member Organisations expressed gratitude for being admitted and said that they were looking forward to working with SATW.
A minute’s silence was held to bid farewell to the deceased SATW presidents Ulrich W. Suter (1944-2023) and Heinrich Ursprung (1932-2024), as well as seven other SATW members.
Since 2015, SATW has been honouring exceptional performance with the Outstanding Achievement Award. This year, it went to a woman for the first time: Deborah Müller, ETH Zurich Space/Space Exchange Switzerland, Space Industry and Innovation Advisor & ESA THAG Swiss Delegation.
Since 2018, Deborah has been working to encourage young engineering talent at SATW, especially young women. As a mentor from the very beginning, she co-founded the Swiss TecLadies Network and actively contributes to raising its profile by facilitating visits, as well as by participating as an active role model with presentations at events. As part of the ESA Swiss Delegation for Space eXchange Switzerland, her enthusiasm, expertise and network enrich not only the encouragement of young engineering talent, but also SATW’s foresight activities. “Her passion for space, which she very actively conveys, and her various roles as an engineer and pilot, make her a central and valuable figure for SATW,” as SATW Managing Director Esther Koller-Meier pointed out in her laudatory speech.
Deborah Müller expressed thanks for the award, saying that it was a great honour and a source of strength for her future involvement in the encouragement of girls and young women. She also emphasised the tireless efforts of the Swiss TecLadies team and thanked her family for their support. “This appreciation will undoubtedly give me motivation in my future commitment to helping our next generations get inspired and fascinated by STEM professions, to accompanying them on their way and to supporting them, so as to contribute to our world and provide hope,” said Deborah Müller, who went on to quote one of her own role models, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
