Leonardo da Vinci Medal 2010

Prof. Konrad Osterwalder:

- was born in Frauenfeld, Thurgau, Switzerland, in 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 accepted a research position at Harvard University in 1971 - 1977 and was promoted to assistant professor for mathematical physics in 1973 and associate professor for mathematical physics in 1976.

- in 1977 being appointed a full professor for mathematical physics at ETH Zurich
from 1995 - 2007 he was appointed rector of ETH
- On 1 September 2007 joined United Nations University as rector. In that role, he holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Prof. Dr. 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 career, he has been a visiting fellow or guest professor at several prominent universities around the world, including the Institute des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES; Bures-sur-Yvette, France), Harvard University, the University of Texas (Austin), the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics (Munich), Università La Sapienza (Rome), Università di Napoli, Waseda University, and the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel). 

Rector Osterwalder was a fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (1974–1978) and is a member of the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences. He serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Club of Rome, holds an honorary degree from the Helsinki Technical University, and is an honorary member of Riga Technical University.