Thus, after finishing high school, I started with high expectations and enthusiasm to study chemistry at the famous Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Soon, I knew that I would become a chemist, rather than a composer.

A brief visit to Nepal started my insatiable love for Asian art.

My father, Robert Ernst, was teaching as an architect at the technical high school of our city.

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.

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.