Volker Gass, the new Space Center director
© NASA
By appointing Volker Gass to take over the leadership of its Space Center, EPFL is positioning itself among the leaders in the Swiss space science landscape. Our country has the expertise and experience to play a leading role in Europe and abroad. An interview with the man of the moment.
Volker Gass studied at EPFL, and he knows the Swiss space industry inside out. He is the successor of Maurice Borgeaud at this position. He led the company Mecanex, which specializes in microsystem design, before joining RUAG Space Nyon in 2000. In parallel, he has maintained strong ties with the academic community; he was closely involved with the creation of the Space Center in 2003.
What are your goals for the Space Center?
The goal is to strengthen its position, to stretch out its participations – particularly with a maximum of Swiss institutes and universities. Beyond this national aspect, we are also going to work on our connections with our international partners, as much with institutions as with industry. Finally, an important objective is to get the public back in touch with space and space sciences.
Isn’t it difficult to convince the business community, because of the low immediate return on investment?
A good dose of imagination is required. But before we can inhabit Mars, we need to be able to grow wheat in the Sahel. The extreme conditions in the Solar system push us to find better answers to problems we face on our own planet. To reach this goal, we need the support of politicians. Our private sector partnerships have a future in the short- or medium-term. But to reach objectives as ambitious as space exploration, it will be necessary for states to come together in joint efforts.
What will you do to reach these goals?
I will above all need to work with my network of colleagues and the networks of the other members of the Space Center. We need to build connections that are missing at the national and international level. Although we were a leader early in Europe’s Space adventure, Switzerland has grown timid over time. Nonetheless, we have always had recognized expertise in many areas. A uniting vision is missing – for example, Switzerland has no university program specifically oriented towards Space science. I hope to be able to change all that.
