Editorial
Dear Reader,
Willy Benz, Director of the NCCR PlanetS. (Photo Alessandro Della Bella)
Transition – a word one hears often during a world soccer cup. It means bringing the ball forward through the middle field closer to the opponent’s goal. A critical moment in the game during which a generally pre-defined strategy is being executed with the hope to eventually score. It turns out that at PlanetS we are also in transition! For us it means moving from the first four-year funding cycle (yes, four years are already over) to the second one that officially started June 1, 2018. This edition of the Observer is therefore formally the first one of the new funding cycle.
As mentioned, the transition is a delicate moment during which a new organisation and the approach to our goals are being put into place with the hope (but no guarantee) of success. Uncertainty, and flexibility are keywords in this process as we are also awaiting the official extension decision by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) as well as the final figure for our next budget. While waiting, we are nevertheless moving forward as projects and science in general do not wait. As in soccer, this transition also means that pressure is finally reduced on us after the last two years of very intense preparation work which included writing proposals and reports. A welcomed moment.
The transition is always the time chosen to show a replay of particularly exciting moments and achievements. You will find in this edition an article recalling several PlanetS press releases highlighting our research work. Those represent only the very tip of the iceberg as most of the indispensable ground work never makes it into the limelight…
I wish you a good reading of the Observer and an enjoyable summer time. We at PlanetS, will continue biting our finger nails while waiting for the SNSF verdict to end the transition thereby allowing us to officially start attacking at full speed the next phase…
Willy Benz
Director NCCR PlanetS
