What do I mean by that? Quite simply: bright minds! That’s what this issue of Quarterly is all about. We regularly present innovative, sometimes groundbreaking ideas on these pages – and are often so excited about them that the people behind them almost slip into the background.

Yet it is precisely these talents that have made Switzerland one of the world’s most innovative countries for years. And they need to be nurtured and supported to the best of our ability. Because the global war for talents – pardon the belligerent metaphor – is becoming increasingly fierce. It is thus only farsighted (and to a certain extent selfish) to take care of our country’s only natural resource. After all, today’s young researchers, students and apprentices are tomorrow’s decision-makers.

Whether in a creative “battle of wits” with high school students in sketching a sustainable world of tomorrow, in a highly topical Master’s project on energy storage, or in the national “Schweizer Jugend forscht” competition, in which two of our apprentices excelled with their terahertz-based plastic waste sorter – talent development at Empa is enormously diverse.

By the way, our "Bright Minds" are also the stars of a new video series of the same name, with which we want to introduce you to our researchers and their clever ideas on a regular basis in the future. So tune in!