Zukunftsfonds – Obituary Heinz A. Oertli
Farewell to a friend of Empa
Heinz A. Oertli, a friend and supporter of Empa and its researchers, has passed away. Thanks to his curiosity and financial support, Empa was able to build up competences in ophthalmology, and with his generous legacy this research area will now receive a solid funding for years to come.
In November 2021, a certain Heinz A. Oertli contacted the Empa "Zukunftsfonds". He informed Empa's fundraising team via his trustee that he was interested in research at Empa in the field of ophthalmology. As it turned out during a subsequent visit, the founder of Oertli Instrumente AG, based in Berneck, had visited Empa in St. Gallen a few years earlier at the Open Lab Day – and had been closely following Empa's research activities ever since.
In May 2022, just six months after the initial contact, Oertli, then 92 years old and almost blind himself due to macular degeneration, established the Heinz A. Oertli Fund at Empa. Over the past three years, Empa has been able to carry out innovative research projects with these funds, enabling three doctoral students and one postdoc to embark on their scientific careers.
In the meantime, Heinz A. Oertli had moved into a retirement home in Teufen, where he had lived for many years, and was very happy about the regular exchange with Empa. As Empa Director Tanja Zimmermann recalls: “In January 2023, I had the pleasure of meeting Heinz A. Oertli in person over lunch. Mr. Oertli proved to be an extremely modest, charming and extremely interested person who radiated a deep sense of gratitude for what he was able to achieve in his life. I was deeply impressed by him.” During this and similar visits, Heinz A. Oertli always inquired about updates about the projects he was supporting, including from the researchers themselves. Due to his visual impairment, this always had to be done verbally and entirely without PowerPoint presentations.
Heinz A. Oertli passed away on June 18, 2024 at the age of 95. He left Empa a legacy that will enable the Heinz A. Oertli Fund for ophthalmological research to be continued for at least ten more years.
