Walter Giger is a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 chemist

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

. He had been working at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag

Eawag

The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology or Eawag is a Swiss research institution for aquatic research. As part of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology domain it is an institution of the Swiss federation...

), where he was the head of the division Chemische Problemstoffe. He has been a professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 for environmental chemistry

Environmental chemistry

Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source...

 at the ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....

 since 1995.

Giger is a pioneer who advanced the field of trace organic analysis

Analytical chemistry

Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...

 and its application to significant environmental problems. His research topics include development of analytical techniques for identification of organic pollutants in drinking water, wastewater and natural waters. He investigates their sources, occurrence and fate. In 1984, he discovered that in wastewater treatment plants

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

 nonylphenol ethoxylates are transformed to 4-nonylphenols, which are toxic to aquatic life. After several additional studies the use of nonylphenols and nonylphenol ethoxylates was restricted in the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 in 2003.

Scientific career

Giger received his PhD in chemistry from ETH Zurich in 1971. In 1972, he was a Postdoc at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and to the education of marine researchers. Established in 1930, it is the largest independent oceanographic research...

. In the same year, he took a new place of employment at the Eawag in Dübendorf

Dübendorf

Dübendorf is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.It is a suburb of Zürich in Switzerland with a population of about 23,000 . It is the fourth largest city in the canton, after Zürich, Winterthur, and Uster.-History:Dübendorf is first mentioned in 946 as...

 and stayed there till his retirement. In the meantime, he was visiting scientist at the Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 and lecturer at the Universität Karlsruhe. In 2002, he became member of the ISI Highly Cited Researchers Database.

In September 2008, the journal Environmental Science & Technology

Environmental Science & Technology

Environmental Science & Technology , is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published since 1967 by the American Chemical Society. As the name indicates, it publishes original research in environmental science, but also comprehensive, critical reviews. Publication is currently every other week...

dedicated a special issue to him.

Literature

• Naomi Lubick: Scaling Peaks: The Life and Science of Walter Giger. Environmental Science & Technology, 42(17), 2008,

External links