On his desk sits a toy that he immediately demonstrates – a floating spinning top that centres and stabilises itself using superimposed magnetic fields. Erich Windhab, newly retired ETH Professor of Food Process Technology, draws parallels with research: “Scientists must have their own playgrounds, be prepared to step into no-man’s land and stick it out for a while.” For Windhab, that is the prerequisite for innovation. “If we were to ignore these playgrounds and become overly entrepreneurial, we would slowly go blind.” This might initially sound like a paean to pure research, but this is definitely not the case.
The food engineer is passionate about putting his research into practice. He founded his first company even before completing his doctoral thesis at the Institute of Mechanical Process Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Karlsruhe – a move that was highly unusual at the time. “But I had a positive environment, with good supervisors who helped make it possible,” he recalls. And it wasn't the only company he founded.
Publications and patents
The entrepreneurial environment was another main reason why Windhab was drawn to ETH Zurich in 1992. “The newly founded Technopark was appealing, as were the general conditions there,” says Windhab. And he went on to successfully build on this solid foundation. In addition to countless scientific publications, the engineer has also published more than 70 ETH-related patents. “A research engineer not only has a scientific audience, but also an industrial one.”
Windhab is fascinated by the world of patents, especially by the precision and sophistication of the language used to put inventions into words. And he still helps to write patent specifications today. He has also represented companies as a private expert before the Royal Patents Court in the UK and the Federal Court of Justice in Germany in patent revocation disputes.
His efforts in terms of knowledge transfer have also often won him various prizes. For example, he received the European FoodTec Award in 2003 for a new chocolate crystallisation process. The process first produces a crystal suspension with customised crystal nuclei from cocoa butter, which is then used to inoculate the chocolate mass before pouring. This helps the chocolate retain its glossy appearance for longer, because it doesn't turn grey as quickly due to fat bloom.
Another example is the International Nestlé Innovation Award he received in 2006 for a novel technology for making ice cream. Annual sales of a product based on this technology later amounted to over USD 500 million. “That was a sensation!” says Windhab. “Success in the market is an important confirmation of our work in the lab.” The awards he has won for his life’s work also reflect the great success of his approach to translating research results into industrial applications. In 2003, he was the first food engineer to receive the Blaise Pascal Medal from the European Academy of Sciences (EAS), an award that holds special personal significance for him.
Building bridges
