Wolfram Uhlig deceased
With heartfelt sadness, the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH Zurich informs that Dr. Wolfram Uhlig, died on 8.5.2024 at the age of 69.
Wolfram Heinz Egon Uhlig, born on January 12, 1955 in Leipzig, Germany, studied chemistry at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, where he also obtained his doctorate in 1980 in the group of Professor Alfred Tzschach. After different research stays and his habilitation, he moved to ETH Zurich in 1993, where he worked first as an academic guest and later as an employee in the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry (LAC). From 2003 until his retirement in 2020, Wolfram Uhlig played a key role in teaching at the LAC, in particular for the service lectures. He always put his heart and soul into communicating his fascination for chemical experiments to students and society, as his former supervisor Professor Reinhard Nesper emphasizes.
Wolfram Uhlig played a leading role in creating and commenting on the "CHEX" video system of around 250 chemical teaching experiments. His chemistry shows were also legendary. Together with his colleague Bruno Rüttimann, Wolfram gave these experimental lectures for 17 years at various events in and outside Switzerland.
“We were like a long-time married couple who understood each other without speaking a word, a well-established team," Rüttimann recalls with respect, "Wolfram always checked everything in great detail before the show, including meticulous navigation on the long journeys at times when GPS was not yet widespread."
This is also confirmed by Dr Lukas Sigrist, Rüttimann's successor at the chemistry shows: "Wolfram was always perfectly organized. I always knew exactly when I had to be where and what there was to do. He was very sociable and helpful". Wolfram Uhlig was also a perfect storyteller: "Wolfram was always coming up with new anecdotes about the history of chemistry, not just during the shows, but also on the way there or over an after-work beer".
In his private life, the chemist was passionate about the mountains and hiking. "Wolfram just needed a photo to recognize the name of the mountain and from where the picture was taken," Bruno Rüttimann recalls. Wolfram was also extremely fond of music and attended opera performances in various European cities.
After retiring in fall 2020, Wolfram Uhlig withdrew and attended the meetings of former ETH employees less and less frequently. He was barely heard from again. The news of his death came as a surprise. The Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences members will honor his memory.
"In the end, it was always fun"
On the occasion of Wolfram Uhlig's retirement in 2020, an article has been published in which Uhlig talked about his work at the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences in a very personal way, including audio and video material. The article is available here.
