The Adolphe Merkle Foundation, which actively supports the Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI), has announced changes to the composition of its Board. Former Swiss President and current Board Chairman Joseph Deiss has stepped down, as has Isabelle Chassot, director of the Federal Culture Office and former Canton Fribourg Education Minister.

The Foundation has elected Peter Huber, already a member of the Board, as the new Chairman, and appointed Jean-Pierre Siggen, Canton Fribourg’s Minister for Education, Culture and Sport, as well as Chantal Robin, the Director of the Fribourg’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as new members of the Foundation Board.

Prof. Christoph Weder, Director of the Adolphe Merkle Institute, said he was grateful for the support of the departing Board members. “I would like thank Mr. Deiss and Mme Chassot for their outstanding service, leadership, commitment, and contributions to the development of the Adolphe Merkle Institute over the past ten years,” he added.

The Adolphe Merkle Foundation was founded in 2007 by the Fribourg industrialist and entrepreneur Adolphe Merkle. With a capital of CHF 100 million, its mission is to promote research and education at the University of Fribourg. This private donation, the largest at the time in favor of a Swiss university, enabled the creation of an internationally renowned research institute for nanomaterials (Adolphe Merkle Institute - AMI), and helps support other activities within the Faculty of Science and Medicine (FRIMAT), as well as at the Faculty of Arts (Institute of Multilingualism). In 2018, the Foundation contributed the equivalent of 35% of AMI’s overall expenses, which totaled CH 10.4 million.