New at ETH Zurich: Sereina Riniker
At 29 years old, Sereina Riniker is currently the youngest professor at ETH Zurich. In an interview, the chemist tells how she experienced her start and how she wants to motivate her students.
How does it feel to be back at ETH Zurich as a professor, two years after your PhD?
Sereina Riniker: I really didn’t expect this development, especially not at this speed. I’m very enthusiastic about this opportunity and have at the same time great respect for my job. I know many people from earlier and was warmly welcomed. But sometimes, I still have to get used to having my former professors as colleagues now.
As a professor, you are both a researcher and a teacher. What defines – in your opinion – good teaching?
I think the teaching is good if it sparks interest, even if a subject does not necessarily correspond to the main interest of the students. Because, even though the students have all voluntarily chosen to study chemistry, they will never find all the subjects equally enthralling. My goal is to make the content exciting so that they are motivated and enjoy coming to my lectures.
Is there, besides Computational Chemistry, another field you are also very interested in?
I find it incredibly interesting how our immune system works – only the experimental work has always put me off a bit. I would also love to know more about our olfactory system, because I am always amazed that we can perceive so many different smells with our noses. And finally, photography – it is my great hobby.
With whom would you like to change jobs with for a week, and why?
With a train driver. I think it would be exciting to experience a train journey from the front perspective. And it would also interest me to look behind the scenes and learn how such a huge company like SBB works, what it needs to make the daily operation run smoothly.
Sereina Riniker has been professor for Computational Chemistry at the Institute of Physical Chemistry since June 2014. The 29 year-old Swiss who already studied and earned her doctorate at ETH Zürich, deals with computer simulations of biological systems. This involves, for example, investigating how proteins that are involved in diseases interact with potential inhibitors.