New head of "Protection and Physiology”

After graduating in physical electronics at the University of Neuchâtel in 1990, René Rossi taught maths and physics for several months in his home town of Neuchâtel. He then embarked on a lengthy visit to Australia to improve his language skills before joining Empa in 1992. Here he took charge of a number of projects, becoming a recognized expert in his specialist fields of protective clothing, flammability and clothing physiology. In 1999 he was awarded a PhD for his dissertation "Experimental investigation of the interaction of protection and physiology in fire fighters’ protective clothing" by the Institute of Hygiene and Applied Physiology at ETH Zurich. The projects that he has managed in recent years include "Sweat management", which aimed to develop a concept for physiologically optimized winter clothing for the Swiss Armed Forces. Fire fighting has remained one of his key areas of post-doctoral activity. In 2002 an installation for evaluating the heat and flame protection afforded by complete fire suits using a manikin was set up under Dr Rossi’s supervision. His work has also achieved international acclaim and he was appointed a member of the "European Society for Protective Clothing" in 2000.

René Rossi is married and has two children. He lives in Wil (canton of St. Gallen).