Patrick Wäger is Head of the Technology & Society Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa). He has completed a master’s degree in chemistry and a doctorate in environmental sciences at ETH Zürich as well as a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and sociology at University of Zürich. Besides other mandates he currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the “Entwicklungsfonds Seltene Metalle”, of the Board of the Swiss Academic Society for Environmental Research and Ecology, and of the Anthropogenic Resources Working Group of the UNECE.

In his research he addresses questions related to the role of novel materials and emerging technologies in the transition to a more sustainable, post-fossil society, with a particular focus on raw materials supply risks, resources characterisation, evaluation and classification and circular economy issues.