People
The ALPECOLe group has over 20 members. It consists of the project leader, project partners, authors, assistants and
technicians.
A good collaboration is important because many lessons are being created by 2 or 3 authors from
different institutions.
You may contact ALPECOLe members if you have specific questions about their lessons.
(If you would like to register for their courses, usually you have to register at the respective University).
Our members and their roles within the project are listed below alphabetically:
B - D - E - F - H
- J - K - M - S
- V - W - Z
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Kalliopi Benetos
Web-Developer, Web-Designer, Webmaster
After finishing her Masters thesis in educational technology, Benetos left UZH and starts working for eLearning purposes
at University of Geneva. She is a graphic designer and web developer with a keen interest in effective visual communication.
She specializes in, graphic user interface design and usability of instructional, educational and commercial digital media.
She is working now at the University of Geneva.
Kalliopi.Benetos@unige.ch
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Dr. Thomas Briner
Author and Scientific Assistant, Bündner Naturmuseum (Lessons C1, C2 and C3)
Briner has finished his pHD thesis at the Zoological Institute, University of Bern, concerning the spatial and temporal
activity and the population dynamics of small mammals and is working now at BAFU and at the Bündner Naturmuseum Chur.
Bundesamt für Umwelt BAFU
3003 Bern
Tel: +41 31 324 78 49
thomas.briner@bafu.admin.ch
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Prof. Dr. Conradin A. Burga
Project Leader and Author (Introduction, Lessons B4, D1a, D1b, and D1c)
Burga is a specialist in plant geography/biogeography and quaternary palaeoecology, especially of high mountain ecosystems
of the Alps, and offers at the University and ETH Zürich lectures and field courses to bio- geography, vegetation dynamics,
quaternary vegetation history and palaeoecology.
University of Zürich-Irchel
Department of Geography
Biogeography and Quaternary Research
Winterthurerstrasse 190
8057 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 635 51 68
cburga@geo.uzh.ch
Homepage
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Dr. Hansjörg Dietz
Author (Lessons A5, B2, C4 and C5, Alpine Walks I, II and III)
Dietz specializes in the causes and processes of plant invasions and in ecological application of analysis of annual
rings in forbs (herb-chronology). He offers lectures and practical courses on general ecology and functional plant ecology
at the ETH Zürich.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Institut für Integrative Biologie
Universitätstrasse 16
8092 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 632 59 75
hansjoerg.dietz@env.ethz.ch
Homepage
![](../image/s_dietz.jpg)
Dr. Silke Dietz
Author and Scientific Assistant, ETH and WSL (Lessons A5, B2, C4 and C5)
Silke Dietz has a general interest in ecology with a focus on lichen ecology/ ecophysiology and alpine ecology.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Institut für Integrative Biologie
Universitätstrasse 16
8092 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 632 59 75
silke.dietz@env.ethz.ch
Homepage
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Prof. Dr. Peter J. Edwards
Project Partner and Author (Lessons A5, B2, C4 and C5)
Edwards is M.A. (Cantab.), Ph.D. and head of the plant ecology group at ETH Zürich. He's a plant ecologist with a
special interest in ecosystem processes. Author of over 100 scientific papers and author/editor of 6 books, covering a wide
range of ecological fields, including:
- Nutrient cycling in tropical rain forest
- Interactions between large herbivores and vegetation
- Insect-plant interactions and plant defence theory
- Effects of management on plant species diversity
- Biodiversity in agro-ecosystems
- Plant ecology and river management
- Ecological economics
Institut für Integrative Biologie
Universitätstrasse 16
8092 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 632 43 30
peter.edwards@env.ethz.ch
Homepage
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Dr. Christoph Fuchs
Scientific Assistant and Author (Lesson B12)
Fuchs was working for the Institute of Plant Biology / Microbiology (Microbial Ecology Group) during the project.
Actually he is working as elearning coordinator at the faculty of science.
Dekanat Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät
Universität Zürich
Winterthurerstrasse 190
8057 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 635 40 11
christoph.fuchs@mnf.uzh.ch
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Prof. Dr. Wilfried Haeberli
Author (Lessons A3 and A4)
Haeberli is a faculty member at the University of Zürich. He's glaciologist and geomorphologist, especially interested
in high-mountain environments (glaciers, permafrost, slope processes, natural hazards, climate-related monitoring). He offers
courses on different topics relating to these fields in teaching at the University and ETH of Zurich.
University of Zürich
Department of Geography
Winterthurerstrasse 190
8057 Zürich
Tel: +41 4 -635 51 20
wilfried.haeberli@geo.uzh.ch
Homepage
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Dr. Kurt Hanselmann
Project Partner and Author (Lesson B12)
Hanselmann's specialities are research and teaching on life under extreme conditions; Selection and adaptation of
microorganisms under harsh and extremely variable environmental conditions of high mountain aquatic ecosystems (lakes, rivers,
snow, ice). He offers field and laboratory courses in the fields of Microbial Ecology, Evolution of Microorganisms and Geomicrobiology.
In 2008 Hanselmann has retired and started his own business.
"Microorganisms which thrive under extremes teach us, how life processes have adapted, how flexibly they change when
conditions vary and how they might have evolved under a variety of selection pressures. Our scientific approaches begin by
observing microbial communities under particular conditions in situ and continue in the laboratory where we try to simulate
and model observed geochemical processes. From the ecological knowledge gained, we derive consequences for environmental protection
and insights into eco-evolutionary forces."
swiss | i-research and training
Postal Box 1206
8032 Zürich
Tel: ±41 44 381 40 87
kurt.hanselmann@hispeed.ch
http://www.microeco.uzh.ch
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Prof. Dr. Martin Hoelzle
Project Partner and Author (Lesson A3 and A4)
Hölzle is a specialist in Alpine permafrost monitoring and spatial modelling as well as glaciological research. After
several years at the University of Zurich, Hölzle works now at the University of Fribourg.
University of Fribourg
Department of Geosciences
Chemin du Musée 4
1700 Fribourg
Tel: +41 26 300 90 22
martin.hoelzle@unifr.ch
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Dr. Hanspeter Holzhauser
Scientific Assistant and Author (Lessons B4, D1a, D1b and D1c)
Holzhauser is a specialist in Holocene glacial fluctuations and dendrochronology and offers at the University and
ETH of Zurich courses to physical geography, geomorphology and dendrochronology.
h.holzhauser@bluewin.ch
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Dr. Bettina Jenny
Author and Scientific Assistant (Lessons A1, A4, B1 and D1a, D1b and D1c)
Jenny is a geographer and teacher at the high school level. Her special points of
interest are: climate change, palaeolimnology, international cooperation with
developing countries (especially Latin America) and general aspects of
education. Actually she is working for Helvetas.
bettina.jenny@helvetas.org
Dr. Peter Kammer
Project Partner and Author (Lesson B1)
Kammer is a specialist in vegetation ecology, especially in the ecology of temperate
grasslands and alpine plant communities. He works at the PH Bern (School of Teacher Education),
where he offers lectures in a broad field of biology as well as field courses in terrestrial ecology. The work of
Peter Kammer was financially supported by the Centre of Research and Development of PH Bern (grant number: 00 01 S 07).
PH Bern S1 Biology
Gertrud-Wokerstrasse 5
3012 Bern
Switzerland
Tel: +41 31 309 24 46
peter.kammer@phbern.ch
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Petra Kauer-Ott
Project-coordination, Instructional Design, Author (introduction) and Scientific Assistant (double lesson A3)
Kauer is a geographer and teacher at high school level. Her points of interest are: instructional design, new media,
biogeography and environment protection. She is working as elearning coordinator for Geosciences at UZH.
University of Zürich
Department of Geography
Winterthurerstrasse 190
8057 Zürich
Tel: +41 44 635 51 74
Tel: +41 31 309 24 46
petra.kauer@geo.uzh.ch
Homepage
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Prof. Dr. Christian Körner
Project Partner and Author (Lessons A2, B3, B5-9, Visit the Alpine)
Körner's main interest is a functional understanding of plant life under natural conditions. His focus is on the highest
possible (or practical) complexity level with causal explanations sought through down-scaling from the factual situation rather
than upscaling from presumed first principles (which he thinks rarely make it to those levels we need to understand). The
alpine is often called a 'stressing and limiting' environment for life. He objects this view as a rather anthropocentric perspective,
not generally applicable to natural biota in which only those are stressed which are not fit (and thus, commonly eliminated).
At a methodological level, he adopts the comparative approach and believes in broad screening as the most promising gateway
to theory advancement, even at the price of a loss in detail for a specific case.
University of Basel
Institute of Botany
Schönbeinstrasse 6
4056 Basel
Tel: +41 61 267 35 10
ch.koerner@unibas.ch
Homepage
![](../image/l_konersmann.jpg)
Lars Konersmann
Web-Developer
After his graduation from the ETH in Zürich as an Environmental Physician Konersmann was working at the World Radiation
Center in Davos. Over several years Konersmann has worked on various web-related projects. The pioneer-project alpecole represents
a new challenge to him since here his web-development-skills can be applied to the almost unexplored area of scientific-education
through new media.
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Dr. Jürg Paul Müller
Project Partner and Author (Lessons C1, C2 and C3)
Müller is a zoologist who has a long-standing reputation in the study of mountain mammals dealing with gene flow between
isolated populations. As the director of the Natural History Museum of the Grisons, he offers field courses and public information
on topics of alpine animal life and ecology.
Bündner Natur-Museum
Masanserstrasse 31
7000 Chur
Tel: +41 81 257 28 41
Juerg.Paul.Mueller@bnm.gr.ch
Homepage
Dr. Heinz Schneider
HTML and Workshop Instructor
University of Basel
Institute of Botany
Schönbeinstrasse 6
4056 Basel
heinz.schneider@unibas.ch
Homepage
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Dr. Veronika Stöckli
Project Partner and Author (Lessons A3 and B5)
After graduation as a biologist from the University of Basel, Stöckli performed a PhD on forest dynamics at the Institute
of Botany in Basel and the WSL in Birmensdorf. Since 1995, she works at the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche
Research, where she is the head of the division "Alpine Environment". In this division, research activities focus on cold
region ecology, disturbance ecology, and natural resources dynamics and management in the Alps.
Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF
Flüelastrasse 11
7260 Davos Dorf
Tel: +41 81 4170 212
v.stoeckli@slf.ch
Homepage
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Prof. Jürg Stöcklin
Project Partner and Author (Lessons B10 and B11)
Stöcklin is a plant population ecologist with special interest in the reproductive biology of alpine plants. He offers
lectures and courses in these fields including the alpine life zone. The functional significance of clonal growth in plants
is one of his research priorities.
University of Basel
Institute of Botany
Schönbeinstrasse 6
4056 Basel
Tel: +41 61 267 35 01
Juerg.Stoecklin@unibas.ch
Homepage
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Prof. Heinz Veit
Project Partner and Author (Lessons A1, A4, D1a, D1b and D1c)
Veit is interested in geoecological and paleo-geoecological research in the Alps, the South
American Andes (Chile, Argentina, Bolivia) and other high mountain areas. At the University
of Bern he is offering courses, excursions and seminars on related topics. Veit studied
Geography, Geology, Soil Science and Botany in Frankfurt (Germany). After the diploma thesis,
which dealt with quaternary soil and landscape development in Southern Brazil, he moved to the
University of Bayreuth in 1983. There, he focused his work on the paleo-geoecology of the
Eastern Alps (Ph.D in 1987). From 1987-1991, he changed as visiting professor to the University
of La Serena (Chile). This was the beginning of pale-geoecological studies in the Central Andes
of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. After another five year period at the University of Bayreuth,
he moved to Switzerland in 1996. Since that he is working as a full professor for Physical
Geography at the University in Bern. At the moment he is director of the Geographical Institute
and president of the Swiss Geographical Association (ASG: swissgeography.ch).
University of Berne
Institute of Geography
Hallerstrasse 12
3012 Berne
Tel: +41 31 631 85 61
veit@giub.unibe.ch
Homepage
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PD Dr. nat. sc. Otto Wildi
Project Partner and Author (Lessons A5, B2, C4 and C5)
Wildi is head of the Landscape Division at WSL. He is a specialist in mathematical analysis and modelling of spatial
and temporal systems, offering lectures in terrestrial ecology, including field courses at the ETH Zürich.
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
8903 Birmensdorf
Tel: +41 44 739 23 61
otto.wildi@wsl.ch
Homepage
Thomas Zumbrunn
Scientific Assistent (Lessons A2, B3, B5-9, Visit the Alpine)
Zumbrunn is a biology PhD student with a broad interest in plant ecology. He is responsible for the realisation of
over one third of the lessons. Moreover, he maintains the ALPECOLe test server and implements most of the server-side functionalities.
University of Basel
Zoologisches Institut
Vesalgasse 1
4051 Basel
t.zumbrunn@unibas.ch
Homepage