ULRIKE KASTRUP
Photo: Dr. Ulrike Kastrup, Director of focusTerra Zurich, ETH, Zurich, 2025.
FOLLOW WHAT SETS YOUR SOUL ON FIRE.
Ulrike Kastrup is the Director of focusTerra, the Earth & Science Discovery Center of ETH Zurich, where she is dedicated to communicating scientific knowledge with a focus on its social relevance.
Through her work, she aims to support and empower people to better understand their natural and human-made environment and to act responsibly within it. She wants to show how science, nature and the Earth work and why they play an important role in people’s daily lives.
After completing her doctorate in geophysics at ETH Zurich on earthquakes, Ulrike turned her attention to the many facets of natural hazards. She has worked at the United Nation University on flood management, at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology on wildfire early warnings and as Corporate Risk Management at the Swiss Federal Railways SBB.
She has also been a mentor for women PhD students at ETH in the field of outreach and communication to foster equality.
Ulrike has contributed to science policy through her roles on the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and on the Board of Ecsite, the European Network of Science Centres and Museums. From 2021 to 2023 she served as Vice-President of Ecsite. Ulrike is member of the Education Committee of the European Geophysical Union (EGU).
Ulrike Kastrup is the Director of focusTerra Zurich, the Earth & Science Discovery Center of ETH Zurich.
After completing her doctorate in geophysics at ETH Zurich on earthquakes, she turned her attention to the many facets of natural hazards.
She has worked at the United Nation University on flood management, at RMIT University in Australia on wild and bush fires and as Corporate Risk Management at the Swiss Federal Railways. The aim of her work has been to promote knowledge transfer between science, society and decision-makers through targeted communication.
At focusTerra, she is dedicated to communicating scientific knowledge with a focus on its social relevance. Through exhibitions and a variety of activities, she and her team inspire a broad and diverse audience. Ulrike has also been a mentor for women PhD students at ETH in the field of outreach and communication to foster equality.
She has served on the scientific committee of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and on the board of Ecsite – the European Network of Science Centres and Museums. From 2021 to 2023 she was the Vice-President of Ecsite.
In her words: “The central theme throughout my career has been the education and empowerment of people to understand their natural and man-made environment and to act responsibly within it.”
communication sciences, geophysics, geology, astronomy, space sciences, earthquakes, carbon capture /storage /use, carbon cycle, carbon neutral, climate anxiety, climate change, climate extreme events, climate scenarios, cloaking, CO2, communication, democratic process, dialogue with society, education, energy, exhibition, hazard and risk, outreach, science communication
Zurich – May 12th, 2025
Folge dem, was deine Seele entzündet.
Dr Ulrike Kastrup ist Direktorin von focusTerra, dem Earth & Science Discovery Center der ETH Zürich. Dort widmet sie sich der Vermittlung wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse mit einem Fokus auf deren gesellschaftliche Relevanz. Besuchende können erfahren, wie Wissenschaft, Natur und die Erde funktionieren und warum sie im täglichen Leben eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Ihr Ziel ist es, die Menschen zu befähigen, ihre natürliche und menschengemachte Umwelt besser zu verstehen und darin verantwortungsbewusst zu handeln. Nach ihrem Doktorat in Geophysik an der ETH Zürich über Erdbeben wandte sich Ulrike den zahlreichen Facetten der Naturgefahren zu. Sie arbeitete u.a. an der United Nations University über Hochwassermanagement, am Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology über Frühwarnsysteme bei Busch- und Waldbränden sowie als Corporate Risk Managerin bei den Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen SBB. Ulrike war Mentorin für ETH-Doktorandinnen im Bereich Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und Kommunikation zur Förderung der Gleichstellung. Als Mitglied des Scientific Committee der Europäischen Umweltagentur (EEA) und im Board von Ecsite, dem Europäischen Netzwerk der Science Center und Museen, leistete sie einen Beitrag zur Wissenschaftspolitik. Von 2021 bis 2023 war sie Vizepräsidentin von Ecsite. Ulrike ist Mitglied des Bildungs- ausschusses der Europäischen Geophysikalischen Union (EGU).
Schlüsselwörter: Kommunikationswissenschaften, Geophysik, Geologie, Astronomie, Weltraumwissenschaften, Erdbeben, CO₂-Abscheidung / -Speicherung / -Nutzung, Kohlenstoffkreislauf, Klimaneutralität, Klimaangst, Klimawandel, Klimaextremereignisse, Klimaszenarien, Tarnung, CO₂, Kommunikation, demokratischer Prozess, Dialog mit der Gesellschaft, Bildung, Energie, Ausstellung, Gefahr und Risiko, Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, Wissenschaftskommunikatio
Zürich – 12. May 2025