Eric Bakker

Educated at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, Eric Bakker spent many years in the US and Australia before assuming his current position at the University of Geneva in 2010. “The academic environment allows one to dream in a playful manner, to work with brilliant young minds and to subsequently convince others of these ideas,” he says. “Key scientific progress comes from overcoming old boundaries of thought, and while stepping on other people’s toes is not always appreciated, it is this discourse that ultimately makes things move on.” Eric Bakker is the 2014 recipient of the Royal Society of Chemistry Robert Boyle Prize for Analytical Science.