ETH = love²
With the celebration of love and joy at Christmas fast approaching, this edition of “life” is dedicated to the topic of love. Where and how do couples meet at ETH? And what's their secret when it comes to finding love? In this edition, our cover story seeks to answer all of these questions. Happy reading and Merry Christmas!
“How happy and proud I will be when the two of us together will have brought our work on relative motion to a successful conclusion! When I look at other people, then I truly realise what you are!”, wrote Albert Einstein in 1901 to Mileva Mari?, who would later become his first wife. How much she actually helped him in researching his world-famous theory of relativity is still disputed. What is clear, however, is that had he not studied at ETH Zurich, Einstein would probably never have met his first wife – and might not even have gone on to publish the most well-known scientific formula, E=mc2. The two physicists met and fell in love when they both attended a lecture while studying at ETH between 1896 and 1900.
And even in today’s world, where dating platforms abound, most studies come to the same conclusion: the majority of couples meet through their circle of friends, during their time at university or at work. There are also more than enough opportunities to meet your future love at ETH, whether in the canteen, at a lecture, at a student party or in the lab – the letters we received in response to our appeal via “Internal news” and social media revealed all. Three of these couples who met and fell in love at ETH have shared their stories with us for this edition. As different as they are, they all have one thing in common: unlike Einstein and Mari?, their love will last forever – of that they are certain.
Spellbound
“So, who are you?”, said Ruchika, thinking to herself: “What a nerd!” Jan looked at her – and thought pretty much the same thing. This rather unromantic scene marked the beginning of the now two-year romance between Jan Nagler and Ruchika Sachdev. When they both arrived at ETH three years ago – she from the USA, he from Germany – they never imagined that a Halloween party one year later would change their lives completely. The postdoctoral student of biochemistry and the physicist had been introduced by friends a few weeks earlier. However, Ruchika, who arrived at the traditional Halloween party held at the Institute for Biochemistry dressed as a witch, did not recognise the guy in the devil costume straight away – and ended up sticking by his side until the party was over.
It was a week later, on their second date, that romance truly blossomed. Ruchika, who is of Indian heritage, and Jan, who is of German-Egyptian heritage, have been inseparable ever since – even outside of the University. “Our love of research is what unites us,” they explain. Just like their similar characters. Do cultural differences ever result in problems? “Sometimes,” says Jan, but they also keep things fresh. Ruchika also regularly makes things interesting by trying to catch Jan out with outlandish pranks or by planning romantic surprise getaways for him.
Both knew early on that theirs was a special kind of love – a forever kind of love. They decided to marry just one year into their relationship. And so this year, the happy couple did not attend the Halloween party at the Biochemistry Institute on 27 October, but instead were at the Dozentenfoyer of ETH Zurich – in order to celebrate their wedding.
Jan and Ruchika would also like to spend their future professional lives at ETH, perhaps even working on joint projects. “Jan develops theories and I am an experimental researcher. I would really enjoy testing his theories one day.”
First, though, the newlyweds are going off on honeymoon to India and will enjoy a second wedding celebration in Ruchika’s home country next year. Incidentally, their first impressions have not changed to this day: the two still affectionately refer to each other as “ETH nerds”.
A slow-burn romance
“This is Reto, he’s come to get the meat samples.” With those very words, Jana and Reto Schneider’s love story began around 20 years ago. Jana, working at the time as a laboratory technician at the Institute for Livestock Research, and agricultural student Reto had already crossed paths before at ETH. However, it was only when the then 24-year-old Reto needed to get samples analysed for his semester project that the two were formally introduced. The samples were being stored in a freezer at Tannenstrasse, where Jana worked. “I immediately noticed his lab coat – it was very unusual for a student at the time.” Only later did she learn that he had borrowed it from his father.
From then on, the two of them chatted briefly whenever they met. However, it was a year later that romance finally began to blossom when Reto and his fellow students organised a party in the LFW building in order to finance their diploma trip. Having arrived at the party before her friends, Jana struck up a conversation with Reto at the bar. “We realised at that point how comfortable we were talking to one another. We can still talk for hours over a glass of wine after work, and often lose track of time.” Their different daily work routines also ensure they have plenty to talk about: Reto is now a Team Leader for agricultural risks at a major insurance company and travels frequently. After working in various positions and taking a career break to raise their family, Jana returned to ETH, where she has worked as a laboratory technician in the Department of Plant Pathology for the past six years.
Is communication the secret of their successful relationship, which after 17 years of marriage and two children still manages to be fresh and exciting? “Definitely. And you shouldn’t set out to change the other person,” adds Reto, reminiscing: “Our interest in one another was definitely awakened after the party in the LFW building, and Jana invited me to her birthday party.” But when he was unable to attend, Reto soon made up for it by accepting an invite to Jana’s. Jana had planned for them to share a frozen pizza left over from the party. However, the pizza tasted so bad that neither of them could ever forget it. But on a positive note, it was that evening that Reto and Jana became a couple: “He stayed despite the pizza!”
First-year examinations lead to love
Zurich native Dragana hated beer and hoped she would never have to speak French again. The then 18-year-old initially wanted to make a swift exit when she spotted her new fellow students, one of them French-speaking Romain, sitting with two pitchers of beer in the Alumni Lounge. However, the charming chemistry student, with his twinkling eyes, persuaded her to stay.
It was soon clear to their friends that they belonged together – but Dragana and Romain were completely oblivious. With their dreaded first-year examinations looming, the two started spending more time together – albeit to study. For weeks, they crammed late into the night. “He already knew so much and was very organised. That impressed me,” recalls Dragana. The hard work they both put in eventually paid off: they were the only ones in their group of friends to pass. Naturally, the happy event called for a fitting celebration. But it was not just academically that they took the next step that day. Dragana plucked up all her courage and asked Romain directly: “Are you going to kiss me already?”
A lot has happened since that day: their relationship survived Romain’s exchange semester, they completed their respective ETH Master’s degrees and moved in together. Now the pair are back where it all began, studying together at ETH for their next big goal. “We are both really ambitious and have always pushed each other. Now we’re also going to get our doctorates in translational medicine and inorganic chemistry together,” states Romain confidently.
Even outside of the University, the pair complement each other perfectly: “I’m the brains and he’s the brawn,” jokes Dragana. A prime example of this is when they recently assembled furniture together: “Romain wanted to work separately, as he thought it would be quicker,” she recalls. However, the results left much to be desired: although Romain’s pieces were tightly screwed together, they were assembled incorrectly. Meanwhile Dragana had the opposite problem: her pieces were assembled correctly, but weren’t nearly secure enough. “This showed us, once again, that we work best as a team.”
The new issue of "life" magazine is out now
This article is the cover story of the latest issue of "life".
In this issue we also hear from Martin Roszkowski, the new President of AVETH, about his first few weeks in office and how he dealt with the media scrutiny surrounding the Department of Physics allegations. The second instalment in our Insight series on ETH’s main focus areas takes a look at medicine. "life" also reports on upcoming renovations to university catering facilities and many other stories.