Professor Aebischer is President Emeritus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).
Robert Blasiak’s research focuses on stewardship within the seafood industry and issues surrounding marine genetic resources Blasiak is a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, where he focuses on aspects of international cooperation, the sustainable management of ocean resources, and ocean stewardship. His recent work has focused on the international negotiations around biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), particularly with regard to marine genetic resources.
Before joining the SRC, Robert was a research fellow in the Laboratory of Global Fisheries Science at the University of Tokyo and a communications officer at United Nations University, where he worked with the Satoyama Initiative. He has previously been a senior research fellow with the Nippon Foundation NEREUS Program, as well as a visiting researcher with the University of Tokyo and the United Nations University. He is currently leading collaborative publications with the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, the United Nations Regular Process (World Ocean Assessment), the United Nations Global Compact Sustainable Ocean Business Action Platform, and the Future Earth One Future on Earth report.
Blasiak is a German-English translator, and is currently translating the memoirs of Dr. Franz Doflein, one of the first marine ecologists to travel to East Asia (in 1905) and conduct research on the deep-sea fauna and flora off the eastern coast of Japan.