seems to be a successful model that is being emulated elsewhere in Cambridge, and a great legacy.
‘In addition, the Walters Kundert Charitable Trust has generously funded the Department’s Science Festival activities for some years. Eric’s pleasure, and mine, in seeing thousands of small children excited by wearing lab coats and safety specs, and doing real experiments in a real lab, will always remain with me. Bringing the excitement of science to generations of children – and their parents and grandparents – is another wonderful legacy of Eric’s generosity.
‘Eric was always warm, kind, informal, direct, and full of constructive, thoughtful questions about the future of the Department and our science. He was a true friend of Cambridge Chemistry, and he made a huge contribution to our success over the past decade. I am proud to have had the privilege of knowing and working with him.’
In 2008, Eric was admitted as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Through the Trust, Eric was also a loyal supporter of the College and was generous in his support both for Selwyn’s building programme, where a College hostel and a Meeting Room bear his name, and for student bursaries targeted at the most financially disadvantaged of Selwyn’s students. He also gave generously of his time and was a longstanding member of the College’s Investment Committee. Nick Downer, Bursar, says: ‘His experience, wisdom and counsel were much appreciated by the Committee and were a major contributory factor in the College’s strong investment performance relative to other colleges. He will be sorely missed.’
In 1994, Eric was granted Swiss citizenship and in 2006 he and his wife moved to Zurich. In his spare time Eric loved hiking and ski touring in the Swiss Alps. He tackled challenges including the week-long Haute Route ski tour from Chamonix to Zermatt, climbing to 22,000 ft on Aconcagua, Bhutanese treks and Arctic expeditions to Axel Heiberg Island and Ellesmere Island. In between these adventures, Eric had many hobbies including bird watching and collecting Roman coins from Akragas in Sicily. He will be remembered for his unrelenting enthusiasm and optimism, clear thinking, his encouragement and nurturing of people and for being a loving family man.
PART FOUR
Eric died on November 25, aged 66, following a hiking accident in Oman. He is survived by Katharina, their two children and three grandchildren.
We are grateful to his daughter Katya for this obituary; and for the input from Professor Jeremy Sanders and Nick Downer.
P N R Waterman (SE 1954)
Peter Waterman, who was born on 10 October 1933, attended King Edward VI School, Southampton from where he won an Exhibition to read English at Selwyn.
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