© 2026 EPFL
It is with deep sadness that we mark the passing of our lab head, Professor Beate Jessel, on April 13, 2026. We remember her as a scholar whose work was guided by purpose and public service. Her research engaged some of the defining challenges of our time: landscape transformation, biodiversity loss, climate adaptation, open space futures, and the relationship between the built environment and living systems.
As a dedicated urban ecologist, landscape architect, and planner, she believed that research should be rigorous in theory and meaningful in practice, and she led the lab with that strong conviction.
Professor Jessel brought clarity, discipline, and depth to everything she engaged with. She often said that planning is thinking in alternatives, a principle that shaped how she approached both research and leadership. She challenged assumptions, encouraged careful thinking, and expected ideas to be developed with substance and responsibility. Many of us knew her as dedicated, and deeply committed to work that matters. In doing so, she sharpened our thinking and challenged the lab to cultivate a culture of rigor, responsibility, and practical relevance from and toward the discipline of ‘landscape development’.
Her sudden passing leaves a profound void in our community. We remain grateful for her leadership, her example, and the seriousness with which she approached both ideas and action. She will be remembered in the questions she helped define, in the standards she set, and in her lasting contributions to nature conservation, landscape planning, and more sustainable relationships between society and the environments we shape.
Professor Jessel’s influence endures in the work we continue, in the encouragement she gave, in the spirit she instilled, and in the alternatives she taught us to seek.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and all who knew her.