Richard F. Hurrell was appointed Full Professor of Human Nutrition at the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition in April 1994.

Born in 1946 in Norwich, England, he studied Food Technology at the National College of Food Technology in Reading, England. In Cambridge he studied under Prof. Kenneth Carpenter and in 1975 he received his PhD in Nutrition. From 1978-​1994 he worked at Nestlé in Lausanne. During his time at Nestle he spent a year at the Medical Center of the University of Kansas, USA, with Prof. James Cook. Together with Dr. P.A. Finot, he was awarded the "International prize for modern nutrition" by Zentralverband Schweizer Milchproduzenten in 1981. At the Laboratory for Human Nutrition ETH Zurich he has extended his research area to the use of stable isotope techniques to measure mineral and trace element absorption in man, food factors influencing trace element and mineral absorption, food fortification, influence of diet and health (diabetes) and micronutrient (iron, iodine) deficiencies in the developing countries.