ETH News

For the first time, ETH Zurich invited the 100 best school girls from the Mathematical Kangaroo competition.

Dana Drachsler Cohen is an outstanding IT specialist at ETH Zurich. The Israeli researcher is working on the security of systems such as autonomous vehicles and cryptocurrencies.

ETH physicist Ursula Keller has received the European Inventor Award in Paris for her research into ultrafast lasers. It is Europe¡¯s highest accolade for inventors from around the world.

After 29 years of service, Paul Embrechts of the Department of Mathematics at ETH Zurich is being conferred emeritus status. What was his time at ETH like and what does he have planned for his retirement? ETH News presents a portrait of a researcher who has dedicated his life to studying risk.

¡°Everything begins and ends with family,¡± said ETH President Lino Guzzella at the Executive Board¡¯s drinks reception in 2017. But is it really possible to combine top-class research with a fulfilled family life? And can you have a career at ETH if you are a parent?

Lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important, which is why ETH Zurich is founding a School For Continuing Education. The school will focus on new opportunities in the fields of cybersecurity and data science, as well as customised continuing education, which is of particular interest to Swiss business.

Nenad Ban solved the atomic structures of the machinery protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells and in mitochondria. He has now received the Otto Naegeli Prize, one of Switzerland¡¯s most prestigious scientific awards.

The two ETH particle physicists Jannis Fischer and Max Ahnen are building a brain scanner that is ten times less expensive and much smaller than current models. Their ground-breaking work has earned them a place on the 2018 "30 Under 30" list published by the American business magazine Forbes.

ETH Professor Petros Koumoutsakos wanted to embark on a career at the United Nations. Today, he is one of the world¡¯s leading researchers in the simulation of fluid dynamics using supercomputers.

The ecologist Tom Crowther only recently joined ETH Zurich as assistant professor. Virtually his first achievement was to win a grant offering potential research funding of more than 17 million euros over the next 13 years. So, who is this rising star?

Chiara Gattinoni¡¯s specialism is the surface properties of materials. In ETH¡¯s Materials Theory Laboratory, her research focuses on bismuth ferrite, an extremely promising new material.

Olympic gold medallist and former Alpine ski racer Dominique Gisin reveals how sports shaped her life, how injury inspired new passion, and, ultimately, how sports bridges gender, geopolitical, and cultural boundaries in society.

ETH engineers Vincent Martinez and Luca Hirt are on a mission: to make cables more durable and reliable. This could potentially lead to unbreakable headphone cables, shaking up an industry known for its slow pace of innovation.

ETH Fellow Kunaal Sharma researches the relationships between elite politics and religious extremism. Working in crisis-hit regions of South Asia, he seeks out the causes of conflicts as well as pathways towards achieving greater tolerance.

25 spin-offs were founded at ETH Zurich last year. This equals the previous year¡¯s record level for new ETH spin-offs. Digital transformation is a prominent factor in these new enterprises, with many spin-offs emerging from the area of digital technology and data science.

Even when studying to be an architect, designing attractive buildings wasn¡¯t satisfying enough for Estefania Tapias. Today she is an expert in urbanisation and climate change, specialising in the research of outdoor thermal comfort.

In response to the proposals received from the President of ETH Zurich, Professor Lino Guzzella, the ETH Board resolved to appoint 10 professors.

At ETH Zurich, the Research Commission promotes young talents at the beginning of their careers as well as projects that open up new scientific horizons. Today this Commission is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Uwe Sauer, President of the Commission, explains how it is going to proceed.

Emma Wetter Slack will receive the ETH Zurich Latsis Prize 2017 at the upcoming ETH Day. The immunologist is working on an oral vaccine against Salmonella that could be given to animals. Her research could reduce the use of antibiotics in animal breeding.

Branco Weiss fellow Gabriele Manoli wants to enrich urban research with quantitative models and establish a new science dedicated to creating green cities. He has found the ideal location for this: Zurich.

The ETH Board appointed 5 new professors upon application of ETH President Lino Guzzella.

From app development to market analysis: talented students in the ETH juniors club have supplied expertise to companies for 20 years. A success for all involved.

The autumn semester begins today for 20,000 students, but for the first 100 students to study medicine at ETH Zurich, things kicked off even earlier. An orientation event was hosted to offer them a glimpse into the degree programme awaiting them, their lecturers, the university and their new colleagues.

In future, patients will be able to see the outcome of dental treatment even before the dentist starts working on their teeth. This is made possible by a ¡°virtual mirror¡± developed by Kapanu, an ETH spin-off.

What if you had the chance to complete your own research project at ETH over the summer and to join in discussions about the university¡¯s future? Two students, Katherine Bancroft and Siqi Liu, seized this opportunity, made possible by a new student programme at ETH¡¯s Department of Computer Science.

ETH spin-off Adaptricity has developed a piece of software that can be used to analyse the increasingly intelligent power grids. It will soon be put to the entrepreneurial test, with sales of software licences set to begin this autumn.

Simone Sch¨¹rle likes to get to the bottom of things. Since August, the micro- and nanotechnology expert and fellow of the??Society in Science??, has?been working as Assistant Professor?of Responsive Biomedical Systems at ETH Zurich to develop tiny machines for medical applications in the?human body.

Priyank Kumar became a materials scientist mainly by chance. His enthusiasm for complex simulations of material properties took him from India to MIT, and then to ETH. Europe now feels like a second home to him.

The ETH Board appointed new professors at ETH Zurich as part of its meeting of 5/6 July 2017, in accordance with the application submitted by ETH Zurich President Lino Guzzella.

At the age of 29, Professor of Computer Science Mohsen Ghaffari is one of the youngest professors at ETH Zurich. But in his native Iran he originally studied quite a different subject.

ETH Professor Raffaele Mezzenga and his senior researcher Sreenath Bolisetty have developed a filter membrane that efficiently removes heavy metals and other toxic substances from water. Strong demand for the new technology has encouraged them to set up a new ETH spin-off, BluAct Technologies.

Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani hasn't just written definitive reference works on urban planning and shaped a generation of ETH architects; he has also run numerous projects of his own. Now, the charismatic Chair for the History of Urban Design is about to retire.??

The ETH Board appointed 15 new professors upon application of ETH President Lino Guzzella.

A start-up formed by a group of IT specialists at ETH has come up with a simple and user-friendly way to enhance network security. The Futurae team has already won 130,000 Swiss francs start-up capital from Venture Kick.

Patrons of the Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme (ESOP) got to know scholarship students at yesterday's Meet the Talent 2017.

The ETH Zurich Foundation has an impressive year to look back on. As detailed in the foundation¡¯s latest annual report, a total of 500 new donors became supporters of ETH Zurich in 2016.

The French geologist Matthieu Galvez is one of the winners of the Branco Weiss Fellowship 2016. We discuss how he will be using this fellowship, how it will benefit him and why he chose a career as a researcher.

The ETH Board appointed three new professors and awarded the title of Professor to five recipients upon application of ETH President Lino Guzzella

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Geneva have succeeded for the first time in using a laboratory X-ray source to demonstrate how two highly fluorinated molecules change within a few quadrillionths of a second, or femtoseconds.

There were 25 spin-offs founded at ETH Zurich last year ¨C equalling the record number from 2015. The university¡¯s broad range of research topics is also reflected in these new companies.

Every five seconds, someone in the world dies from blood poisoning. Hemotune, a young start-up founded by ETH researchers, is developing a revolutionary blood purification system to address this problem.

Upon application of ETH President Lino?Guzzella the ETH?Board appointed a total of eight professors and awarded the title of professor to one individual.

Upon application of the President of ETH?Zurich, Professor Lino?Guzzella, at its meeting of 28/29?September 2016 the ETH?Board appointed nine professors and took note of the resignation of 3 professors and thanked them for their services.

ETH¡¯s sixth annual togETHer staff party was held on Friday, 26^th August. It was also a very special occasion for Lorenz Hurni, Professor of Cartography, who was presented with the Golden Tricycle award in recognition of his skill in fostering an optimum balance between work and family life. Arik Jung, President of the Academic Association of Scientific Staff at the ETH Zurich (AVETH), presented him with the award.

An ETH spin-off, xorlab, has ambitious plans: it has developed a unique IT security solution that provides more effective protection against hacker attacks. Now the product is about to undergo crucial trials in a real business environment.

Upon application of ETH President Lino?Guzzella the ETH?Board appointed a total of eight professors and awarded the title of professor to one individual.

From banking to ETH: Rui Brandao will take over as head of ETH¡¯s IT Services from 1 November 2016. The ETH Executive Board has appointed Brandao to succeed Reto Gutmann.

Last week the 11th "venture" startup competition drew to a close with an awards ceremony for the submitted projects. The winner in the Business Idea category was theMOFcompany, a startup from ETH Zurich, the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

The winner of the Max R?ssler Prize 2016 is Christophe Cop¨¦ret. The chemist focuses on the design of functional materials via a molecular approach, such as solid catalysts, derivatization of microelectronic devices, and developing new imaging techniques to visualise individual particles or track metabolites in the human body.

The ETH Board has appointed 18 professors at ETH Zurich in accordance with the application submitted by ETH Zurich President Lino Guzzella.

A principle may be simple, but in mathematics it can be the key to the solution of challenging problems. The pigeonhole principle is a good starting point for students who want to get to know the creative side of proofs.

Katharina Poiger Ruloff will take over as ETH Zurich Secretary General from 1 October 2016. The Executive Board has announced her as the successor to the current Secretary General, Hugo Bretscher.

This Tuesday, ¡°Meet the Talent 2016¡± will give patrons the chance to get to know scholarship students and learn more about their research projects. Rector Sarah Springman explains what she is hoping for from the event.

A Nobel prizewinning idea bears entrepreneurial fruit: an ETH Pioneer Fellow is applying knowledge about G-protein-coupled receptors to market a novel process for testing drugs.

Lorenz Meier, a doctoral student in computer science at ETH Zurich, created the PX4 software that is already being used to pilot many drones. Now, one of the world¡¯s biggest electronics manufacturers has adopted the software as standard.

Seven promising start-ups, over 100 domestic and international investors, and four hours to shine: this was the first Investor Summit at Zurich Airport. To see how start-ups use the event to their benefit, ETH News accompanied the team from ETH spin-off Archilogic to the event.

ETH Zurich is preparing up-and-coming researchers for an international career in science and industry. In March 2016, it will launch a career-focused funding mechanism that will allow junior researchers to conduct their own research project early on. Vice President Detlef G¨¹nther explains why, in an interview with ETH News.

25 spin-offs were founded at ETH Zurich last year ¨C more than ever before in a single year. The new record highlights the benefits of supporting young talent early on and illustrates that ETH¡¯s own support programme is paying off.

The Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme offers support to the best incoming master¡¯s degree students. Globe meets three talented individuals at various stages of their journeys and gives an insight into what the programme means for them.

Upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Lino Guzzella, the ETH Board appointed a total of four professors, and awarded the title of professor to two individuals.

Every Wednesday evening the art of free speech is exercised in the ETH Zurich Students' Debate Club. Participants meet to debate about god and the world. Club President Jonathan Feldstein explains what people can learn through argumentative manoeuvring.

Upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Professor Lino Guzzella, at its meeting of 23/24 September 2015 the ETH-Board appointed 12 individuals as professors.

Nicola Spaldin, Professor for Material Theory at ETH Zurich, is being awarded the K?rber Prize in Hamburg today. In this interview, the British scientists explains what fascinates her about materials science and why she loves unanswered questions.

Three computer science students at ETH Zurich want to bring to market a bicycle made of bamboo at a price of no more than 500 Swiss francs. The first batch of bikes is now in production.

Less time, fewer errors and simpler to perform. That is what is promised by this new approach to analysing proteins in the lab. Tina Hovestadt received a Pioneer Fellowship from ETH Zurich for this project.

At its meeting of 8/9 July 2015, the ETH Board appointed six professors at ETH Zurich in accordance with the application submitted by ETH Zurich President Lino Guzzella.

On Monday, the ¡°venture¡± start-up competition celebrated its tenth run. Six ETH Zurich companies were among this year¡¯s finalists, with Pregnostics winning the prize for best business idea.

This year¡¯s R?ssler Prize has been awarded to David J. Norris. The materials engineering professor in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering researches nano-optics at the interface of chemistry, materials and engineering.

The Language Center of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich has developed a new, nine-month intensive German course. This highly practical course aims to open the way for better integration of doctoral students from outside Switzerland. The graduates of the first course have plenty of success stories to share.

Johan Robertsson is a professor of geophysics at ETH Zurich, a specialist in seismic wave propagation, an amateur historian and an outdoor enthusiast. For his work in development of a new method of acquiring seismic data, he has now been honoured with the ¡®New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons¡¯ Eni Award, the world¡¯s most prestigious prize in the field of energy sector.

At its meeting of 20/21 March 2015, the ETH Board appointed 12 professors at ETH Zurich in accordance with the application submitted by ETH President Lino Guzzella. ?

The Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC) is celebrating its tenth anniversary. In both its research and teaching, the department explores the interfaces between technology and economics. Graduates with in-depth knowledge in these areas are in high demand on the labour market.

Professor Ursula Keller¡¯s area of expertise is ultrashort laser pulses. Together with her group at ETH, she is currently developing new metrology techniques and novel semiconductor lasers that might well find application in every household. Ursula Keller will be in California on 13 May 2015 to receive the renowned OSA Charles H. Townes Award in recognition of her achievements.

When researchers from abroad move to ETH Zurich, their partners often try to find a new job in Switzerland as well. In order to be able to help them more with their job search, ETH Zurich has recently joined the International Dual Career Network (IDCN).

The biologist D?rte Bachmann receives the Hans Vontobel Award 2015. In her doctoral thesis, Bachmann examined why biomass production of diverse grassland is larger than that of less diverse grassland. The findings captured people's attention.

Teaching at ETH Zurich is breaking new ground: in one teaching project, students are solving real tasks ¨C and those tasks are set by businesses, not by the university. Another project looks at how lively debate can help participants to develop solid arguments.

Teaching at ETH Zurich is breaking new ground: in one teaching project, students are solving real tasks ¨C and those tasks are set by businesses, not by the university. Another project looks at how lively debate can help participants to develop solid arguments.

The ETH Board appointed six professors at ETH Zurich as part of its meeting of 4/5 March 2015, in accordance with the application submitted by ETH Zurich President Lino Guzzella.

Adolf Muschg, emeritus professor of ETH Zurich, received the Swiss Grand Prix Literatur award for his complete literary works on Thursday. Federal Councillor Alain Berset honoured the writer at the ceremony of the Swiss literary awards.?

The new MSc programme in Science, Technology and Policy offered at ETH Zurich aims to equip natural scientists, engineers and architects with the necessary skills in order to provide academic support for and help shape political, economic and social decision-making processes.

Vartan Kurtcuoglu crosses the border between medicine and mechanical engineering: at the University of Zurich, the ETH Zurich graduate develops medical computer models for the heart and kidneys. Anyone who studies under him soon learns what to be aware of in interdisciplinary projects.

On Tuesday evening, 13 upcoming young scientists presented their projects at the Falling Walls Lab in Zurich. ETH doctoral student Mattias Ivarsson was declared the winner and has been awarded the chance to present his winning molecule at the Falling Walls Lab Finale in Berlin on 8 November.

Do future civil engineers at ETH Zurich really learn what they will need in their working lives? And what will their training look like in future? A panel with representatives of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering and industry discussed these topics.