Water and ice are our passion at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW). We work in the domains of hydraulic engineering and structures, river engineering, Comp. Fluid- & Morphodynamics and glaciology. Our fields of activity are inland waters, hydropower, glaciers, natural hazards, river restoration, and river infrastructure. We contribute to the availability of clean and renewable electricity, to the protection against floods and cryospheric hazards, to sustainable watercourses and to the generation of new knowledge in the corresponding fields.
The Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering at ETH Zurich is one of the best in the world: in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025, ETH is ranked second in Civil & Structural Engineering, marking a steady rise from 9th place in 2021.
Glaciers around the world are shrinking at an alarming rate, threatening sea-level rise, water availability, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability. A new study led by researchers from ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel provides the most comprehensive projections to date, projecting the future of all 200,000 glaciers on Earth under the newest climate scenarios.
From rockfall to ice avalanches: Climate change is intensifying natural hazards in the mountains in many places, posing particular challenges for the Alpine region. This is the result of a study jointly coordinated by glaciologist Mylène Jacquemart and permafrost expert Samuel Weber from ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL. The international team has evaluated more than three hundred scientific papers from the past three decades.
With a varied programme and a public exhibition in the ETH main hall, this year's Energy Week from 4 to 8 November will not only highlight the challenges of the energy transition, but also present possible solutions. Three D-BAUG researchers are contributing to this year's programme: Professors Robert Boes, Eleni Chatzi and Adrienne Grêt-Regamey.
90 years of VAW: pioneering research on water and ice
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