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.
Switzerland’s glaciers are in increasingly poor shape. If greenhouse gas emissions are not cut drastically soon, they could cease to exist by 2100 – so says ETH Professor Daniel Farinotti in this ETH News interview to mark the first World Day for Glaciers.
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.
90 years of VAW: pioneering research on water and ice