ETH News

Four women and four men successfully applied for Starting Grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation via ETH Zurich.

The coloured Cube has been around for 50 years. Its inventor, Ernő Rubik, celebrated his 80th birthday this year. At the invitation of the ETH Department of Mathematics, he spent some time in Zurich to discuss the fascination of the Rubik’s Cube with researchers, students and children.

The first edition of the CAS ETH Machine Learning in Finance and Insurance course is coming to an end. Participants particularly value the programme’s combination of technology, ethics and practice with a view to making responsible use of artificial intelligence at their companies.

When the Earth’s ice masses melt, the way the planet rotates also changes. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now been able to show how climate change is altering the Earth’s axis of rotation and the length of the day. The speed of rotation, which was hitherto mainly influenced by the moon, will now also depend much more on the climate.

At its meeting of 11 and 12 July 2024 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed six professors. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor" two times and the title of "Professor of Practice" once.

At its meeting of 22 and 23 May 2024 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed twelve professors. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor" four times and the title of "Professor of Practice" three times.

Medical students at ETH Zurich build a gripper hand for elbow exoskeletons in a crash course lasting just one week. This course has now been honoured with the 2024 Kite Award, the ETH prize for particularly innovative teaching.

At its meeting of 6 and 7 December 2023 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed twelve professors and awarded the title "Professor of Practice" once.  

The first woman mathematics professor at ETH Zurich, Sara van de Geer, is retiring after 18 years at the university. For the moment, not a lot will change for the Dutch researcher – and she is fine with that.

Every year at ETH Zurich, hundreds of students learn the fundamentals of mathematics through lectures and exercises. Now, their lecturers are also setting them practise sequences on the computer. This interview highlights the potential of a new method.

At its meeting of 12 and 13 July 2023 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed ten professors.

Mathematician Siddhartha Mishra has been awarded this year's Rössler Prize for his research on solutions for highly complex flow and wave phenomena. He is being recognised for his contributions to faster and more accurate predictions of weather, climate and tsunamis, and for the computer simulations that enable them.

John von Neumann was one of the most important mathematicians and computer pioneers of the 20th century – and an ETH alumnus. He began his studies in chemistry here one hundred years ago. ETH Professor Benjamin Sudakov pays tribute to a mathematical legacy at a symposium.

At its meeting of 24 and 25 May 2023 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed nine professors and awarded the title of professor twice. At the same time, the Board also bid farewell to nine professors and thanked them for their service.

It doesn’t have to be a hurricane or a tsunami — even a simple running water tap induces a shock wave upon impact with the sink. Now, with the help of the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre's (CSCS) supercomputer “Piz Daint”, mathematician Siddhartha Mishra of ETH Zurich is working to overcome current barriers to simulating and comprehending highly turbulent flows.

At its meeting of 8 and 9 March and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed 14 professors and awarded the title of professor five times. At the same time, the Board also bid farewell to three professors and thanked them for their service.

He investigates the mysteries of shapes and curvature in higher dimensions: mathematician Alessandro Carlotto will receive the 2022 ETH Zurich Latsis Prize for his original research at the frontier of mathematics and physics.

At its meeting of 21 and 22 September 2022 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed four professors and awarded the title of “Professor of Practice” once.

At its heart, is mathematics an aesthetic discipline? Or what does it mean if someone finds a proof “beautiful”? And what does mathematical beauty say about physical connections?

In her research as a number theorist, Sarah Zerbes focuses on one of the oldest – but also most topical – branches of mathematics. Her work is closely tied to one of the great open mathematical problems, the solution for which carries a prize of one million dollars.  

At its meeting of 9 and 10 March 2022 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed ten professors and awarded the title of professor twice.  

Sylvain Lacroix is a theoretical physicist who conducts research into fundamental concepts of physics – an exciting but intellectually challenging field of science. As an Advanced Fellow at ETH Zurich’s Institute for Theoretical Studies (ITS), he works on complex equations that can be solved exactly only thanks to their large number of symmetries.

"Where the future begins" is the name of ETH Zurich's new image film. Based on six projects, it provides a look behind the scenes and highlights how ETH Zurich is tackling the big questions. The new film was produced by Seed, the same agency that realised the successful ETH trailer "Ready?" five years ago.

Collaboration between talented members of multidisciplinary teams provides the best foundation for innovative, useful and trustworthy applications of artificial intelligence. This approach has been demonstrated at a joint event by ETH Entrepreneur Club and the ETH AI Center.

For mathematician Joaquim Serra, sketches are a gateway to insight. Sketching out geometric relationships helps him unlock the abstract reasonings required to prove his theorems. On Sunday, he is being honoured for his research into partial differential equations.

Next week, the first European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics will take place in Zurich. The competition, which will have around 160 participants from 43 countries, is being organised by ETH students, who also came up with the original idea and are the driving force behind the event.

ETH Zurich is opening a new research centre for artificial intelligence. A core team of initially 29 professorships, a new executive director and a Fellowship programme aim to promote interdisciplinary research into this key technology.

Leading AI researchers from 30 top institutions across Europe are joining forces to form the European AI network ELLIS. Today, it celebrates its launch, with ETH Zurich as a founding member. The ETH Zurich ELLIS Unit is set on establishing the foundations for reliable and trustworthy artificial intelligence.

The fact that there are many different types of infinities is one of the big puzzles in mathematics. One mathematician who enjoys investigating which infinities can actually occur is Saharon Shelah, the guest speaker at this year’s Paul Bernays Lectures.

ETH researchers are using a new mathematical model to calculate a possible second wave of the pandemic in Switzerland. Even though such a wave would probably grow more slowly than the first without overloading hospitals, its death toll may turn out to be significantly higher.

400 secondary school students visited the winner of the 2018 Fields Medal, Alessio Figalli. You don't have to be a genius to do mathematics, said Figalli.

Julia Wysling combines a flair for numbers with social engagement to help society progress. The mathematician and former VSETH president simulates and optimises pedestrian flows.

At the sixth Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit, experts from the research community and higher education explored and reflected on how digitalisation is changing higher education and on nurturing of talent. ETH Zurich hosted the conference.

Fifteen talented young researchers from ETH Zurich are each to receive an ERC Starting Grant, which is more than for any year previously. This will result in a total of 23 million euros in European funding for ETH.

Alessio Figalli’s life has changed since he was awarded the Fields Medal one year ago. There’s now more intensive contact to schools and public life, and he has taken on new tasks in research. He masters them with a joyful outlook and optimism.

Are there limits to what computers are actually able to compute, and do quantum computers really solve more problems than conventional computers? Computer scientist Scott Aaronson will discuss these kinds of fundamental questions during the Paul Bernays Lectures 2019.

On the recommendation of ETH President Joël Mesot, the ETH Board appointed several new ETH professors and conferred the title of ETH professor on two researchers during its meeting on 22 and 23 May 2019. All the new appointments consciously connect their subject expertise with other disciplines.

The ETH Board has appointed or promoted nine new professors, six of them working in the fields of biology and biomedicine. For the first time, these candidates were proposed by the new ETH President, Joël Mesot. They include a high proportion of women: over forty percent.

What do liquid chocolate and the movements of satellites have in common? Jagna Wiśniewska is intrigued by such mathematical puzzles. Together with seven other women, she will show in the goMATH series of events at ETH Zurich why she is fascinated by mathematics.

Intelligent data science approaches are changing science, the economy and society. In a new interdisciplinary initiative, ETH researchers from the fields of mathematics, computer science and information technology are therefore increasingly dedicating themselves to the foundations of data science.  

ETH Zurich is fostering responsible air travel to help resolve the conflict between international research activities and climate protection. ETH units worked together to set targets for reducing flight-related CO₂ emissions.

ETH technology that flew to Mars, rubber duckies that travelled around Duckietown in self-driving taxis and moles that warn of tumours – for ETH, 2018 was marked by innovative flair and extraordinary research. We take a look back.

What can computers do better than people? Fields Medal winner Timothy Gowers is one of the leading mathematicians of our time. He doesn't avoid the big questions. On Wednesday, he will deliver the Wolfgang Pauli Lecture entitled “Why isn't mathematical research impossible?”

ETH researchers had excellent results in the issuing of ERC grants: they were able to win 10 Consolidator Grants in the amount of 24 million Swiss francs for their research.

Nature is a source of inspiration for the mathematician. That was a key message of the Fields Medal winner Alessio Figalli's honorary lecture on Monday. ETH Zurich celebrated the Italian's outstanding achievement with his PhD supervisors Luigi Ambrosio and Cédric Villani in attendance and held a debate about the growing scientific and economic significance of mathematics.

Siddhartha Mishra is the winner of the 2019 ICIAM Collatz Prize which is one of the most prestigious prizes awarded in applied mathematics.

Harvard mathematician Barry Mazur will talk about the unity and scope of mathematics on 11 September in his Paul Bernays Lectures at ETH Zurich. Variety enriches mathematics. This is why it is intriguing to enquire about a unification that combines different mathematical theories and methods.  

Alessio Figalli, Professor of Mathematics at ETH Zurich, was awarded the Fields Medal today for his outstanding contribution to mathematical research. The medal is to mathematics what the Nobel Prize is to natural sciences.

Alessio Figalli is a recipient of the Fields Medal for his research into optimal transport theory. Who is this individual? What characterises his research? In what way is mathematics a creative thought process? How are clouds, soap bubbles and crystals related to transport costs? The portrait of a mathematician who has made problem-solving his profession.

This autumn will see the launch of a new continuing education programme known as the Diploma of Advanced Studies ETH in Data Science. Quick decision-makers can apply now.

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

Ten professors from ETH Zurich – two of them female, and eight male – have secured prestigious ERC Advanced Grants. Three of them are receiving the coveted funding for the second time.

Science has to prove its relevance to society. ETH Zurich is therefore expanding its blog activities: in future, the Zukunftsblog will cover digitalisation and health alongside the topic of sustainability.

Five ETH Zurich researchers receive one of the coveted ERC Con-solidator Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). Their projects are funded with around two million Swiss francs each.

Richard M. Schoen is a bridge-builder between physics and mathematics, and has enriched the theory of relativity with his proofs and geometric methods. On Monday, ETH Zurich will award him the Heinz Hopf Prize 2017.

Mathematics is the basis for all the new opportunities opened up by digitalisation. Statistics professor Nicolai Meinshausen discusses the increasing importance of his field and the challenges it faces.

What do the smallest particles locked up in protons have to tell us about how the universe began and how it will end? This week, physics Nobel laureate David Gross will present three public lectures at ETH Zurich on the theme “A Century of Quantum Physics – from Nuclear Physics to String Theory and Beyond”.

Data collection and analysis is becoming increasingly important in today’s world. This is particularly true for the economic and societal development of poorer nations. That’s why mathematical education in these countries is in urgent need of improvement, as was shown at Wednesday’s Science and Development Forum.

Three ETH Zurich researchers have received ERC Consolidator Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). Their projects will each receive approximately 2 million Swiss francs in funding.

In Nymphenburg on Friday, the ETH probabilist Wendelin Werner was awarded the Heinz Gumin Prize, the highest-value mathematics prize in Germany. But what does this have to do with a journey, a public transport map, and human emotions?

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.

Six young scientists from ETH Zurich are to receive ERC Starting Grants. The European Research Council offers these grants to support talented young researchers as they embark on their academic careers. The selected projects come from several different ETH research areas.

Unsolvable problems, the nature of the infinite and the question of whether and how mathematics can be definitively substantiated – these issues are the focus of the Bernays Lectures 2016. The speaker for this year’s honorary lectures at ETH Zurich is W. Hugh Woodin, Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at Harvard University.

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 next semester, undergraduate students in four departments will be able to take their first-year exams in two separate blocks as part of a pilot project. For the first time, students will be able to sit exams after their first semester and will therefore find out sooner whether they are suited to their course of study.

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

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

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.

In the field of research into algebraic geometry, French mathematician Claire Voisin is something of a legend: in recognition of her scientific breakthroughs, the Department of Mathematics at ETH Zurich will be awarding her the Heinz Hopf Prize on 2 November 2015.

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.

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 ETH Institute for Theoretical Studies (ETH-ITS) has really picked up speed since this summer, with six fellows devoting themselves to researching fundamental theories as guests of ETH Zurich. We paid them a visit.

Good results at school – what do they take? Pressure to perform and special tutoring? Collaborative learning in a group? Elsbeth Stern, an ETH researcher on learning, is discussing the first of these questions today in a Treffpunkt platform debate, while the second is being studied by her team.

Chemist Detlef Günther is set to join the Executive Board. The ETH Board has elected the 50-year-old professor of analytical chemistry as the new Vice President Research and Corporate Relations. Günther is taking over from Roland Siegwart, who will return to his professorship at the beginning of 2015.

Proofs are the key method of mathematics. Until now, it has mainly been humans who have verified whether proofs are correct. This could change, says Russian mathematician Vladimir Voevodsky, who will present his ideas at the Paul Bernays Lectures at ETH in September.

Industry Day 2014: with passion and technical expertise, ETH professors presented their research topics to representatives from industry and SMEs – from big data and additive technologies to computer graphics. The interest of the companies was greater than ever.

The world's largest association for statisticians, the ASA, has appointed ETH Professor and RiskLab Director Paul Embrechts as a Fellow.

The machines that surround us in everyday life are not only becoming more intelligent, they’re also turning into gifted learners. To prepare the next generation of computer scientists for the challenges presented by this rapidly developing research area, ETH Zurich has joined forces with the Max-Planck-Institute for Intelligent Systems.

Michel Liès, CEO of Swiss Re, headed out into the big, wide world when still a young mathemati­cian. For the last thirty years he has been active on the international stage for the Swiss reinsurance company.

According to researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Miami, some of the largest ocean eddies on Earth are mathematically equivalent to the mysterious black holes of space.