ETH News

The Chinese World Laureates Association (WLA) has awarded highly endowed science prizes for the second time. The prize for Life Science or Medicine goes to ETH professor emeritus Timothy Richmond, among others.

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.

ETH Zurich biologist Daniel Richter has developed a method that enables proteins to be linked to a drug molecule or biomarker with a high level of stability. He plans to use this method in the future to identify tumour cells and open the door to more effective cancer drugs.

The physics professor Ursula Keller has received the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist for her pioneering work in ultrafast lasers. Her theoretical models and experimental discoveries have repeatedly tested the boundaries of ultrafast laser physics.

The robotic explorer GLIMPSE, created at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, has made it into the final round of a competition for prospecting resources in space. The long-term goal is for the robot to explore the south polar region of the moon.

From diagnostics to treatment, the biochemical method developed by Daniel Richter, Edgars Lakis and Jörn Piel paves the way for a diverse range of applications in research and medicine. The researchers received the ETH Zurich Spark Award 2022 for their innovative solution.

Stanisa Raspopovic connects the digital world of sensors and electrical circuits with the nervous system and its cellular circuits. Now he is the recipient of the 2021 ETH Zurich Latsis Prize.

The Italian scientist Nicola Aceto will receive the Swiss Science Prize Latsis 2021 worth CHF 100,000. Aceto is an associate professor at ETH Zurich and is being honoured for his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of cancer research.

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.

An extraordinary year is drawing to a close. ETH News takes a look back at the highlights that emerged amidst difficult and unsettling times, at ingenious ideas, fascinating science and solidarity in action during – and despite – the coronavirus pandemic.

Why is gravity the most mysterious force of nature? Lavinia Heisenberg studies how the universe was formed, and how it is changing. She has now been awarded the ETH Zurich Latsis Prize for her outstanding achievements in the field of theoretical physics.

Ruedi Aebersold, a professor of molecular systems biology at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, is to receive the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist. Aebersold is being honoured for the part he has played in founding and advancing the field of proteomics, a branch of biology that is seen as the foundation of the personalised medicine of tomorrow.

Systems biologist Paola Picotti receives this year’s Rössler Prize for her groundbreaking work in the field of proteomics. She has developed a method of measuring structural changes in thousands of proteins at the same time, paving the way for personalised therapy.

Two researchers from ETH Zurich have been awarded USD 1.5 million each from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to explore the diverse symbiotic relationships between bacteria and other aquatic organisms.

Bernhard Schölkopf, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and Affiliated Professor at ETH Zurich, today received the Körber European Science Prize for his research in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Nicola Spaldin, Professor of Materials Theory at ETH Zurich, has been awarded the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist for her outstanding research into multiferroic materials. Her work has laid the foundations for new ultrafast and energy-efficient data storage technologies.

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.

Maksym Kovalenko is being recognised for his research on bright nanoparticles with this year’s Rössler Prize, which carries an endowment of 200,000 Swiss francs in research funding.

This year’s Ruzicka Prize has been awarded to Christof Sparr, Assistant Professor at the University of Basel. The 38-year-old ETH alumnus was honoured for his outstanding achievements in the development of new synthesis methods.

Sebastian Krinner is the first winner of the Lopez-Loreta Prize at ETH Zurich. The physicist has a clear goal: he wants to build a quantum computer that is not only powerful, but also works without errors.

Extraordinary and economical: civil engineer and architect Philippe Block develops novel ways of building for the architecture of tomorrow. He has now been awarded the Rössler Prize for his work.

This year the Ruzicka Prize goes to Maria Ibáñez and Chih-Jen Shih. The prize is awarded for the improved synthesis of materials that can generate electricity from waste heat and for the development of new LEDs with an unachieved color spectrum for the next generation of displays.

Computer scientist Olga Sorkine has won this year’s Rössler Prize for her work in the field of computer graphics. The prize comes with a research award of CHF 200,000.