ETH News

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

EPFL and ETH Zurich Presidents Martin Vetterli and Joël Mesot consider high tuition fees as in the English-speaking world to be the wrong approach to improving the financial situation of the two universities. Students should be seen as success factors for our country and not as cash cows.

ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne (EPFL) are intensifying their collaboration in artificial intelligence (AI). They have founded the Swiss National AI Institute (SNAI) with the aim of addressing challenges in AI by leveraging their broad scientific expertise. Funding for the related research programs has been secured.

Four researchers from ETH Zurich have successfully applied for Consolidator Grants funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Manu Kapur has been Director of the Singapore ETH Centre (SEC) since the beginning of the year. In this interview, he talks about which research programmes will be continued in Singapore, which new programmes will be created, and how researchers from across the ETH Domain can get involved in the SEC.

Jessica Droujko’s start-up, Riverkin, measures the water quality of freshwater ecosystems and helps quantify and respond to risks such as floods and pollution. Thanks to an ETH Pioneer Fellowship, her work is now picking up speed.

In its annual report 2023 published today, ETH Zurich looks back on a successful year. For some years, however, the budget has not kept pace with the growth in student numbers. The growth rates projected by the Federal Council in the 2025-2028 ERI Dispatch are therefore forcing the university to consider drastic measures in research and teaching.

Helping to shape the digital transformation, empowering brilliant young talent and more research for the health of children and adolescents: the ETH Foundation's annual report shows what the commitment of more than 2700 donors and partners has achieved for a wide range of topics in 2023.

Switzerland offers tremendous opportunities for technological and entrepreneurial innovation. Thomas Zurbuchen asks, “How can we generate the momentum needed to maintain an edge in the face of international competition – especially when times get tough?”

Hans Gersbach and Martin Wörter explain why Switzerland should not join the emerging international subsidy race. Sticking with the proven “Swiss way” is much more promising.

Raphael Steiner received his doctorate in mathematics at the age of 21. Now the Swiss National Science Foundation is funding his research at ETH Zurich in the field of graph theory. Among other things, this involves proving a conjecture that is over 80 years old.

Of the 13 scientists receiving an SNSF Starting Grant for projects at ETH Zurich this year, 11 are women.

ERC Synergy Grants have been awarded to Barbara Treutlein from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering and Nicolas Noiray from the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, together with their European partners.

ETH Zurich professors Mustafa Khammash and Marc Pollefeys are each recipients of a prestigious Advanced Grant currently awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, rather than the European Research Council.

On Friday, an era came to an end. For 20 years, Robert Perich helped to shape the development of ETH Zurich as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), restructured Finance & Controlling and developed it into an instrument of university management. It was important to him that the professorships and departments manage their funds autonomously and that ETH pursue a sustainable financial policy.

As of today, the ETH Zurich annual report for 2022 is available online. This is the first time it has been published in digital form. It provides an interactive tour through the different areas of the university, as well as describing how ETH functions and the contribution it makes to Swiss society.

Researching the origins of life, supporting outstanding students and providing a boost for the new meeting place for students and the entrepreneurial community: the current Annual Report of the ETH Foundation provides an insight into what the great commitment of over 2,900 donors and partners made possible at ETH Zurich last year.

Stefan Spiegel will head up Finance and Controlling at ETH Zurich starting on 1 April 2023. The 52-year-old Swiss manager and finance expert boasts extensive leadership experience in state-affiliated firms and stock-listed companies.

The LOOP Zurich research centre is creating a central platform for the exchange of health data between the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich and the four university hospitals. This will allow data to be utilised quickly and easily to the benefit of patients. 

The ETH physicist has received an SNSF Consolidator Grant worth CHF 1.75 million.

A grand total of 26 spin-offs were founded at ETH Zurich in 2022. Their businesses range from new cancer drugs and sustainable water bottles to digital mapping of urban traffic flows. The ETH spin-off family also welcomed three new unicorns and raised 1.2 billion Swiss francs in fresh capital.

A new study by ETH Zurich researchers reveals that if Europe fails to immediately invest 302 billion euros in climate-relevant infrastructure, it will not reach its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The LOOP Zurich research center combines expertise from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the four university hospitals in Zurich with the aim of developing more personalized therapies. Two new projects supported by The LOOP Zurich target urinary tract infections and obesity respectively.

Nine scientists are receiving SNSF Starting Grants for projects they plan to carry out at ETH Zurich starting next year.

ETH Zurich offers interested students from the seventh grade onwards courses in which they can deepen their knowledge of mathematical and scientific subjects. Since spring 2021, more than 2,000 students have taken part in the ETH Youth Academy courses.

The Swiss National Science Foundation has awarded Advanced Grants to make up for the loss of European support. Researchers at ETH Zurich did particularly well, with 6 of the 24 grants going to the university.

Translating research results for society requires resources. Either we pay someone to make it work – or we pay as a society if it turns out not to work.

Thanks to more than 3,200 donations from private individuals, foundations and companies, ETH was again able to accelerate pioneering research projects, support outstanding students and fast track strategic projects in 2021. The ETH Foundation’s 2021 annual report provides an overview.  

In this episode of the podcast, ETH researchers and the former Director-General of Research and Innovation at the European Commission talk about Switzerland's exclusion from Horizon Europe.

The past year has brought challenges on three fronts: coronavirus, climate change and links with Europe. While new variants of Sars-CoV-2 were the main concern during the second year of the pandemic, governments meeting at COP21 sought commitments for more coordinated efforts in combatting climate change. For Swiss universities, 2021 also marked a turning point, as they were shut out of the EU research programme Horizon Europe.

The breakdown for spin-offs in 2021: 25 new start-ups and about CHF 390 million in capital raised. Faster coronavirus tests, artificial coral reefs and automated insect breeding have found their place in the economy. The proportion of female entrepreneurs has increased significantly.

High-performance batteries are key to the comprehensive roll-out of e-mobility. ETH Pioneer Fellow Paul Baade is looking into how to manufacture them more cost-effectively.

Intense agricultural use is causing soil degradation in many areas. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a rapid test for measuring soil quality on site. This should allow farmers to monitor the health of their land themselves in the future.

ETH Zurich is committed to getting children interested in science and technology. For example, students from ETH Zurich and PHGR (University of Teacher Education Graubünden) jointly trained children for the robotics competition entitled "First Lego League". Two teams made it to the finals, one of which was received by ETH Rector Sarah Springman for a visit.

Which researchers excelled? What were the milestones in the development of our teaching? And what was the most innovative research? The annual report 2020 describes ETH's achievements and performance in a challenging year.

Accelerating pioneering research, facilitating the education of talented students and advancing strategic projects – in 2020, more than 2,300 individuals, foundations and companies made donations for research and teaching at ETH Zurich.

In 2020, 34 spin-offs were founded at ETH Zurich, with a striking proportion in the areas of AI and sustainability. Financing rounds totalling more than CHF 400 million and HeiQ's public listing bear witness to the market success of existing ETH spin-offs.

Well-trained, dedicated engineers from Africa will play an increasing role in industrial development in sub-Saharan Africa. This is what has inspired ETH Zurich to join forces with Ashesi University in Ghana and Swiss companies ABB, BarryCallebaut, Bühler, Lafarge-Holcim and Nestlé to co-present a new Master’s degree programme.

As well as generating more jobs on average than other Swiss start-ups, ETH spin-offs are also acquired more frequently. A decisive factor, according to University of St.Gallen’s comprehensive analysis, comes from the institutional support for entrepreneurship.

ETH students should have opportunities to realise their ideas. To meet this need, ETH Zurich is building a new centre for student initiatives and entrepreneurial talent at its Hönggerberg campus. The winner of the architectural competition is the EQUILIBRES project designed by ARGE Buchner Bründler Planer / Rapp Architekten.

ETH has once again been highly successful in the awarding of this year’s ERC Starting Grants for young researchers, with the European Research Council (ERC) approving a total of CHF 21.4 million in funding for 12 ETH project submissions.

ETH researchers have built an ultrafast chip that can speed up data transmission in fibre optic networks. The chip combines several innovations at the same time and, given the growing demand for streaming and online services, represents a significant development.

ETH scientists have responded to the coronavirus pandemic by developing a low-cost ventilator that should help to alleviate the shortage of such equipment in emerging and developing countries. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) is now offering start-up financing for the project enabling production to commence in Ukraine.

The Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems has established itself as an address for AI research and the promotion of young scientists. "We answer pressing questions that arise today," says its co-director Thomas Hoffmann.

The Basel Botnar Research Centre for Child Health is funding five research projects at ETH Zurich dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Moving images in the newspaper as in Harry Potter, or digital weather forecasts in the Bern dialect? New media technology is transforming journalism. The Media Technology Center at ETH Zurich supports media companies on their path to the future.

In 2019, the ETH Foundation received some 120 million Swiss francs from private individuals, foundations and companies. Donations and bequests promote new stimulus for future teaching and for launching pioneering research projects.

In the latest round of prestigious ERC Advanced Grants, ETH Zurich has secured two of the awards – one in the area of biology and the other in pharmacy. The grants will see ETH receive around 5.16 million Swiss francs in funding.

In view of the global Covid 19 crisis, the Botnar Research Center for Child Health is launching an emergency initiative to develop approaches to deal with the situation.

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.

The health care system places a greater emphasis on the treatment of diseases than the root causes of health. On the invitation of the Life Science Zurich (LSZ) Business Network, science, business and society recently discussed this challenge.

The Campus Hönggerberg 2040 project lays out a vision for the ETH campus of the future. At the same time, however, space is becoming increasingly scarce for ETH. Why is that? And how can we overcome this challenge in order to create inspiring workplaces?

In 2019, 30 new spin-offs have been founded at ETH Zurich. The predominant topic of this year climate change also reflected in the new spin-offs. A remarkable number is dedicated to the development of sustainable materials.

Automation and digitisation of industry and society, new approaches to sustainable chemistry, and the influence of bacteria on health – these are the topics covered by the three new National Centres of Competence led or co-led by ETH Zurich.

Security in the digital world is nowhere near as tight as we tend to think, which is why ETH researchers are looking to develop a fundamentally new security architecture for data exchange that people can trust. A donation from the Werner Siemens Foundation is helping to finance the project.

Four researchers from ETH Zurich have successfully applied for ERC Consolidator Grants worth EUR 2 million.

ETH Zurich is planning to step up its research activities in Singapore. It aims to extend its current Future Resilient Systems programme by five years and to launch a new programme, Future Health Technologies, in the coming year.

This year Renana Gershoni-Poranne was awarded a Branco Weiss Fellowship. The ETH chemist will use the research grant to design innovative compounds that can be used in future generations of electronic devices.

Two ETH Zurich projects and one with ETH involvement have been awarded one of the coveted ERC Synergy Grants. These EU grants offer up to EUR 14 million to promote interdisciplinary collaboration on research projects.

ETH spinoff FenX transforms industrial waste into a porous foam suitable for building insulation. Unlike other sustainable materials used for the purpose, this type of insulation is non-flammable and inexpensive to produce.

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.

In the second round of ETH+, the Executive Board’s funding instrument for new research ideas and exchange between disciplines and departments, five new initiatives were selected. These address a range of topics, from living materials to quantum science.

He was Switzerland’s junior champion in Super-G and dreamed of becoming a professional skier. Today he no longer regrets after that shattered dream: as an ETH Pioneer Fellow, Thomas Zumbrunn develops a new method to fix bone fractures.

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.

To mark its 30th anniversary, the W.A. de Vigier Foundation awarded twice as many start-ups as usual. Six out of ten prizes were won by ETH Zurich start-ups.

After completing a new round of capital investment on Thursday, the ETH spin-off GetYourGuide has now reached an estimated value of two billion Swiss francs. The travel guide platform is the university’s first spin-off to gain the celebrated status of a unicorn.

The ETH Executive Board has decided to issue more scholarships from the autumn semester 2019. It will also increase the amounts paid out. For the most financially disadvantaged, this will serve to offset the increase in tuition fees introduced by the ETH Board.

Coral reefs are suffering because of climate change. Ulrike Pfreundt aims to use ecologically sound 3D printed structures to create artificial reefs that provide new habitats for more resistant corals.

About ten percent of all cancer patients suffer from lymphoedema, which produces swelling in the legs, arms and breasts. The ETH start-up Dicronis has developed an instrument for simple and early diagnosis of this medical condition. The young entrepreneurs behind the concept have been nominated for the ZKB Pioneer Prize.

In its latest awarding process for the prestigious ERC Advanced Grants, the European Research Council (ERC) has selected five ambitious projects being conducted by ETH Zurich researchers who have been at the top of their respective fields for many years. As a result, ETH will receive approximately 12.5 million euros in research funding.

The ETH Foundation received donations and bequests to the value of CHF 130.1 million from the generosity of private persons, foundations and the business community.

As part of his master’s project, the chemical engineer Mario Stucki developed a breathable, environmentally friendly membrane for rain jackets. With his colleague Anna Beltzung, he has since founded the spin-off Dimpora to market the membrane commercially.

ETH Zurich and EPFL, in cooperation with their longstanding Swiss industry partners Bühler, Givaudan and Nestlé, are launching the Future Food Initiative. The initiative promotes innovative research approaches for sustainable food production. A select group of talented individuals will receive financial support made possible by CHF 4.1 million in donations from industry partners

ETH Zurich can look back on an exceptionally good year for spin-offs: 27 companies were founded in 2018, more than any year previously. Financing rounds totalling over CHF 170 million and the listing of Sensirion on the stock exchange bear witness to the market success of ETH spin-offs.

Thomas Van Boeckel is a Branco Weiss Fellow. His postdoctoral research at the Institute of Integrative Biology at ETH Zurich focuses on the overuse of antibiotics in animal husbandry in different parts of the world and potential measures to reduce their consumption.

Three researchers from the ETH Domain, including ETH professor Nicola Spaldin, and a scientist from Stockholm University have received an ERC Synergy Grant of EUR 13.9 million.

A donation of four million francs from Franke will allow the Student Project House to massively expand its offering in the years to come. The “ramp-up” phase kicked off yesterday with a small ceremony.

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.

In mid-2017, the European Commission launched a flagship project in the field of quantum technology. After the Human Brain Project and the Graphene Flagship, the Quantum Flagship is the EU’s third major research programme dedicated to promoting particularly forward-looking technologies in Europe (Future and Emerging Technologies). Among the sub-projects that have now been selected are six that involve ETH researchers.

To secure ETH’s leading position in the long term, the university launched the ETH+ initiative at the end of last year. The focus is on creating new professorships in future-oriented disciplines. Today, the Executive Board announced which projects will receive funding first and what is next for the initiative.

ETH Alumni Lorenz Meier and Kevin Sartori, founders of drone software company, Auterion exceed even Silicon Valley’s expectations for early investment “seed” funding to prove initial business model.

The Citizen Science Center of UZH and ETH is ready to hit the ground running. With the new Participatory Science Academy, it aims to bring citizen science to a new level. In this interview, co-director Mike Martin, professor of gerontopsychology at UZH, co-founder Effy Vayena, professor of bioethics at ETH, and managing director Rosy Mondardini explain the concept and future plans for the center.

Today ETH Zurich celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for its new building on the Schällemätteli campus in Basel. As from 2022, all the research groups at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering will be united under one roof, in close proximity to important partners.

Cryo-electron microscopy is one of the pioneering examination methods in biomedical research. Thanks to generous donations from four partners, ETH is now able to develop further in this area. The donations enable the acquisition of another device and the development of a new professorship.

From theories of gravity to molecular networks to refugee policy: four researchers in these fields from ETH Zurich have received an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council. The University has once again secured valuable European funding.

Lymphatic vessels actively contribute to the spread of cancer metastases from various organs. This unexpected realisation is the result of a joint study by researchers from ETH Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich as part of the research initiative Skintegrity.

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.

A team of ETH researchers led by Julia Vorholt and Jörn Piel have discovered new antibiotic substances in bacteria that colonise the leaf surfaces of a local wild plant.

On Wednesday, five Swiss start-ups received the W.A. de Vigier Award, which comes with prize money of 100,000 Swiss francs each. Two ETH spin-offs were among them. MyoSwiss helps improve the lives of people with limited mobility, while nanoleq is bringing a cable with unrivalled longevity to market.

At last week’s "Meet the Talent" event, donors to the Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme met with recipients to learn more about their research projects and directly see the effect of their support. 

ETH Zurich and Eawag researchers are developing a method to produce animal feed from biowaste products. This is one of 14 projects in the Engineering for Development programme funded by the Sawiris Foundation over the past decade and entering its next 5-year cycle.

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.

The ETH Zurich Foundation details pleasing results in its new annual report, showcasing important programmes and initiatives that were funded thanks to generous donations.

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?

ETH Zurich is launching the ETH Mobility Initiative together with the Swiss federal railways (SBB). At the WEF annual meeting, ETH and SBB announced a significant expansion of research and teaching in the field of mobility which is to include new professorships.

ETH physicists have developed a silicon wafer that behaves like a topological insulator when stimulated using ultrasound. They have thereby succeeded in turning an abstract theoretical concept into a macroscopic product.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new type of health-monitoring electrode that exhibits optimum adhesion to skin and can record high quality signals. Two young spin-off founders want to turn it into a marketable product as early as this year.

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.

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.