December 2018

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.

ETH Zurich scientists have shown that statins, one of the most commonly prescribed classes of pharmaceuticals, reduce beneficial brown adipose tissue. But this is no reason to demonise these drugs, the researchers insist.

Concern over the influence of machine learning in architecture is exaggerated, argues Adam Jasper. The challenge is not to oppose quantification, but to take charge of what is quantified.

ANYmal, a robot developed at ETH, can see and hear, and even open doors. An international research team is now working to ensure the robot can function in extreme conditions – a mission that takes them to the labyrinth of drains and tunnels below Zurich.

Outgoing President Lino Guzzella led ETH for four years. We asked politicians, business representatives and ETH members what he was like as a president and how he shaped our university.

Herbert Bay has done what others only dream of: the ETH alumnus sailed a yacht halfway round the world with his family. Now, he is immersing himself in foreign worlds on a professional basis – at Magic Leap, a company specialising in augmented reality.

Scientists look to fossils and evolutionary trees to help determine the rate of evolution – albeit with conflicting results. A new model by ETH researchers has helped to resolve these contradictions.

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.

To stop climate change, saving energy matters less than switching to renewable energy. Indeed, says Anthony Patt, it isn’t clear whether saving energy makes much of a difference at all.

Car sharing with autonomous vehicles could improve cities in many different ways. Singapore is taking a pioneering role, working with ETH researchers to explore the potential of personalised, electrified and automated public transport.