Seven professors appointed
At its meeting of 3 and 4 March 2021 and upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed 7 professors. In addition, two scientists were awarded the title of professor.
Appointments
Professor Catherine De Wolf (*1989), currently Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Circular Engineering for Architecture in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. Catherine De Wolf conducts research on efficient, environmentally compatible construction processes. Her work has a particular emphasis on the processing and recycling of waste products. In her new post she will build on synergies with the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering and deepen links with the Department of Architecture, the Department of Engineering Sciences at Empa, and NEST, the modular research and innovation building of Empa and Eawag.
Professor Peter Hintz (*1991), currently Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, as Associate Professor of Mathematics and Physics in the Department of Mathematics. Peter Hintz is working on partial differential equations that arise in Einstein’s general relativity theory. He has made important contributions to establishing stability proofs for Einstein’s equations, particularly the stability of slowly rotating black holes in cosmological space-time. His teaching and research will introduce significant new ideas and methods to the disciplines of mathematics and physics at ETH Zurich.
Dr Johanna Jacobi (*1983), currently Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern, as Assistant Professor of Agroecological Transitions in the Department of Environmental Systems Science. Johanna Jacobi’s research focuses on sustainability and socio-ecological resilience in agriculture and on issues relating to political ecology. With her appointment, the Department of Environmental Systems Science is strengthening the intra- and interdepartmental links between the research fields of sustainable agriculture and food systems, and areas connected with democracy research and governance.
Professor Mutian Niu (*1989), currently Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Animal Nutrition in the Department of Environmental Systems Science. Mutian Niu’s main area of research lies in quantifying and reducing environmentally relevant emissions from livestock farming, and is of considerable help in making the sustainable production of animal source foods more socially acceptable. His professorship is attached to the AgroVet-Strickhof Education and Research Competence Centre and will make a substantial contribution to this cooperation between ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the Canton of Zurich.
Professor Vincent Tassion (*1986), currently Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, as Associate Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics. Vincent Tassion's research focuses on phase transitions in models of statistical physics. In recent years he has won multiple awards (including an ERC Starting Grant 2020) for his work in this field, and has published several groundbreaking articles that solve longstanding problems and open up new perspectives. In appointing a top scholar who has gained wide recognition at a young age, the Department of Mathematics is confirming its commitment to the study of probability theory.
Promotions
Professor Randall J. Platt (*1987), currently Tenure Track Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich and the University of Basel, as Associate Professor of Biological Engineering in the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering. Randall Platt will continue to hold a dual professorship with the University of Basel. His main research interest is the analysis of genetic defects with the potential to cause disease. The relevance of his research to the pharmaceutical industry has already led to successful partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies. He has won a number of awards, including the 2019 Latsis Prize from ETH Zurich and an ERC Starting Grant.
Professor Thomas Willwacher (*1983), currently Associate Professor at ETH Zurich, as Full Professor of Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics. Thomas Willwacher’s research covers various aspects of algebra, geometry and topology and has strong links with mathematical physics. He has obtained a series of innovative findings at the point where these fields intersect. In particular, he discovered an unexpectedly close relationship between graph cohomology and the Grothendieck-Teichmüller group. His work has won several awards (including an ERC Starting Grant in 2016) and has been published in leading academic journals.
Awarded of the title of Professor
Dr Sebastian Huber (*1977), currently Senior Scientist in the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich. Sebastian Huber’s research centres around topological mechanics and the foundations of quantum statistical many-body systems. He is a distinguished researcher who has won numerous awards (including an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2018) and conducts pioneering work on condensed matter, a field in which he applies machine learning to the theoretical investigation of quantum phase transitions.
Dr Fernando Perez Cruz (*1973), currently Chief Data Scientist at the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) and Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich. Fernando Perez Cruz is an internationally acclaimed researcher in the area of data science and machine learning. His key role at the SDSC includes managing and coordinating interdisciplinary research projects and supporting research throughout the ETH Domain in areas such as personalised medicine, climate research, architecture and digital humanities.
Departures
Professor Ernst Hafen (*1956), currently Full Professor of Molecular Developmental Biology in the Department of Biology at ETH Zurich, is to retire at the end of July 2021. Ernst Hafen became a full professor at ETH Zurich in 2005 and served as President of ETH Zurich from 2005 to 2006. After stepping down from the latter post, he continued working as a professor at the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology (holding a dual professorship with the University of Zurich). He has won prestigious awards for his research into genes and signalling pathways that play an essential role in growth control and metabolic processes. In 2014 the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute rated him one of the 99 most influential contemporary thinkers in the German-speaking world.
Professor Michael Kreuzer (*1956), currently Full Professor of Animal Nutrition in the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zurich, is to retire at the end of July 2021. Michael Kreuzer joined ETH Zurich as Full Professor of Animal Nutrition in 1994. His main areas of research are the impact of animal nutrition on climate change, as well as global nutrition and food quality. The offices he has held at ETH Zurich include Vice-President of the North-South Centre from 2007 to 2012, and Dean and Study Delegate of the Department of Agriculture and Food Science from 2004 to 2006. He is also a member of the executive board of AgroVet-Strickhof and serves on a number of scientific committees.
Professor Michele Parrinello (*1945), Full Professor of Computational Science in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH Zurich, has retired with retroactive effect as of 31 December 2020. Michele Parrinello has been a full professor at ETH Zurich since 2001, holding a dual professorship with the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) since 2011. His research has a focus on molecular structures and properties. He is one of the foremost authorities and most frequently cited scientists in his area of expertise and has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Marcel Benoist Prize (often referred to as the “Swiss Nobel Prize”) in 2011 for his work on computer-aided modelling in the field of molecular dynamics.
Professor Erich J. Windhab (*1956), currently Full Professor of Food Process Engineering in the Department of Health Sciences and Technology at ETH Zurich, is to retire at the end of July 2021. Erich Windhab joined ETH Zurich as a full professor in 1992. His research has a particular focus on fluid and powder technological processes for functional microstructuring of multiphase systems. He has pursued several interdisciplinary projects with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and within ETH Zurich, and has held responsible positions on a number of professional and academic bodies. The latter include serving as president of the Swiss Rheology Group/Polymer Society, as director of the Swiss Competence Centre of Rheology and as a member of the European Academy of Sciences.