December

A special year is soon coming to an end. In 2022, much has been researched, developed and invented at ETH Zurich. ETH News looks back on an eventful past year.

ETH Professor Klaus Ensslin spent 12 years at the helm of the National Centre of Competence in Research “Quantum Science and Technology”. As the programme prepares to wind down at the end of this year, we spoke to him about scientific breakthroughs and Switzerland’s role in quantum research.

In the ETH podcast two former students look back on how their time at ETH shaped them. Looking back, the impossible is somehow possible, you just have to take one step at a time.

The lander’s team has tried to contact the spacecraft twice without response, leading them to conclude it has run out of energy.

A new study by various Swiss universities shows that aerosols in indoor air can vary in acidity. This acidity determines how long viruses remain infectious in the air – with profound implications for virus transmission and strategies to contain it.

Ukrainian building materials professor Viacheslav Troian left his homeland with his family because of the war. At ETH Zurich, he is researching the role that recycled concrete might play in future reconstruction.

Researchers from Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and ETH Zurich have discovered how proteins in the cell can form tiny liquid droplets that act as a smart molecular glue. Clinging to the ends of filaments called microtubules, the glue they discovered ensures the nucleus is correctly positioned for cell division.  

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertiliser could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security.

A nature-based economy that regenerates ecosystems and stops species extinction? Christoph Küffer believes this is possible if we strengthen ecology in research and education and make ecological expertise a basic skill for society.  

Students from ETH and the Ghanaian university KNUST came up with some creative solutions for sustainable waste management at the Rethinking Waste summer school, where knowledge sharing and intercultural exchange topped the agenda.