The year 2024 at ETH Zurich
2024 saw ETH Zurich once again confirm its position as a global leader in research and teaching – be it in the field of biology, energy sciences or space research.
In 2024, ETH Zurich not only made an international name for itself in cutting-edge research; since September, the university has also been training around 30 students enrolled on the new Master's in Space Systems. Their skills will be in demand in the thriving space industry. And because of the increasing interest from earth scientists to study the cosmos, the ETH Department of Earth Sciences now has a new name; it is now called the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (D-EAPS).
Researchers from this department have been investigating how nitrogen, carbon and other building blocks of life arrived on Earth. The theory is that they rained down on our planet as cosmic dust and set prebiotic chemistry in motion.
Looking at the history of the earth, ecologists and geologists have unravelled the long-term effects of relatively rapid climate change, concluding that it takes longer than previously assumed for a new climate equilibrium to be established, with the plant world taking millions of years to recover. They also discovered that today's climate change is also altering the position and movement of the Earth's rotational axis. A day on Earth is getting marginally and gradually longer.
AI and supercomputers as assistants
The Biosystems Department has seen several improvements over the years, but its path to development culminated in spring this year, when ETH Zurich opened its new teaching and research building in Basel. This was followed in June by the opening of the new Gloria Cube building in Zurich, used for teaching, research and development in medicine. And in September, ETH Zurich inaugurated the new Alps supercomputer in Lugano. One of the fastest computers in the world, it is geared towards the needs of artificial intelligence (AI).
ETH Zurich and EPFL have intensified their collaboration in artificial intelligence, together founding the Swiss National Institute for AI.
AI helps chemists to quickly and easily generate active pharmaceutical ingredients based on a protein's three-dimensional surface. The new process could revolutionise drug research. One form of AI detects a life-threatening disease of the pulmonary arteries in newborns. While another can speed up the diagnosis of endometriosis in women. The ETH spin-off Scanvio is developing an algorithm that can be used to analyse ultrasound images of the womb on an automated basis.
In the meantime, a hydrogel implant developed by researchers at ETH Zurich and Empa prevents endometriosis from developing in the first place. The implant prevents the backflow of menstrual blood into the fallopian tube.
Other scientists have uncovered how colorectal cancer cells colonise the liver, with their findings helping to develop treatments that prevent the metastasis of colorectal cancer. Systems Biology researchers, in their search for active substances to fight against glioblastoma, have found that a common antidepressant can kill tumour cells in the dreaded malignant brain tumour – at least in the cell-culture dish. ETH researchers have also discovered that fat cells have a memory. In doing so, they have deciphered a cause of the yo-yo effect, which makes it difficult to lose weight.
New sustainability solutions
To mitigate man-made climate change, one solution scientists discovered was to filter CO2 out of the atmosphere and store it underground. ETH researchers have calculated that this is twice as expensive than hoped. Chemical engineers have now developed a new CO2-capturing solution. It is based on CO2-binding molecules that react to light and is more energy-efficient than previous methods.
The same researchers are helping lithium metal batteries become EV heroes, developing a new electrolyte fluid for them which can potentially significantly increase the range of electric vehicles.
Architects are also trying to avoid CO2 emissions at source and are increasingly relying on natural materials. They have developed a robot-assisted 3D printing process that shoots out clay balls to create structural components like walls and columns.
Engineers have developed a thermal trap that can absorb concentrated sunlight and deliver heat at over thousand degrees Celsius. Such extreme temperatures are needed for steel production and other industries. However, storing surplus solar energy remains a challenge. One possible storage medium is hydrogen. To this end, ETH chemists have developed a storage system made of crude iron ore to store hydrogen safely and for long periods.
Urban mining with whey
Chemists have developed a method to efficiently recover rare earth metals from electronic waste. The huge amount of energy and chemicals required for recovery have prevented these elements from being recycled on any realistic scale until now. The discovery received the Spark Award 2024, ETH Zurich's prize for the most promising invention of the year.
Other ETH researchers have also been harvesting precious metals such as gold from electronic waste, using a sponge derived from whey proteins. Interestingly, the same whey proteins can be processed into a gel to break down alcohol in the gastrointestinal tract and prevent alcohol poisoning.
Snake robots and quantum computers
ETH physicists have come closer to their goal of building a quantum computer. They spent the year capturing ions with static electric and magnetic fields and performing quantum operations on them. ETH computer scientists have written a superfast flow algorithm that is, mathematically speaking, impossible to beat. It computes the maximum transport flow at minimum cost for any kind of network – be it rail, road or electricity.
The Autonomous Systems Lab has developed a kind of snake robot, whose body can extend up to a length of 100 metres. Equipped with a camera, microphone and loudspeakers, Roboa will help in rescue operations in the future by searching areas inaccessible by people, search dogs and other robots.
Engineers have developed a robotic leg propelled by a completely new drive system using artificial muscles, enabling rapid movements and jumping. Other researchers have succeeded in detecting heavy precipitation events directly with GPS data. The results of their study could significantly improve meteorological monitoring and forecasting.
New wheelchairs and a detective app
Sports scientists and mechanical engineers are improving how runners train. With the help of an air shield, athletes can train without air resistance and at top speed. One in three ETH students who travelled to the Olympic Games in Paris trained with the device.
ETH organised a completely different kind of competition at the end of October. The Cybathlon saw 67 teams from 24 countries compete in an event that aims to promote assistance technologies for people with disabilities that are suitable for everyday use. This technology could make the lives of wheelchair users easier in the future. Biomechanical engineers have developed a wheelchair that can be steered by users shifting their weight on its innovative movable backrest. They are working with a new start-up and hope to bring it to market soon.
Other inventions include biosensors that detect leaks in internal organs after surgery, a new type of stiff yet high-damping material and a smartphone app which can be used to check the authenticity of documents and objects.
ETH Zurich remains one of the world's leaders in research, teaching and innovation. But for two decades, the funds awarded to ETH have not matched the rise in its student numbers. As a result, ETH President Joël Mesot and EPFL President Martin Vetterli want students to be seen as a success factor for Switzerland, not as cash cows, calling for a national debate on higher education funding.
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