Archive 2013

The Heinz Hopf Prize 2013 is being awarded to the two mathematicians Yakov Eliashberg from Stanford University and Helmut Hofer from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. The prize is endowed with CHF 30,000 and is awarded by the Department of Mathematics of ETH Zurich.

At the traditional ETH Day, Rector Lino Guzzella explained the special role that ETH Zurich plays in Switzerland’s complex system of research and education. In his official speech, Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann outlined what he expects from ETH Zurich.

A set of new building technologies makes it possible that buildings can be heated and cooled without the emission of CO ₂. An alliance of Swiss companies under the banner of 2SOL aims to market the core components developed at ETH.

This year the European Research Council (ERC) has awarded ERC Advanced Grants to five researchers at ETH Zurich. Each researcher will receive between 3 and 4 million Swiss francs for his project. This means that around 16 million Swiss francs will make their way to the ETH Zurich in this round of awards.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an internal combustion engine that emits less than half the CO ₂ compared to a regular engine without compromising performance. This natural gas-diesel hybrid engine is based on a system of sophisticated control engineering.

In an international collaborative project, scientists have recorded the times, places and concentrations of oceanic plankton occurrences worldwide. Their data has been collected in a global atlas that covers organisms from bacteria to krill.

This year's Rössler Prize has been awarded to Olivier Voinnet, Professor of RNA Biology in the Department of Biology, ETH Zurich. The Frenchman receives the CHF 200,000 research prize for his groundbreaking discoveries in the field of molecular and cell biology.

Professor Stefan Wiemer is the new Director of the Swiss Seismological Service (SED). The Executive Board of ETH Zurich has appointed the 46-year-old, who has been interim Director since January 2012, to succeed Professor Domenico Giardini.

Physicists at ETH Zurich have developed a quantum simulator that allows arranging atoms in a way that they mimic the behaviour of electrons in magnetic materials. The experiment opens up the possibility of systematically studying poorly understood properties of novel materials. The fresh insights might lead to designs for new magnetic materials.