News from the Executive Board 2022 / 2

Personnel changes to the Research Commission

Members of the ETH Zurich Research Commission are appointed by the Executive Board for a four-year term, with the option of a single additional term. Having served their eight years in office, the following members of the commission are stepping down as of February 2022:

• Kristina Shea (D-MAVT), Full Professor of Engineering Design and Computing
• Nicole Wenderoth (D-HEST), Full Professor of Neural Control of Movement
• Helma Wennemers (D-CHAB), Full Professor of Organic Chemistry
• Sean Willett (D-ERDW), Full Professor of Sedimentology

The following professors have been newly appointed to the commission:

• Whitney Behr (D-ERDW), Associate Professor of Structural Geology and Tectonics
• Dennis Kochmann (D-MAVT), Full Professor of Mechanics and Materials
• Kathrin Lang (D-CHAB), Full Professor of Chemical Biology
• Janos Vörös (D-ITET), Full Professor of Bioelectronics

Karsten Weis, Full Professor of Cellular Dynamics (D-BIOL), has been appointed to serve his second four-year term.

Every year, the ETH Zurich Research Commission evaluates some 300 research applications (ETH Grants, ETH Fellows, Career Seed Grants) and takes on a variety of other evaluation and advisory mandates. The commission also advises the Executive Board on fundamental issues relating to research policy.

Angela Frotzler elected to the Ethics Commission

The ETH Zurich Ethics Commission advises the Executive Board. Its main task is to review the ethical tenability of non-clinical research involving human participants as well as of clinical studies conducted abroad. The Executive Board has reelected nine members of the Ethics Commission for the term of office 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2026:

• Prof. Lutz Wingert, President (D-GESS)
• Prof. Michael Siegrist, Vice President (D-HEST)
• Prof. Jörg Goldhahn (D-HEST)
• Prof. Otmar Hilliges (D-INFK)
• Prof. Christoph Hölscher (D-HEST)
• PD Dr Marino Menozzi (D-HEST)
• Prof. Kai-Uwe Schmitt (D-HEST and BFH)
• Prof. Effy Vayena (D-HEST)
• Dr Peter Wolf (D-HEST)

The Executive Board has also elected a new member to the Ethics Commission, Dr Angela Frotzler, to serve from 1 February 2022 until 31 January 2026. Dr Frotzler has been Managing Director of ETH Zurich’s new technology platform – the digital Trail Intervention Platform (dTIP, see Internal news, 11 February 2021) – as well as Vice President of the Ethics Commission of Northwest and Central Switzerland (external page EKNZ) since October 2021. As an expert in clinical human research, her knowledge and experience make her an invaluable addition to the Ethics Commission.

The Executive Board takes this opportunity to thank those members of the Ethics Commission who are stepping down at the end of February 2022: Prof. William Taylor (D-HEST), member since 2015, and Dr Julian Mausbach (Faculty of Law, UZH), member since 2018.

New and reelected members of the Risk Management Commission

The Executive Board has elected the following two members to the Risk Management Commission for the term of office 1 February 2022 to 31 January 2026:

• Prof. Cornelia Halin Winter, D-CHAB (reelected)
• Prof. Georg von Krogh, D-MTEC (new)

Georg von Krogh succeeds Prof. Robert Finger, who chose not to stand for reelection after serving four years on the commission.

The Risk Management Commission advises the President and the Executive Board on matters relating to risk management, risk financing, and insurance. It regularly evaluates the risk, damage and insurance situation at ETH Zurich and supports the university’s various institutions in coordinating and organising risk management.

Further development of ETH reporting

In 2021, reporting across ETH Zurich was subject to an exhaustive evaluation. The focus was on the Annual Report, the Sustainability Report and Equality Monitoring.

The results of the evaluation were as follows:

• Reporting is not closely enough aligned with ETH strategy.
• The content covered in the three reports overlaps a great deal.
• The reports are too long (too many pages).

These results have been distilled into the following recommendations:

• Focus on a main report, which incorporates all strategically relevant topics.
• Reporting should be clearly aligned with ETH strategy.
• Launch an appealing landing page on the ETH website.
• Create abridged versions of reports.

These recommendations will now be addressed by three working groups; some of them will be incorporated into reporting for 2022 (to be published in March 2023). Reports for 2021 (to be published in March 2022) will follow the format used in previous years. The Executive Board has given its acknowledgement and approval.