News
Balancing act between the circus ring and the lecture theatre
At 40, Chenying Lu from China realised her dream of earning a Master’s in architecture. As a teenager, she had planned to become a circus performer and saw university as a future goal she could always return to. In the video, she explains how she balanced her passion for acrobatics with her studies.
ETH Zurich is building upwards to accommodate teaching, the library and computer science
A new teaching and research building, approximately 80 metres high, is to be constructed on the Hönggerberg campus starting in 2028. The building will provide much-needed space for computer science, the library and teaching, and is also set to become a public meeting place.
Devastating year for Switzerland’s glaciers
Glaciers are melting faster than ever before in Switzerland. New measurement data shows that Swiss glaciers lost more than 5 per cent of their volume in 2026, following a winter with little snow and record-breaking summer heatwaves.
“With AI, we often confuse behaviour with intention”
Do AI systems really deceive us, or are we simply misinterpreting their behaviour? Anna Hedström, a researcher at ETH Zurich, studies AI risks, misplaced certainty and the limits of contemporary AI safety research. She also discusses how controllable highly capable AI systems really are.
ETH Zurich ranks among the world’s leading universities
Times Higher Education announces its 2027 World University Rankings. ETH Zurich remains among the world’s leading research universities in an increasingly competitive academic environment.
Digital currencies: what future for the Swiss franc?
Digital currencies are growing in importance – including stablecoins, whose value is pegged to traditional currencies. They could fundamentally change the financial system. But what can be done to ensure that money remains stable in an increasingly digital and tokenised world?
Mystery surrounding the formation of asteroid Bennu solved
New sample analyses by researchers at ETH Zurich point to a surprising origin for the asteroid Bennu: rather than forming far out in the Solar System, Bennu's parent body probably emerged in a special transition zone near the water-ice line, where temperatures were cold enough for water to freeze, at a time when Jupiter itself was still growing.
The far side of the Moon provides clues to a previous magnetic field
The question to whether the Moon ever possessed an internal magnetic field is a matter of debate. Now, researchers at ETH Zurich have opted for a new method to show that a mechanism once existed on the Moon that is still active on Earth today.
Tiny OLED pixels can be manufactured like microchips
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a light-sensitive material from which they can produce tiny, coloured light-emitting pixels – potential building blocks for particularly small and sharp screens.
“Looking at the mountains from the bus makes my problems seem smaller”
Novaya Politra is studying landscape architecture at ETH Zurich. Despite a demanding workload, visits to devastated landscapes and bouts of homesickness, the Canadian student from a Bengali family draws inspiration and fresh perspectives from her surroundings.