ETH News

A team of three European researchers will develop an imaging method to non-invasively measure the stiffness of moving organs such as the heart. The researchers will be supported by the European Research Council.

A secure supply of electricity from renewable energies can only succeed if we also modernise the grid infrastructure. At the Energy Science Centre (ESC), ETH researchers are looking for smart ways to make the electricity grid fit for the energy transition without expensive expansion.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a laser that produces the strongest ultra-short laser pulses to date. In the future, such high power pulses could be used for precision measurements or materials processing.

At its meeting of 18 and 19 September 2024 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed fifteen professors. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor of Practice" once.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed ultra-flexible brain probes that accurately record brain activity without causing tissue damage. This opens up new avenues for the treatment of a range of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.?

Using a special wafer-thin gold membrane, ETH researchers have made it significantly easier to study surfaces. The membrane makes it possible to measure properties of surfaces that are inaccessible to conventional methods.

The Gloria Cube is ETH Zurich¡¯s newest building in the Zurich City university district. Teaching, research and translation are all carried out in the service of health and medicine here. At the end of last week, ETH Zurich celebrated the laboratory and research building¡¯s inauguration.

At its meeting of 22 and 23 May 2024 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed twelve professors. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor" four times and the title of "Professor of Practice" three times.

Medical students at ETH Zurich build a gripper hand for elbow exoskeletons in a crash course lasting just one week. This course has now been honoured with the 2024 Kite Award, the ETH prize for particularly innovative teaching.

Experiments by ETH Zurich computer security researchers showed that smartphones can be manipulated to allow the owner to ride Swiss trains for free. The researchers also highlighted ways of curbing such misuse.

At its meeting of 6 and 7 March 2024 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed nine professors. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor" three times and the title of "Professor of Practice" once.

Christoph Sch?r is one of the Swiss climate scientists who have shaped high-resolution climate modelling. He is now retiring after more than 35 years at ETH Zurich. In this portrait, he explains why he himself never tires of researching climate change.

A new Master¡¯s degree programme in Space Systems will be launched at ETH Zurich in autumn 2024. Interested parties can start applying in April.

The loss of myelin sheaths in the brain is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed an MRI method that maps the condition of this nerve insulation layer more accurately than before.

ETH Zurich researchers from the Automatic Control Laboratory and the electricity supplier AEW Energie AG have won the 2024 Watt d¡¯Or award in the Energy Technologies category. Their algorithm, which was implemented at AEW Energie, makes it possible to optimise electricity grid operations.

Climate neutrality and nuclear phase-out: Switzerland's ambitious green electricity targets are realistic if the electricity supply is profoundly and rapidly transformed, as a study by the SWEET EDGE consortium shows. The researchers developed three strategies for expanding renewable energies.

At its meeting of 6 and 7 December 2023 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed twelve professors and awarded the title "Professor of Practice" once. ?

Researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology, and Stanford have taken snapshots of the crystal structure of perovskite nanocrystals as it was deformed by excited electrons. To their surprise, the deformation straightened out the skewed crystal structure rather than making it more disordered.

Of the 13 scientists receiving an SNSF Starting Grant for projects at ETH Zurich this year, 11 are women.

Studying at ETH Zurich is challenging, and all students have their personal hurdles to overcome. This video series shows personal portraits of ETH students.

At the D-ITET Centre for Project-based Learning, students combine their technical knowledge with practical experience to work on energy-efficient smart sensors and embedded systems that are used, for example, in machines, household appliances or medical instruments.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have found a new attack on AMD computer chips in which the attacker plants an ¡°idea¡± in the computer without it noticing. Using that attack, it was possible to leak data from anywhere in the computer¡¯s memory.?

A research team from ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI together with the Baden Cantonal Hospital and the University Hospital Zurich wants to improve a method for diagnosing breast cancer. ?

Researchers at ETH have created an antenna for light sources on a chip using an unusual placement of a semiconductor material. In the future, efficient nanoscale LEDs and lasers could be produced in this way.

Ethicist Peter G. Kirchschlaeger highlights how artificial intelligence can be regulated worldwide ¨C and is pleased to have the support of leading international figures.

Optical data communications lasers can transmit several tens of terabits per second, despite a huge amount of disruptive air turbulence. ETH Zurich scientists and their European partners demonstrated this capacity with lasers between the mountain peak, Jungfraujoch, and the city of Bern in Switzerland. This will soon eliminate the necessity of expensive deep-sea cables.

Gabriela Hug ¨C an expert in power transmission networks ¨C argues that securing an affordable energy supply from renewable sources is not a utopian ideal for Switzerland, but rather a practical and feasible necessity.

For Florian D?rfler, control engineering is the cornerstone of all automation. When away from work, however, he prefers to experience nature without feedback loops.

Security of energy supply in a fossil-free Switzerland is feasible and affordable according to a new white paper from an expert group at the Energy Science Center. It will require increased production of renewables and efficient energy trading with neighbouring countries.

Bachelor¡¯s students at ETH Zurich were given a year to turn their original ideas into finished products. ETH News presents videos of two of these projects.

ETH students have developed a smart cane featuring an integrated camera that detects its surroundings and a tactile pointer that helps blind and visually impaired individuals navigate their way safely.

ETH students have developed sensors that can indicate how people use urban spaces. They anonymously measure how people use objects such as chairs in a public square. The sensors have proven useful in the test run and could be used in future to plan public spaces based on needs.

Mental health disorders can only be diagnosed on the basis of symptoms ¨C and individual outcomes cannot be accurately predicted. An ETH scientist hopes to change that with the help of mathematical models.

Nine scientists are receiving SNSF Starting Grants for projects they plan to carry out at ETH Zurich starting next year.

Researchers at ETH have developed a technique to cool several nanoparticles simultaneously to temperatures of just a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. This new method can be used to study quantum effects of several nanoparticles and to build highly sensitive sensors.

Using innovative technologies and scientific expertise to help people in need is the goal of the Engineering for Humanitarian Action initiative launched by the ICRC, ETH Zurich and EPFL in 2020. Six of the projects are already offering results for tangible improvements for the ICRC.

How much electricity is generated from hydropower? How many batteries are recycled? And what has been the increase in electric car registrations? Put your knowledge to the test by taking our energy quiz* about facts and figures from Switzerland.

Wera Hotz Kowner was the first woman to study electrical engineering at ETH Zurich. Successfully rising above the condescension shown by some of her professors, she focused on preparing herself for her new job as managing director of the family business.

ETH Zurich researchers have developed a model that explains how nerve cells in the brain connect during development. Their model reveals that the crucial factor is progressive cell division. This process leads naturally to the formation of molecular addresses that lets neurons navigate.

An ETH risk researcher has concluded that Energy Strategy 2050 doesn¡¯t work. The Energy Science Center at ETH Zurich disagrees: extensive research shows that the energy transition is feasible and makes sense, writes Gabriela Hug together with her ESC colleagues.

Does nuclear power have a future? Are electric cars dirty? In a four-part series, the ETH Podcast takes a detailed look at popular theories about the future of energy.

ETH Zurich researchers have discovered a serious security vulnerability in computer hardware. The vulnerability, called "Retbleed," affects microprocessors from market leaders Intel and AMD. All commercially available operating systems worldwide that use these processors are affected. When computers execute special calculation steps to compute faster, they leave traces that hackers could abuse.

The Venture Awards for Swiss start-ups were presented yesterday evening for the 25th time. In addition to the three certified ETH spin-offs DeepJudge, Kaspar& and Versics, the 15 winners included five other start-ups founded by ETH students and alumni.

The Swiss National Science Foundation has awarded Advanced Grants to make up for the loss of European support. Researchers at ETH Zurich did particularly well, with 6 of the 24 grants going to the university.

Researchers from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and Empa have developed a new material for an electronic component that can be used in a wider range of applications than its predecessors. Such components will help create electronic circuits that emulate the human brain and that are more efficient at performing machine-learning tasks.

Microrobots have the potential to revolutionize medicine. Researchers at the Max Planck ETH Centre for Learning Systems have now developed an imaging technique that for the first time recognises cell-sized microrobots individually and at high resolution in a living organism.

This year¡¯s ETH award for particularly innovative teaching projects goes to a course that brings physics experiments for students right into their home.?The project was up against 24 others competing for the KITE Award 2022.

Researchers have developed a new method that uses artificial intelligence to analyse animal behaviour. This opens the door to longer-term in-depth studies in the field of behavioural science ¨C while also helping to improve animal welfare. The method is already being tested at Zurich Zoo.

At its meeting of 9 and 10 March 2022 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed ten professors and awarded the title of professor twice. ?

In the video series "Ask the Expert", experts from ETH Zurich answer questions from the community. In this episode Gabriela Hug talks about energy supply.

No sooner had David Shapira and Kordian Caplazi finished their studies than they set about creating a start-up. Rimon develops virtual user manuals for industrial companies, enabling users to quickly and intuitively learn how to operate complex machines with the aid of AR glasses.

Studying at ETH Zurich is challenging, and all students have their own personal hurdles to overcome. This short video series gives a somewhat different insight into everyday life as a student. It provides an account of three students, their setbacks and how they dealt with them.

In the last application process for the sought-after ERC Starting Grants, the European Research Council made 11 awards to ETH researchers worth about CHF 17 million. Due to Switzerland¡¯s non-association, however, the researchers will not receive these grants. The funds will now be provided by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Like bridges and tall buildings, large mountains are constantly vibrating, excited by seismic energy form the Earth. An international team of researchers has now been able to measure the resonant swaying of the Matterhorn and make its motion visible using computer simulations.

From a technological and economic perspective, the Swiss energy system could be climate-neutral by 2050. There are various challenges when it comes to implementation, however. Deployment of photovoltaics, for example, would have to increase at a faster rate. Academia and industry discussed possible energy scenarios at ETH Zurich.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered major vulnerabilities in DRAM memory devices, which are widely used in computers, tablets and smartphones. The vulnerabilities have now been published together with the National Cyber Security Centre, which for the first time has assigned an identification number for it.

Using novel technology, researchers advance our understanding of anxiety¡¯s connection to brain-body interactions. For the first time, they show how the brain perceives and predicts altered states of breathing; quantifying links between anxiety and the brain¡¯s perception of the body¡¯s inner signals.

Collaboration between talented members of multidisciplinary teams provides the best foundation for innovative, useful and trustworthy applications of artificial intelligence. This approach has been demonstrated at a joint event by ETH Entrepreneur Club and the ETH AI Center.

Nako Nakatsuka earned a place on this year¡¯s MIT Technology Review¡¯s Innovators Under 35 list for her invention of a precise chemical biosensor that empowers researchers to better understand brain processes and diseases such as Alzheimer¡¯s, Major Depression, and Parkinson¡¯s.

Two years ago, ETH launched the innovative Master¡¯s degree in quantum engineering. Now the first cohort of students is nearing the end of the programme.

ETH and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems are intensifying their partnership to promote doctoral candidates and research: ETH professors Otmar Hilliges, Thomas Hofmann, Andreas Krause and Klaas P. Pr¨¹ssmann are new Max Planck fellows in T¨¹bingen and Stuttgart.

Could quantum technologies really be the next gold rush? ETH Vice President Vanessa Wood and quantum researcher Andreas Wallraff discuss how close we are to putting quantum promises into practice.

The shape of rocks is a key factor in assessing rockfall hazard. This is the conclusion of a new study from the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research and ETH Zurich.

Many everyday activities rely on electricity. As we look to 2050, this dependence is set to increase, with demand for electricity in Switzerland likely to rise to 50 percent. The increased demand can only be met by transforming the energy system.

Researchers at ETH have managed to produce nanocrystals made of two different metals using an amalgamation process whereby a liquid metal penetrates a solid one. This new and surprisingly intuitive technique makes it possible to produce a vast array of intermetallic nanocrystals with tailored properties for diverse applications.?

Researchers at ETH Zurich have trapped a tiny sphere measuring a hundred nanometres using laser light and slowed down its motion to the lowest quantum mechanical state. Based on this, one can study quantum effects in macroscopic objects and build extremely sensitive sensors.

Seervision¡¯s software operates cameras as if it were a human and facilitates video productions. The start-up has its roots at ETH Zurich, where students once developed a clunky prototype for recording lectures.

The turbulence created by speculation in GameStop shares has highlighted the lack of transparency on trading platforms. Roger Wattenhofer thinks it is time for a change, and calls for more open data not just in financial transactions, but in many other areas.

Nerve cells communicate with one another via synapses. Neuroscientists at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich have now found that these connections seem to be much more powerful than previously thought.

An interdisciplinary research team from ETH Zurich is developing the Nexus-e modelling platform in a project supported by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The platform facilitates the analysis of how technological, economic and regulatory developments affect the energy system of the future.

Quantum research has long since ceased to be an exclusive domain of physics. The purpose of the new ETH Quantum Center is to ensure ETH Zurich¡¯s various competences and activities in this area are networked even more closely and to raise their public profile.

On the road to a sustainable energy system, technologies for the flexible conversion and efficient storage of energy are becoming increasingly important. To investigate these pressing issues in a realistic way, ETH Zurich, Empa and the Paul Scherrer Institute have been developing ReMaP, a new type of research platform, since 2019. Their initial findings are now available.

Research done by Professor Metin Sitti was voted the Breakthrough of the Year in the category ¡°Engineering & Technology¡± at this year¡¯s Falling Walls Conference in Berlin. The ETH Zurich-affiliated researcher¡¯s microrobots open up new possibilities for non-invasive medical diagnosis and treatment.

Two research projects with ETH Zurich involvement have been awarded one of the highly coveted ERC Synergy Grants. These EU grants aim to promote pioneering research that is only possible through the synergy of several teams. More than EUR 26 million will now be made available for the two projects.

Magic Cube is a new teaching tool developed by ETH Zurich, ABB and mint & pepper. It uses a playful approach to teach junior high and high school students the basics of electrical engineering and awaken their interest in the field.

ETH Zurich is opening a new research centre for artificial intelligence. A core team of initially 29 professorships, a new executive director and a Fellowship programme aim to promote interdisciplinary research into this key technology.

Swissloop, the team of students developing hyperloop pods, took advantage of the break imposed by the coronavirus to improve the technology even further. Yesterday they unveiled their ¡°research pod¡±. At its core lies a technologically refined linear motor that will propel future prototypes at even faster speeds.

Leading AI researchers from 30 top institutions across Europe are joining forces to form the European AI network ELLIS. Today, it celebrates its launch, with ETH Zurich as a founding member. The ETH Zurich ELLIS Unit is set on establishing the foundations for reliable and trustworthy artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is having a growing impact on our daily lives and is also revolutionising research. ETH Zurich recognises its responsibility in this area and is striving to promote innovation and trust in this fast-evolving technology.

As impressive as they may be, the latest AI systems are still no match for humans. Benjamin Grewe pushes for tomorrow¡¯s intelligent machines to learn the way young children do.

Roger Wattenhofer is convinced that the digital currency CBDC will completely replace cash rather sooner or than later, as the new electronic payment method offers many advantages.

Since the discovery of graphene, two-dimensional materials have been the focus of materials research. Among other things, they could be used to build tiny, high-performance transistors. Researchers at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne have now simulated and evaluated one hundred possible materials for this purpose and discovered 13 promising candidates.

ETH researchers have built an ultrafast chip that can speed up data transmission in fibre optic networks. The chip combines several innovations at the same time and, given the growing demand for streaming and online services, represents a significant development.

Researchers at ETH have provided the first theoretical explanation for how electrical current is conducted in semiconductors made of nanocrystals. In the future, this could lead to the development of new sensors, lasers or LEDs for TV screens.

The Basel Botnar Research Centre for Child Health is funding five research projects at ETH Zurich dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

What happens when COVID-19 means architecture students have to get by without a workshop, electrical engineers without high-voltage laboratories and environmental scientists without field trips.

Imaging technology helps to detect cardiovascular diseases much earlier; however, precise examinations are still very time-consuming. Researchers from ETH and the University of Zurich have now presented a method that could greatly accelerate dynamic magnetic resonance imaging of blood flow.

They should be fast, portable and easy to use: blood tests that can be done at home. Having already come up with a prototype, ETH Pioneer Fellow Alexander Tanno is working with doctoral student Yves Blickenstorfer to bring the idea to market.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and other universities have shown that it is possible to predict the risk of relapsing into depression after stopping antidepressant medication. People who relapse take longer to decide how much effort to invest for a reward.

Two research groups at ETH Zurich have joined forces to develop a novel light detector. It consists of two-dimensional layers of different materials that are coupled to a silicon optical waveguide. In the future, this approach can also be used to make LEDs and optical modulators.

ETH Pioneer Fellow Marcel Schuck is developing a robotic gripper that can manipulate small and fragile objects without touching them. The technology is based on sound waves.

Zebra finches are very efficient at learning their courtship songs, as researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have shown. In the morning, the birds remember the positive learning progress of the previous day, but forget the failures overnight.

Researchers in Zurich have reproduced Michelangelo¡¯s David as a miniature in metal. Their achievement highlights the potential of a special 3D printing method developed at ETH.

Automation and digitisation of industry and society, new approaches to sustainable chemistry, and the influence of bacteria on health ¨C these are the topics covered by the three new National Centres of Competence led or co-led by ETH Zurich.

Four researchers from ETH Zurich have successfully applied for ERC Consolidator Grants worth EUR 2 million.

Anyone who wants to open a bank account or buy a mobile phone plan has to identify themselves to the respective service provider. The ETH spin-off PXL Vision has a simpler solution: just use an ID scan and a selfie video. Several companies are already using the new technology.

Two research groups from ETH Zurich have developed a method that can simulate nanoelectronics devices and their properties realistically, quickly and efficiently. This offers a ray of hope for the industry and data centre operators alike, both of which are struggling with the (over)heating that comes with increasingly small and powerful transistors.

Switching light beams quickly is important in many technological applications. Researchers at ETH have now developed an ¡°electro-opto-mechanical¡± switch for light beams that is considerably smaller and faster than current models. This is relevant for applications such as self-driving cars and optical quantum technologies.

As of this semester, it is possible to do a master¡¯s degree in Quantum Engineering at ETH Z¨¹rich. What actually is Quantum Engineering? Who is studying this new subject?

Hackers are increasingly exploiting weaknesses in IT system hardware rather than software. To close this gap, we are introducing a new open source project based on Google¡¯s Titan security technology and the ¡°Ibex¡± open source processor from ETH. Luca Benini, Professor at the Institute for Integrated Systems, explains how.