News & Events

Six spin-offs of ETH Zurich were among the 18 finalists in this year’s Venture Awards. Three of them won in their respective categories, and three came in second. The Grand Prize went to spin-off MyNerva.

Why are more new housing units being constructed in Geneva each year, while Zurich is seeing a decline? Why are older residential buildings in Basel, Geneva and Lausanne being vertically extended, while they are being demolished and replaced in Zurich? ETH researchers provide new answers to the role of housing construction and its social impact.

Knowledge grows through dialogue: we learn by explaining and understand by listening. ETH helps facilitate this process – in continuing education, in vocational training and at the science-policy interface.

Researchers are developing a living material that actively extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Photosynthetic cyanobacteria grow inside it, forming biomass and solid minerals and thus binding CO₂ in two different manners. 

According to the recently published QS World University Rankings 2026, ETH Zurich ranks among the world’s ten best universities once again this year. It took the top spot in continental Europe, with only universities in the US and the United Kingdom ranking higher. 

Researchers at ETH Zurich and Empa have developed a new image sensor made of perovskite. This semiconductor material enables better colour reproduction and fewer image artefacts with less light. Perovskite sensors are also particularly well suited for machine vision.

ETH Zurich has set up a master's programme in mechatronics in collaboration with Ashesi University in Ghana. The first cohort of students is now graduating. The project aims to contribute to sustainable industrialisation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Two biologists, an engineer, a physicist and a health scientist from ETH Zurich have been awarded ERC Advanced Grants worth around 12 million euros. The researchers are among the first in Switzerland to receive this prestigious EU research funding after a hiatus of several years.

The Military Academy at ETH Zurich and the Center for Security Studies have published the survey "Sicherheit 2025". Since 1999, the annual study has evaluated long-​term trends and tendencies in public opinion on foreign, security and defense policy issues in Switzerland.

ETH alumni Moritz Lechner and Felix Mayer have founded Sensirion, an internationally successful company. Now the two physicists look back. What has remained of their education at one of the best universities in the world?

In 2019, ETH Zurich launched one of the world’s first Master’s degrees in Quantum Engineering. Since then, interest in the programme has soared – and its first graduates are already making their mark in industry.

Students at ETH Zurich are teaming up with engineers from industrial companies to help expedite innovation. This unique approach to teaching and collaboration has been hailed by both sides as a great success.

ETH graduates are primed to excel – and they bring far more to the table than just technical expertise. This makes them popular among employers. But can ETH maintain its winning formula for education in the future?

Eva Heinen investigates the factors that influence our choice of transport. Her personal commute to ETH is by bus and on foot.

Alumna Petra Ehmann studied Mechanical Engineering at ETH Zurich. Today, she works for the Ringier media group as Chief Innovation and AI Officer. Her technical understanding helps her to act as a bridge builder between engineers, senior management and the market.

Alumna Michelle Ammann studied Comparative and International Studies at ETH Zurich and now works at the UN in New York. The innovative ETH mindset and her data analysis skills are highly valued by the international organisation.

Three women spin-off founders from ETH Zurich have developed a portable measuring device called Digit Soil that analyses soil quality and enables customised fertilisation. The sensor makes farming more sustainable and efficient while reducing its environmental impact.

The Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich boasts a collection of some 160,000 prints and drawings by artists such as Dürer, Rembrandt and Warhol. Its new exhibition, NEOGEO, marks an experimental turn, featuring the work of three contemporary female artists.

by Fritz Brugger and Chris Humphrey.

An ETH spin-off, Swiss Vascular, has developed anatomically exact silicone models of cerebral vessels. Through this development, researchers will not only reduce the amount of animal experimentation required but also improve the standard of medical training for complex medical procedures.

What’s it like to study at ETH Zurich? Once a year, secondary school students spend a week getting a first taste of university life. In this video, Juliana Pfammatter from Valais and Gianin Prevost from Graubünden share their experiences in lecture halls, laboratories and on construction sites.

Many types of bacteria produce a protein complex that injects toxins into neighbouring cells to eliminate competitors. For the first time, researchers at ETH Zurich and Eawag discovered that these killer bacteria also use this weapon to feed on their neighbours.

Trace metals such as iron or zinc that are stored in deep-sea sediments are lost forever to phytoplankton on the ocean surface. This is what geochemists believed for a long time about the cycle of micronutrients in seawater. Now, researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered that this is not the case.

On June 26 – 27, 2025

Once fighting stops in Ukraine, internal tensions will test state cohesion and national unity. Political infighting, scrutiny of past leadership decisions, and the military’s future role will be key challenges. Europe must prepare to help argue Roman Horbyk and Jeronim Perović in this issue of CSS Policy Perspectives.

In NADEL's latest 100 Seconds video, Kenneth Harttgen explains why tackling poverty is essential before addressing global population growth.

A spectacular breakthrough in geoscience shows that our planet is in motion even at a depth of 3000 kilometres.

On Wednesday, May 28th, the Birch Glacier collapsed under the weight of rock and debris from rockfalls on the Kleine Nesthorn. Following an on-site inspection, ETH Zurich researchers explain the background to the collapse that buried the village Blatten in an updated fact sheet.

His legacy as a university teacher, researcher and public intellectual will live on after his death. An obituary authored by Andreas Wenger, published in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on June 2, 2025.

Are you an ambitious student looking to make a real impact? Do you have a passion for leadership, technology, and society? If so, the IDEA League Challenge Programme is the perfect opportunity for you!

The IDEA League Challenge Programme is an extra-curricular course for ambitious and talented students that will equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in future leadership roles in both the public and private sectors.

The technology of ETH Zurich spin-off MESH allows for new shapes and was used for the Tor Alva in Mulegns, among others. And it makes construction more efficient, for example in prefabrication for the second Gotthard road tunnel. 

Physicists at ETH Zurich have developed a lens with magic properties. Ultra-thin, it can transform infrared light into visible light by halving the wavelength of incident light.

A new study with ETH Zurich, finds that if global warming exceeds the Paris Climate Agreement targets, the non-polar glacier mass will diminish significantly. However, if warming is limited to 1.5°C, at least 54 per cent could be preserved—more than twice as much ice as in a 2.7°C scenario.

Every tumour is unique. This makes it difficult to find the most effective therapy for treatment. Researchers in Zurich and Basel are now showing how state-of-the-art molecular biological technologies can be used to create a detailed tumour profile within four weeks, enabling tailored treatment. The study is the first of its kind in the world.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. ESA has helped make Europe more technologically independent and has played a key role in space exploration in recent decades. And ETH Zurich has always been one of its partners on its journey.

Machine learning has emerged as a powerful tool for weather forecasting and offers considerable potential for climate projections. Nicolas Gruber and Andreas Prein explain why traditional simulations using numerical models remain indispensable. 

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed the first technology that is able to recognise biomarkers in menstrual blood – directly in sanitary towels. MenstruAI promises a simple, non-invasive method for recording health data in everyday life.

Five years ago, an experiment began at ETH Hönggerberg: researchers set up an outdoor laboratory in the forest near the campus. They used sensors positioned in trees, the soil and in a stream to study water dynamics and the “old water paradox”. ETH News accompanied the head of the experiment, Marius Floriancic.

At the meeting on 21st and 22nd May 2025, the ETH Board appointed two female and four male professors at the request of ETH President Joël Mesot. The Board also awarded the title of "Professor" three times and the title of "Professor of Practice" twice.

By 2050, the aim is for Switzerland’s energy system to be decarbonised and no longer reliant on nuclear power. How this can be achieved and the costs of doing so are set out in a new report by a Swiss research consortium involving researchers from ETH Zurich, the universities of Geneva and Bern, EPFL, WSL, and ZHAW.

Around 100 Bachelor’s students from the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering have spent two semesters working on their Focus projects in 11 teams. They will present the results of their projects on 28 May.

Tor Alva was officially inaugurated in Mulegns today in the presence of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and President of ETH Zurich Joël Mesot. The almost 30-metre-high, gleaming white tower is the world’s tallest 3D-printed building.

Cities can expand their bike lane networks significantly without causing additional congestion on the roads. That is the conclusion reached by the ETH research project E-Bike City. Project lead and transport researcher Kay Axhausen explains the implications for traffic, the environment and costs. 

New smart textiles developed by researchers at ETH Zurich use acoustic waves and glass fibres to help make precise measurements. They are light, breathable and inexpensive, and offer great potential for medicine, sports and everyday life.

Aldo Steinfeld, a pioneer in synthetic fuels, retires at the end of July 2025. This provides a compelling reason to present a portrait of the engineer and to find out how you can fill up your fuel tank with sun. 

Chemist and microbiologist Jörn Piel combs through the vast world of bacteria for new natural substances to combat the antibiotic crisis. The ETH professor has now been honoured for his research with one of Europe’s most highly endowed medical prizes.

Computer scientists at ETH Zurich discover new class of vulnerabilities in Intel processors, allowing them to break down barriers between different users of a processor using carefully crafted instruction sequences. Entire processor memory can be read by employing quick, repeated attacks.

In the CSS Annual Report 2024, you can read more about the main focuses and activities of CSS in a year in which an already profound geopolitical shift became more marked – with serious implications for global security.

Recent uncertainties regarding US intelligence sharing with Ukraine have highlighted Ukraine’s extensive reliance on US satellites. Europe, with its growing space capabilities, sees a chance to step in but is not yet ready to fill the gap. The situation served as a wake-up call for Europe, which also realized the extent of its own dependence on the US, prompting new efforts to develop space capabilities to serve defense needs.