February 2015

Teaching at ETH Zurich is breaking new ground: in one teaching project, students are solving real tasks – and those tasks are set by businesses, not by the university. Another project looks at how lively debate can help participants to develop solid arguments.

Die Bilder nach den Erdbeben in Haiti, Japan, L’Aquila oder Christchurch haben sich tief eingeprägt: zerstörte Häuser, chaotische Szenen, Verletzte und Tote. Erdbeben bleiben auch für die Städte der Zukunft eine tödliche Gefahr, aber wir sind ihnen nicht machtlos ausgeliefert.

Plant scientists at ETH have discovered a specific protein that significantly influences the formation of starch in plant cells. The findings may be useful in the food and packaging industries.

Nachhaltigkeit ist heute für Unternehmen ein zentrales Thema. Dennoch scheint es kaum Jobs für Nachhaltigkeitsexperten in der freien Wirtschaft zu geben. Ohne Expertenwissen können aber auch die ernsthaftesten Bemühungen der Konzerne ins Leere laufen.

Michael Ambühl, Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management, has just published his much discussed proposal on the implementation of the mass immigration initiative in the Swiss Political Science Review. ETH News spoke to him about the relationship between research and politics.

Take three driven physics wizards, an innovative business idea and lots of hard work, and what do you get? An ETH spin-off that could further advance both MRI research and medical diagnostics.

Adolf Muschg, emeritus professor of ETH Zurich, received the Swiss Grand Prix Literatur award for his complete literary works on Thursday. Federal Councillor Alain Berset honoured the writer at the ceremony of the Swiss literary awards. 

The upcoming Volksinitiative “Energie- statt Mehrwertsteuer” makes for a good example of how a seemingly simple question can sprawl into a very complicated analysis that spans the globe and involves multiple fields of science.

Two ETH Zurich researchers receive money for their projects from the Swiss National Science Foundation. This will bridge the gap in financing left by the exclusion of Swiss researchers for ERC grants.

The new MSc programme in Science, Technology and Policy offered at ETH Zurich aims to equip natural scientists, engineers and architects with the necessary skills in order to provide academic support for and help shape political, economic and social decision-making processes.