ETH News

He develops walking robots that move like living creatures: Marco Hutter is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems and a fellow of the Society in Science. One day his machines might be able to carry out the menial and dangerous work human beings would rather avoid.

Proteins are important indicators in diagnosing diseases. A young ETH researcher has developed a method by which it is possible to test minute amounts of blood for different proteins in parallel. He has received an ETH Zurich Pioneer Fellowship for his work. Together with a fellow student, he wants to turn his test into a marketable product.

Micro and nanorobots that attack tumours with maximum precision using drugs: this is what the fight against cancer may look like in the future. A group of ETH researchers led by Salvador Pané are laying the foundations with magnetoelectric-controlled Janus machines.

In promoting mental health, combined mental and physical training is more effective than physical training alone, as ETH human movement scientists have shown in a study of people over 70.

Stable high-pressure systems can lead to summer heatwaves – such as the one Europe is currently experiencing. The phenomenon is caused by the blocking of low pressure areas. ETH meteorologists are now shedding new light on the formation of blocking patterns.

Johan Robertsson is a professor of geophysics at ETH Zurich, a specialist in seismic wave propagation, an amateur historian and an outdoor enthusiast. For his work in development of a new method of acquiring seismic data, he has now been honoured with the ‘New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons’ Eni Award, the world’s most prestigious prize in the field of energy sector.

When tectonic plates collide, they produce earthquakes like the recent one in Nepal. Researchers at ETH Zurich are providing new ways to explain how and why superquakes occur in zones where one plate moves under another, such as off the coast of Japan.