ETH News

Raphael Steiner received his doctorate in mathematics at the age of 21. Now the Swiss National Science Foundation is funding his research at ETH Zurich in the field of graph theory. Among other things, this involves proving a conjecture that is over 80 years old.

How does water seep through porous rock? Investigating this question with a mathematical model was the starting point for Barbara Dembin’s research. The mathematician is generating new insights in what is known as percolation theory.

He investigates the mysteries of shapes and curvature in higher dimensions: mathematician Alessandro Carlotto will receive the 2022 ETH Zurich Latsis Prize for his original research at the frontier of mathematics and physics.

Oliver Janzer is a mathematician who specialises in graphs – that is, collections of nodes that may or may not be connected, such as Facebook users. As part of his ETH Fellowship, the young researcher has been busy solving problems that had stumped mathematicians for decades.

Philippe Kahn, a technology innovator and entrepreneur who studied mathematics at ETH Zurich, is credited with creating the first camera phone solution.

Sylvain Lacroix is a theoretical physicist who conducts research into fundamental concepts of physics – an exciting but intellectually challenging field of science. As an Advanced Fellow at ETH Zurich’s Institute for Theoretical Studies (ITS), he works on complex equations that can be solved exactly only thanks to their large number of symmetries.

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).

"Where the future begins" is the name of ETH Zurich's new image film. Based on six projects, it provides a look behind the scenes and highlights how ETH Zurich is tackling the big questions. The new film was produced by Seed, the same agency that realised the successful ETH trailer "Ready?" five years ago.

Next week, the first European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics will take place in Zurich. The competition, which will have around 160 participants from 43 countries, is being organised by ETH students, who also came up with the original idea and are the driving force behind the event.

Why is gravity the most mysterious force of nature? Lavinia Heisenberg studies how the universe was formed, and how it is changing. She has now been awarded the ETH Zurich Latsis Prize for her outstanding achievements in the field of theoretical physics.

Alessio Figalli, Professor of Mathematics at ETH Zurich, was awarded the Fields Medal today for his outstanding contribution to mathematical research. The medal is to mathematics what the Nobel Prize is to natural sciences.

Alessio Figalli is a recipient of the Fields Medal for his research into optimal transport theory. Who is this individual? What characterises his research? In what way is mathematics a creative thought process? How are clouds, soap bubbles and crystals related to transport costs? The portrait of a mathematician who has made problem-solving his profession.