ETH News

Monitoring and treating a case of multiple sclerosis requires reliable and long-term data on how the disease is progressing in the person in question. Fitness trackers and smartphones can supply this data, as a research team led by ETH Zurich has now shown.

Juraj Hromkovic has been Professor of Information Technology at ETH Zurich for the past 20 years. During this time, he has been a leading advocate of teaching computer science in schools. He’s now giving his farewell lecture.

Public cloud services employ special security technologies. Computer scientists at ETH Zurich have now discovered a gap in the latest security mechanisms used by AMD and Intel chips. This affects major cloud providers.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a smartphone app that can be used to check the authenticity of documents and other items. Extracts from the debt enforcement register of the City of Zurich are being made forgery-proof as part of a pilot project.

Studying at ETH Zurich is demanding, and all students have their own personal hurdles to overcome. This video series portrays ETH students.

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.

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.

Computer pioneer Niklaus Wirth died on 1 January 2024, just weeks before his 90th birthday. The long-serving ETH Professor of Computer Science achieved world fame by developing the Pascal programming language in the 1970s. In 1984, he became the only German-speaking computer scientist yet to have received the Turing Award, which is regarded as the Nobel Prize for computer science.

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.

Snow measurement has never been so fast and accurate: ETH Zurich researchers have developed an artificial intelligence capable of determining snow depth across Switzerland using satellite images.

Researchers have trained an artificial intelligence to design the structure of so-called metamaterials with desired mechanical properties for a wide range of applications.

Warfare is increasingly spreading to the realm of cyberspace. In response, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wants to protect its digital infrastructure and that of humanitarian organisations with a digital emblem. The Information Security Group at ETH Zurich has developed a standard for this along with initial pilots.

As society increasingly expects the responsible use of digital technologies, firms with better practices will have a distinct advantage, says Tomoko Yokoi. Digital responsibility should not only be seen as a duty to comply with regulations but also as an activity that generates value.

ETH Zurich is participating in two quantum computing projects that are being financed by IARPA, the US research funding agency, with up to 40 million dollars. Both projects aim to connect two error-corrected qubits with one another and thus lay the foundation for future quantum computers.

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.

With its ability to write text and generate images, artificial intelligence is making inroads into many areas of life. Perceived as threatening, enriching or just plain gimmicky, AI also raises a fundamental question: what is it that makes us human?

ETH Zurich professors Mustafa Khammash and Marc Pollefeys are each recipients of a prestigious Advanced Grant currently awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, rather than the European Research Council.

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. 

Large language models such as GPT-3 are able to learn new concepts by interacting with their users. Researchers at ETH and Google may now have uncovered a key mechanism behind this capability.

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

Today, the latest animated film Elemental from Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studio is released in Swiss cinemas. The film revolves around the fiery Ember, who lives in Element City – a place where fire, water, earth and air beings live. The film is not only made in Hollywood, but also enabled by ETH technology.

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.

John von Neumann was one of the most important mathematicians and computer pioneers of the 20th century – and an ETH alumnus. He began his studies in chemistry here one hundred years ago. ETH Professor Benjamin Sudakov pays tribute to a mathematical legacy at a symposium.

In theory, quantum computers vastly outperform classical computers in terms of computing speed. For them to do so in practice, it is necessary to design more and novel high-speed algorithms, says ETH supercomputing specialist Torsten Hoefler.  

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.

Researchers from ETH Zurich created a new open-source platform and programming language called LMQL. This programming language makes it easier, cheaper, and safer to interact with large language models like ChatGPT.

There are concerns that ChatGPT could undermine the educational system, and growing demands for rules governing its use. Gerd Kortemeyer argues that anything but the most common sense regulations could end up being counterproductive.

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.

In an open letter, tech luminaries from the worlds of science and industry are calling for a freeze on training new AI models that are more powerful than GPT-4. ETH AI experts Andreas Krause and Alexander Ilic from the ETH Zurich AI Center consider this to be difficult to enforce and associated with risks.  

Artificial intelligence seems to be on the rise – and not just in the headlines. Florian von Wangenheim from ETH Zurich’s Chair of Technology Marketing and researcher at the ETH AI Center explains this trend in a short interview.

The LOOP Zurich research centre is creating a central platform for the exchange of health data between the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich and the four university hospitals. This will allow data to be utilised quickly and easily to the benefit of patients. 

Are we witnessing the rise of a different, adaptive artificial intelligence (AI) that works with humans and supports them with smart decisions? Computer scientist Niao He is investigating how this kind of AI can be theoretically underpinned so that it really does provide benefits.

Elvis Nava teaches robots to carry out oral and written commands. To this end, he sends them to “training camps” where they learn to combine image, text and motion data.

We posed this question to ETH Zurich researchers. In return, we got five intriguing answers from the perspectives of biomedicine, computer science, biology, robotics and philosophy.

The LOOP Zurich research center combines expertise from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the four university hospitals in Zurich with the aim of developing more personalized therapies. Two new projects supported by The LOOP Zurich target urinary tract infections and obesity respectively.

The term "high-performance computer" already implies a high energy demand. Energy efficiency is therefore a central consideration in the procurement and use of supercomputers at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) — just as it was during the planning of the new building in Lugano more than a decade ago.

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.

Autonomous virtual humans that move and behave naturally are Siyu Tang’s vision. One area from which the computer scientist draws inspiration are our behavioural patterns. Collaboration with architects and surgeons provides further input – and it also reveals the enormous potential of virtual people.

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.

Game developers from the ETH Game Technology Center have created an app that explains bone remodelling in a playful way. If students point the camera of their mobile device at the textbook, they find themselves transported to the bone’s surface, where they help cells break down bone tissue.

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.

A team of cryptographers at ETH Zurich conducted extensive testing on the New Zealand-based cloud platform Mega. In doing so, they discovered security holes that would allow the provider to decrypt and manipulate customer data.

Did you miss an important moment? ETH Zurich researchers have developed a system that can record and later replay events in a room in 3D.

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 – while also helping to improve animal welfare. The method is already being tested at Zurich Zoo.

Climate change, pandemics and cyber attacks are risks that have long been in the public spotlight. But there are also risks that ETH researchers consider are still being given too little attention. Photographer Tina Sturzenegger has captured the scenarios on film.

Today, the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Technology (INSAIT) has been launched in Sofia. INSAIT is a new Bulgarian Institute established in partnership with ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne.

An electric car that runs on PV power sounds appealing. But is it really possible to enjoy flexibility with a vehicle charged through a home photovoltaic system? An ETH research team has reached some surprising conclusions.

Increasingly large amounts of data are being sent back and forth around the world. To ensure that this exchange continues to function smoothly, new solutions are needed at the interfaces between chips and optical fibres. The ETH Zurich spin-off Lumiphase relies on a new material that efficiently converts electrical signals into optical ones.

Stanisa Raspopovic connects the digital world of sensors and electrical circuits with the nervous system and its cellular circuits. Now he is the recipient of the 2021 ETH Zurich Latsis Prize.

With the help of artificial intelligence and four collaborative robots, researchers at ETH Zurich are designing and fabricating a 22.5-metre-tall green architectural sculpture.

During her visit to ETH Zurich, Defence Minister Viola Amherd sketched a picture of an unstable, unpredictable world to which Swiss security policy must adapt. ETH Zurich and EPFL make an important contribution to the security of Switzerland by training specialist personnel and facilitating knowledge transfer.

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.

Load-bearing, lightweight and now also recyclable: researchers led by Professor Paolo Ermanni were presented with the Spark Award in recognition of an innovative process for production of sustainable composite materials. ETH Zurich awarded the prize to their promising invention, with this year marking the tenth time the award has been given.

ETH Zurich and UNIGE establish an interdisciplinary unit dedicated to science in diplomacy in the heart of international Geneva. This joint lab will bring scientific insights and methods into diplomatic, international conflict resolution and help address the global challenges our societies are facing.

Torrential rain and flooding have dominated the weather over the past few weeks. To forecast these weather events with greater accuracy and gain a better understanding of them against the backdrop of global climate change, ETH Zurich and partners are developing a new generation of high-resolution weather and climate models.

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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is able to recognise the biological activity of natural products in a targeted manner, as researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated. Moreover, AI helps to find molecules that have the same effect as a natural substance but are easier to manufacture. This opens up huge possibilities for drug discovery, which also have potential to rewrite the rulebook for pharmaceutical research.

This summer, students from ETH Zurich will test various technologies on the Limmat for the automatic removal of waste. The Autonomous River Cleanup project is starting with rivers to tackle the global problem of marine pollution.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are key technologies for science, business, and society – but how transparent are their decisions? Andreas Krause, the 2021 recipient of the Rössler Prize and Chair of the ETH AI Center, shares his thoughts on the opportunities and challenges with trustworthy artificial intelligence.

Niko Beerenwinkel, a Professor at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel, is working with colleagues from other research institutions to examine wastewater for traces of the coronavirus. He has detected the Delta variant in five out of six Swiss wastewater treatment plants examined, including ones in Zurich and Bern. Recently he spoke with ETH News.

From robots that offer solace to algorithms that help judges make fact-based decisions, robotics and machine learning are entering new domains that were once the preserve of humans.

How do you teach machines to learn for themselves and support people? Andreas Krause is one of Europe’s leading machine learning researchers. His approaches combine mathematical elegance with a sense of social responsibility. He has now been awarded the Rössler Prize, ETH Zurich’s most generous research award.

The future quantum computers should be capable of super-fast and reliable computation. Today, this is still a major challenge. Now, computer scientists led by ETH Zurich conduct an early exploration for reliable quantum machine learning.

ETH Zurich is launching a new Centre for Augmented Computational Design in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, known as Design++. 22 professorships from multiple departments are joining forces to develop digitally augmented design tools with a view to improving the efficiency and sustainability of construction.

Fewer typing errors when touching a smartphone keyboard: ETH Computer scientists have developed a new AI solution that enables touchscreens to sense with eight times higher resolution than current devices. Thanks to AI, their solution can infer much more precisely where fingers touch the screen.

ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) establish a joint centre for the development of quantum computers. Its aim is to advance the realization of quantum computers based on both ion traps and superconducting components. ETH Zurich provides 32 million francs for this centre, which will host around 30 researchers.  

The new “LOOP Zurich - Medical Research Center” promotes patient-focused therapies – for example in oncology and neuro-rehabilitation. To achieve its goals, the center brings together specialist knowledge in the fields of biomedicine, clinical research and bioinformatics from the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich as well as Zurich’s four university hospitals.

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.

We can face a crisis better when we work together. This has been illustrated by a study led by ETH Zurich's professor Dirk Helbing: if we share our battery charge with others in the event of a disaster, we could support communication and help to save lives.

Data and information, health and medicine, materials and manufacturing, and responsibility and sustainability: these are the main priorities set out in ETH Zurich’s Strategy and Development Plan for 2021–2024.

A digital twin of our planet is to simulate the Earth system in future. It is intended to support policy-makers in taking appropriate measures to better prepare for extreme events. A new strategy paper by European scientists and ETH Zurich computer scientists shows how this can be achieved.

In the third part of the ETH-podcast series on the topic of uncertainty senior lecturer Myriam Dunn Cavelty and student Karin Holzhauser talk about cybersecurity and its role in computer science. 

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.

Researcher, lecturer, Executive Board member, and the first global ambassador for ETH: Gerhard Schmitt wore many hats during his time at ETH. Schmitt has now retired from his post of Professor of Information Architecture. Here we take a look back at his eventful career.

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.

For the first time, researchers at ETH Zurich have successfully automated the modelling of turbulence. Their project relies on fusing reinforcement learning algorithms with turbulent flow simulations on the CSCS supercomputer "Piz Daint".

Seven ETH researchers can look forward to generous funding for their projects: the European Research Council (ERC) has approved a total amount of around 15 million Swiss francs.  

The Graphische Sammlung opened a new exhibition on 9 December. What makes this latest exhibition special is its integration with an augmented reality app for mobile phones and tablets, which allows visitors to interact with the artwork on display.

Database systems are under pressure to become more and more powerful. But reliability seems to be suffering as a result. Now, ETH computer scientists have developed a tool to automatically detect logic errors in database systems using three different methods. They found and reported over 450 unique, previously unknown bugs.

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.

We want to make sure our phones no longer disturb us at the wrong moment. To achieve this, we first have to better understand where our attention lies when using smartphones. Computer scientists at ETH have now developed a system that records eye contact with the display in everyday situations for the first time. Sociologists and medical experts could also benefit from this.

How do you calculate the coordinated movements of two robot arms so they can accurately guide a highly flexible tool? ETH researchers have integrated all aspects of the optimisation calculations into an algorithm. The hot-wire cutter will be used, among other things, to develop building blocks for a mortar-free structure.

ETH has once again been highly successful in the awarding of this year’s ERC Starting Grants for young researchers, with the European Research Council (ERC) approving a total of CHF 21.4 million in funding for 12 ETH project submissions.

A PIN code is usually required at the checkout when paying large sums by credit card. ETH researchers have now discovered a flaw in the security system of some credit cards.

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.

Twenty international teams competed in the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge 2020, including five teams from ETH Zurich. In an unprecedented winning streak, the ETH Zurich teams not only took the top five places, but also won all the special prizes. The thorough preparation by the student organisation Cyber Group was one of the reasons for their success.

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 Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems has established itself as an address for AI research and the promotion of young scientists. "We answer pressing questions that arise today," says its co-director Thomas Hoffmann.

Several technical advances have been achieved recently in the pursuit of powerful quantum computers. Now, Computer scientists from ETH Zurich have made an important breakthrough in the field of programming languages: their quantum language is the first of its kind that is as elegant, simple and safe as classical computer languages.

Moving images in the newspaper as in Harry Potter, or digital weather forecasts in the Bern dialect? New media technology is transforming journalism. The Media Technology Center at ETH Zurich supports media companies on their path to the future.

For close to two months now, many of us have been working almost entirely from home. And it’s going far better than some people anticipated. What has now become normal will change the working world profoundly, believes Gudela Grote.

Trading in digital currencies such as Bitcoin or Ether has become an established practice but using them as a payment means is still a slow process. ETH Professor Srdjan Capkun and his team have now developed a system that makes cryptocurrency payments secure, fast and practical.

Robots allow people to interact with each other without physical contact. This means they can protect us from infectious diseases, which has been given too little consideration in robotics, says Brad Nelson.

With many of us thrown into an unusual work situation, now’s a good moment to think about boundaries, says Gudela Grote.

Researchers at ETH have measured the timing of single writing events in a novel magnetic memory device with a resolution of less than 100 picoseconds. Their results are relevant for the next generation of main memories based on magnetism.

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.

Cancer’s genetic causes are more diverse than previous scientific studies have indicated – a conclusion reached by researchers from ETH Zurich and University Hospital Zurich. Through their participation in an international research collaboration, they helped compile the most comprehensive catalogue to date of gene alterations associated with cancer. Their work was based on the analysis of whole cancer genomes.