Four professors appointed at ETH Zurich

Upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Lino Guzzella, the ETH Board appointed a total of four professors, and awarded the title of professor to two individuals.

Enlarged view: Bart Clarysse, Eric Dufresne, Emilio Frazzoli und Paolo Arosio. (Bild: ETH Zürich/ Imperial College/ Stephanie Anestis/ David Sella/ Paolo Arosio)
Bart Clarysse, Eric Dufresne, Emilio Frazzoli und Paolo Arosio are the new professors of ETH Zurich. (Bild: ETH Zurich/ Imperial College/ Stephanie Anestis/ David Sella/ Paolo Arosio)

Upon application of the President of ETH Zurich, Professor Lino Guzzella, at its meeting of 2/3 December 2015 the ETH Board appointed a total of four professors, took note of the resignation of four professors and thanked them for their services, and awarded the title of professor to two individuals.

Appointments at ETH Zurich

Bart Clarysse. (Photo: Imperial College/Jason Alden)
Bart Clarysse. (Photo: Imperial College/Jason Alden)

Professor Bart Clarysse (*1969), currently Professor at Imperial College, London, as Full Professor of Entrepreneurship. Bart Clarysse is an acclaimed expert in the field of high-tech start-ups. His research interests include the set-up phase of these companies, the subsequent development and growth cycles, as well as potential acquisition by established companies. Consulting for numerous European governments and agencies and having himself founded several start-up firms, Bart Clarysse has a strong practical bias. Thus he is ideally placed to strengthen the field of entrepreneurship at ETH Zurich and to further enhance collaboration with industry.

Eric Dufresne. (Photo: Stephanie Anestis)
Eric Dufresne. (Photo: Stephanie Anestis)

Professor Eric Dufresne (*1974), currently tenured Associate Professor at Yale University, New Haven, USA, as Full Professor of Soft and Living Materials. Eric Dufresne is a leading international scientist in the area of soft materials. His research focuses on understanding, controlling and exploiting the structure and dynamics of soft materials. These include the bulk of living tissues, as well as diverse engineered materials, from personal care products to energy-efficient electronic-paper displays. Coupling his specialist expertise with findings from biology, Eric Dufresne will significantly enhance ETH Zurich’s standing in the field of materials science.

Emilio Frazzoli (Photo: David Sella)
Emilio Frazzoli (Photo: David Sella)

Professor Emilio Frazzoli (*1970), currently Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA, as Full Professor of Dynamic Systems and Control. Emilio Frazzoli is an expert in the areas of control, distributed systems and algorithmic robotics. His research findings in the field of smart urban mobility have attracted huge interest worldwide. Focusing on the development of new technologies for sustainable mobility in conurbations, his work addresses issues of the utmost topicality. Emilio Frazzoli’s appointment will both significantly reinforce and internationally showcase ETH Zurich’s competencies in the area of the control of autonomous vehicles and transport systems.

Enlarged view: Paolo Arosio. (Photo: Paolo Arosio)
Paolo Arosio. (Photo: Paolo Arosio)

Dr Paolo Arosio (*1983), currently post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK, as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Biochemical Engineering. Paolo Arosio has already produced some outstanding scientific work and possesses skills at the interfaces between engineering sciences, biophysics and physical chemistry. His research is aimed at understanding and controlling the protein assembly and interaction processes that underlie problems of fundamental and practical importance in biology and biotechnology. Potential applications for his findings include the fight against neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Paolo Arosio’s appointment strengthens ETH Zurich’s international lead in the area of biochemical engineering.

Award of the title of Professor

Thomas Driesner. (Photo: Thomas Driesner)
Thomas Driesner. (Photo: Thomas Driesner)

Dr Thomas Driesner (*1965), Senior Lecturer and Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich. Thomas Driesner’s work deals with the hydrothermal systems of the earth's crust and their exploitation in geothermal projects. A leading expert in this field, he understands how to impart his know-how both within a scientific context and for the purposes of interfacing with practical applications.

Andreas Kunz. (Photo: Andreas Kunz)
Andreas Kunz. (Photo: Andreas Kunz)

Dr Andreas Kunz (*1961), Senior Lecturer and Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich. Andreas Kunz is an internationally acclaimed expert in the field of virtual environments to support and simplify industrial business processes. His focus lies in translating the results of basic research into practice, which makes him a valuable partner in technology transfer projects.

Departures from ETH Zurich

Professor Michael Meyer (*1967), currently Full Professor of Star and Planet Formation, will leave ETH Zurich at the end of August 2016. Appointed to ETH Zurich in 2003, Michael Meyer is a globally acclaimed astrophysicist. The focus of his research includes the development of new techniques to detect and investigate planets and stars. Michael Meyer will be taking up the post of Professor of Astronomy at the University of Michigan, USA.

Professor Manfred Morari (*1951), currently Full Professor of Automatic Control, will be retiring at the end of July 2016. Manfred Morari was appointed to ETH Zurich in 1994. A scientist of international renown, he has made a notable contribution to research and teaching. Drawing on his extensive network, he played a major part in the internationalisation of engineering at ETH Zurich. His involvement in the introduction of the tenure track system at ETH Zurich in 2000 also pointed the way ahead. Manfred Morari’s research focuses on continuous and switched systems and their application to problems in the automotive, power electronics and biomedical domains.

Professor Philipp Grohs (*1981), currently Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics, will be stepping down at the end of June 2016. Philipp Grohs was appointed to his present post in autumn 2011. His interests include questions related to the numerical solution of high-dimensional partial differential equations. Philipp Grohs is leaving ETH Zurich to take up a position as Full Professor at the University of Vienna.

Professor Johannes Muhle-Karbe (*1980), currently Assistant Professor of Financial Mathematics, will leave ETH Zurich at the end of 2015. He joined the university in autumn 2010. The findings of his research have a high degree of social relevance, given the completely new demands that the stability of a globally networked system places on mathematical modelling. Johannes Muhle-Karbe will be taking up the position of tenured Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, USA.

The ETH Board would like to thank the departing professors for their services to science, teaching and academic administration.

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