December

For geodynamicist Taras Gerya, one thing is clear: our highly developed civilisation is the only one in the entire galaxy and therefore all the more worthy of preservation. To develop approaches for its protection, he has co-founded a new interdisciplinary field of research.?

During this year¡¯s ¡°Innovation Project¡±, mechanical engineering students built robots that can cultivate a model-scale permaculture garden. In the final, on 16 December, the best teams will demonstrate how their autonomous systems sow, harvest and deliver fruit sorted by variety.

ETH Professor Nicola Spaldin will soon take over one of the Vice Presidencies of the European Research Council. In this interview, she explains what the role means for her as a researcher, and what it means to her personally.?

Researchers from ETH Zurich have succeeded in introducing large quantities of unnatural amino acids into bacteria, enabling the creation of innovative and highly efficient designer proteins. These can be used as more efficient catalysts or more effective drugs.?

In the latest allocation of European funding for cutting-edge research, ETH Zurich scientists have performed exceptionally well. Here, we present the projects that will receive several million euros in funding.

Ursula Keller, Professor of Physics at ETH Zurich, will deliver her farewell lecture on Monday, 15 December 2025. Her talk, entitled ¡°Ultrafast science: a 32-year journey in Physics at ETH Zurich,¡± marks the close of more than three decades at the forefront of ultrafast laser science ¨C a field she helped build from the ground up.?

In Switzerland¡¯s first inclusive 'ParaWG'-flatshare, students from ETH Zurich live alongside people with spinal cord injuries. It is hoped that the students will draw on this experience to help make the world more accessible for disabled people.?

Gregor Spuhler has headed up the Archives of Contemporary History (AfZ), home to important historical resources, for 18 years. In this interview, he talks about what he thinks about Nazi comparisons and why Switzerland needs a memorial for the victims of National Socialism right now.?

At its meeting of 3 and 4 December 2025 and upon application of Jo?l Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed eleven professors. In addition, seven adjunct professorships were awarded.

For the first time, researchers have observed live and in high resolution how influenza viruses infect living cells. This was possible thanks to a new microscopy technique, which could now help to develop antiviral therapies in a more targeted manner.?