D-BAUG News

From bridges and tunnels to railways, Switzerland has always invested heavily in the upkeep of its infrastructure. But how does it keep everything operating safely and smoothly while also instilling confidence that nothing will go wrong?

The «WaldLab Forest Experimental Site» on Hönggerberg in Zurich is a key site in the international EU Horizon project CryoSCOPE, which started in February 2025. CryoSCOPE investigates the interplay between atmospheric, cryospheric, and hydrologic systems across various landscapes, including the Swiss Alps, Finnish Lapland, Svalbard, and the Himalayas. A key focus is on quantifying hydrologic partitioning, so how precipitation is distributed into streamflow, groundwater, and evapotranspiration.

João P. Leitão develops innovative urban water management solutions to help cities tackle the challenges posed by climate change. Increasing temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events present major challenges to urban infrastructure. On the occasion of his appointment as Adjunct Professor, we asked what currently drives him in research and teaching.

The ETH Spin-off DuraMon has raised 1.6 million francs in a seed round extension to advance its cutting-edge sensor technology for corrosion monitoring in concrete infrastructure. Backed by key investors such as QBIT Capital and Sika, the company plans to streamline operations, scale its technology, and expand across Europe – setting the stage for its next growth phase.

Switzerland’s glaciers are in increasingly poor shape. If greenhouse gas emissions are not cut drastically soon, they could cease to exist by 2100 – so says ETH Professor Daniel Farinotti in this ETH News interview to mark the first World Day for Glaciers.

Lorenz Hurni considers what constitutes maps and why they are also instruments of power – and reveals how the Swiss World Atlas deals with disputed names and unilateral name changes.

The Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatic Engineering at ETH Zurich is one of the best in the world: in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025, ETH is ranked second in Civil & Structural Engineering, marking a steady rise from 9th place in 2021.

At the meeting on 5 and 6 March 2025, the ETH Board appointed numerous professors at the request of ETH President Joël Mesot, including Paola Passalacqua for the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. She succeeds Professor Paolo Burlando, who will retire at the end of July 2025.

For more than 100 years, International Women's Day has been celebrated on March 8. The day is intended to celebrate the achievements of the women's rights movement to date, to draw attention to existing discrimination and inequalities, and to encourage people to work for gender justice, including at ETH Zurich.

What’s life like as a student at ETH Zurich? In the latest episode of the “Student Stories” video series, Marcel Walter provides us with a glimpse into his life as a civil engineering student.