D-BAUG contributes to humanitarian aid program
In the second round of the Engineering Humanitarian Aid initiative, six more projects at ETH Zurich and EPFL were approved. D-BAUG succeeded with two project proposals, thus leading the Zurich chapter – the other grants go to Lausanne. The department will contribute expertise in infrastructure management and remote monitoring in conflict-affected settings.
The Engineering Humanitarian Aid initiative is a collaboration between ETH Zurich, EPFL and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The goal is to put science and technology at the service of humanitarian aid. The approved projects at D-BAUG are highly interdisciplinary. Several research groups will contribute their know-how to develop holistic solutions related to challenges in the provision of health services and the monitoring of armed conflicts. The projects are led by Professor Guillaume Habert and Professor Konrad Schindler respectively.
Building Resilience in Health Infrastructure
The project will build a resilience strategy for health facilities in conflict-affected settings, which will focus both on avoiding performance losses and on boosting the bounce back or recovery period. The goal is to unpack the complex systemic interactions that affect health infrastructures such as hospitals, and to strengthen their social and technical resilience. The project includes a rapid resilience assessment, the modelling of the system response to disruptive events and the development of a resilience monitoring framework.
Projec team
- Lead: Professor Guillaume Habert (Sustainable Construction)
- Co-Lead: Professor Bryan Adey (Infrastructure management), Professor David Kaufmann (Spatial Development and Urban Policy), Dr. Jennifer Duyne Barenstein (ETH Wohnforum - ETH CASE), Professor Bozidar Stojadinovic (Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering))
- ICRC: Pavlos Tamvakis (Head of Project Management/ ICRC Water & Habitat Unit), Alexander Humbert (Construction Project Manager/ ICRC Water & Habitat Unit)
- Partners: Professor Mayssa Dabaghi, American University Beirut; Professor Yiannis Xenidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; Architects Leinhäupl + Neuber GmbH.
Remote Monitoring of Armed Conflicts
The project aims to improve remote monitoring of armed conflicts through artificial intelligence as a way to strengthen early warning capabilities. The project combines deep learning with open-source satellite imagery to support the ICRC in addressing human rights violations in armed conflicts. The use of this remote sensing technology complements on-the-ground activities and is particularly valuable to gather information about conflict events in remote regions or areas with high security risks.
Projec team
- Lead: Professor Konrad Schindler (Remote Sensing), Download Professor Jan Dirk Wegner (University of Zurich) and Valerie Sticher (Download Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich)
- Partners: Thao Ton-That Whelan (ICRC), Jonathan Drake (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Martin Wählisch (UNDPPA Innovation Cell)
The Engineering Humanitarian Aid initiative was launched in December 2020 by ETH Zurich, EPFL and the ICRC. After the second round of calls, 12 collaborative projects are now developing effective solutions for a greater impact in humanitarian action. Of these 12, four projects are led by D-BAUG researchers.
Press release by ETH for Development announcing the approved projects 2022