March 2024

On 29 February 2024, the graduation ceremony for the Master’s programme in Environmental Engineering took place in the Audimax of ETH Zurich. About 40 graduates attended the ceremony together with their families and friends. Nickolas Meyer, CEO of ecoinvent, gave the keynote speech. The Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering congratulates its environmental engineers on their successful graduation and wishes them all the best for the future!

What will it feel like to research, teach, study and work at a climate-neutral ETH Zurich? With the launch of the "ETH net zero" programme, all ETH members are on a major expedition together towards an ambitious goal. The message: "All for zero 2030".

Renovating buildings to improve their energy efficiency is a crucial step towards Switzerland achieving its climate targets. ETH Zurich researchers can now reveal the most effective renovation strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: replace fossil-fuel heating systems and harness the potential of bio-based building materials like straw and hemp. The study in the journal "Nature Communications" was led by Alina Galimshina and professors Bruno Sudret and Guillaume Habert.

ETH researchers led by Professor Benedikt Soja, have succeeded in detecting heavy precipitation events directly with GPS data. The results of their study could significantly improve meteorological monitoring and forecasting.

“Respect – Reflect – Respond”: Starting today, you’ll come across this slogan at various places at ETH Zurich. It’s part of the new Respect programme aimed at all members of the university community. These three words summarise how we should treat each other at ETH: on equal terms, willing to reflect on our own thoughts and actions, and responding appropriately in a variety of contexts.

The new ETH Policy Fellowship aims to foster greater understanding between government and the academic world. Regina Witter from the Federal Office for Spatial Development was among the first cohort to take part. During her time at ETH Zurich, she was embedded in the research group of Professor David Kaufmann at D-BAUG.

D-BAUG Environmental engineer Estelle Clerc searches remote waters such as the deep ocean for bacteria that can degrade specific pollutants such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals and pesticides.

Recycling is an accepted formula for sustainable resource use, but in the case of plastic it can have serious side effects, says Helene Wiesinger – and uses the example of plastic flooring in Switzerland to illustrate the dilemma.

At its meeting on March 6 and 7, the ETH Board, at the request of ETH President Joël Mesot, appointed several new professors, including two Adjunct Professors and one "Professor of Practice" for the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. Their focus is on environmental engineering and spatial planning respectively.

On the occasion of Guillaume Habert’s promotion to Full Professor of Sustainable Construction at D-BAUG, we asked him what currently drives him in research and teaching. He also shared with us what he considers the most important things in life and what he would do if he had an extra 53 minutes to spend every week.