May 2025

Organic particles that settle on the seabed ensure CO₂ stays locked. However, natural gel-like substances slow down this process. Such microscale mechanisms play a crucial role in enhancing climate predictions.

With ten institutes, over six hundred staff members and almost a thousand publications each year, the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering is at the forefront of addressing some of the most urgent issues of our time. The 2024 Annual Report showcases our most significant accomplishments in research, teaching, and knowledge transfer. It also provides insights into our donors and partners, as well as detailed facts and figures.

Marine bacteria control how much CO2 is stored in the oceans, by swimming after and degrading sinking particles that would otherwise remain stored in the ocean for millennia. Researchers have discovered that some bacteria can swim for several days without food while searching for these particles, losing body weight in the process. Understanding how marine bacteria do this may lead to a better prediction of marine carbon storage capacity and climate mitigation.

Five years ago, an experiment began at ETH Hönggerberg: researchers set up an outdoor laboratory in the forest near the campus. They used sensors positioned in trees, the soil and in a stream to study water dynamics and the “old water paradox”. ETH News accompanied the head of the experiment, Marius Floriancic.

What if wooden parquet floors were not only aesthetically pleasing, but also equipped with sensors in the future? In a project funded by Innosuisse, researchers at ETH Zurich and the Bauwerk Group demonstrated what modern and sustainable parquet floors could look like.

Tor Alva was officially inaugurated in Mulegns today in the presence of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and President of ETH Zurich Joël Mesot. The almost 30-metre-high, gleaming white tower is the world’s tallest 3D-printed building.

Cities can expand their bike lane networks significantly without causing additional congestion on the roads. That is the conclusion reached by the ETH research project E-Bike City. Project lead and transport researcher Kay Axhausen explains the implications for traffic, the environment and costs. 

Hidden beneath the Antarctic ice lies a system of lakes and watercourses. A research team, including ETH researchers, has for the first time directly observed the subglacial streams of West Antarctica. Their study shows how individual flood events influence the melting of the ice.

Metal corrosion has been a fact of human life for thousands of years – and still presents us with major challenges today. Ueli Angst researches how we can better understand and control this phenomenon. Two start-ups that emerged from his research group are already developing innovative solutions. On the occasion of his promotion to associate professor, we took the opportunity to ask him what currently drives him in research and teaching.