René M. Rossi

Prof. Dr. René M. Rossi is Co-Head of the Department 'Materials meet Life' and Head of the Laboratory 'Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles' at Empa. He holds adjunct and invited professorships at ETH Zurich and Université de Haute-Alsace, and serves on the Advisory Board of the School of Medicine at the University of St. Gallen. His work focuses on the intersection of materials science and biomedical applications.

His research interests lie in biomimetic membranes, smart and functional textiles, wearable health monitoring systems, and digital health solutions. He leads the 'SkinTegrity' project and explores innovations in hydrogels, thermoregulation, and textile-based sensors for medical use. His group develops materials that interact intelligently with the human body, aiming to improve healthcare and protective clothing.

Prof. Rossi has received multiple innovation awards, including the TechTextil Innovation Award (2013, 2015), Challenge Debiopharm (2016), and the Empa Innovation Award (2020) for the 'HelloMask' project. He is a member of several scientific boards, including the Fiber Society and the European Society for Protective Clothing (President in 2019).

• Adjunct Professor, D_HEST, ETH Zürich
• Invited Professor, LPMT, Université de Haute-Alsace, Mulhouse, France
• Principal Investigator, SkinTegrity
• President, Research Council of Innovation Park Ost
• Member, SNSF/Innosuisse BRIDGE Proof of Concept Evaluation Panel

He actively engages in technology transfer and innovation, holding patents in textile-based medical devices and self-calibrating analyte measurement systems. His team collaborates with hospitals and industry partners, including the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen and Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale. He also contributes to scientific journals as a member of the editorial boards of Scientific Reports and Textile Research Journal.