Prof. Hedan Bai is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, specializing in robotics materials, bio-inspired systems, and soft robotics. Their research focuses on developing advanced materials for sensing, energy-efficient systems, and biomedical applications. Notable projects include the SmartSuit architecture for space exploration and self-healing optical sensors for soft robots. Research interests span bioelectronics, stretchable sensors, haptic interfaces, and biomimetic materials. Bai's work integrates material science with robotics to create adaptive, sustainable, and intelligent systems. Key areas include wireless implants for neuromodulation, environmental-responsive textiles, and energy-harvesting devices. Publications highlight innovations in optical waveguides, self-healing materials, and wearable technologies. Their interdisciplinary approach bridges robotics, biomedical engineering, and aerospace applications. No formal awards are listed, but contributions to next-gen materials for robotics are prominent. Advising and grants are not detailed in the text, but Bai's lab focuses on projects like SmartSuit for extravehicular activities and synthetic afferent neural networks. Collaborations likely involve aerospace and biomedical sectors.
Prof. Dr. Gonzalo Guillén Gosálbez is a Full Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences , ETH Zürich. He holds a PhD in Process Systems Engineering (UPC, 2005) and has held academic positions at Imperial College London (Reader), University of Manchester (Senior Lecturer), and Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Assistant/Associate Professor). His research focuses on Sustainable Chemical Processes , integrating life cycle assessment, optimization techniques, and planetary boundary analysis to evaluate and design low-carbon technologies. Current position: Full Professor, ETH Zürich (2019–present) Prior roles: Imperial College London (2016–2019), University of Manchester (2014–2016), URV Spain (2008–2014) Education: PhD (UPC, 2005), MEng/BEng (University of Murcia) His research explores CO2 valorization , green methanol synthesis , circular marine fuels , and planetary boundary compliance in energy and chemical systems. Recent work emphasizes machine learning for process modeling, single-atom catalysis , and decentralized ammonia production . Scientific contributions include 15+ peer-reviewed articles (2023–2025) in journals like Nature Chemical Engineering , ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering , and Energy & Environmental Science . Key themes: Optimization of hybrid fossil/renewable carbon systems Environmental impacts of energy transitions Catalyst design for sustainable chemistry Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies Awarded UPC Top Doctoral Student Award and Top National Student Award , he combines process systems engineering with sustainability metrics to address global challenges in chemical and energy systems.
Prof. Stefan Wiemer is the Director of the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) and holds the Chair of Seismology at ETH Zurich's Department of Earth and Planetary Science. He obtained a geophysics diploma from Ruhr University Bochum (1992) and a PhD from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1997). His research focuses on earthquake processes, probabilistic hazard assessments, induced seismicity, and geothermal energy applications. He has published over 200 articles and supervised 30 PhD students, while also lecturing at the University of Bern. Key Roles: Member of ERC Grants Evaluation Panel (2015–present) Scientific Advisor to GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences (2021–present) President of Swiss Geophysical Commission Projects: Leader of Switzerland's national earthquake risk model Coordinator of EU-funded RISE (risk assessments) and DEEP (geothermal de-risking) projects Principal Investigator for ERC Synergy grant FEAR (BedrettoLab fault experiments) His research spans operational earthquake forecasting, CO2 storage monitoring, and the BedrettoLab underground experiments. He has won the Humboldt Foundation Fellowship (1997) and contributed to international initiatives like the Dutch Mining Effects Panel. Teaching includes ETH's Geophysics I course. Scientific contributions include developing seismic hazard models (ERM-CH23), real-time induced seismicity forecasting frameworks, and innovative techniques for fault dynamics analysis. His work integrates field data, laboratory experiments, and computational modeling to address both natural and human-induced seismic risks.
Prof. Dr. Johan Robertsson is a Full Professor of Applied Geophysics and Head of the Exploration and Environmental Geophysics (EEG) Group at ETH Zürich's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. He holds a MSc from Uppsala University (1991) and a PhD in Geophysics from Rice University (1994). Before joining ETH in 2012, he spent 15 years at Schlumberger in R&D roles, leading projects that revolutionized marine seismic data acquisition. His research focuses on wave propagation physics, seismic data inversion, and applications in exploration and environmental geophysics. He pioneered the use of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) for landslide monitoring and contributed to Mars seismology via the InSight mission. Education: MSc in Engineering Physics, Uppsala University (1991) PhD in Geophysics, Rice University (1994) Research Interests: Seismic wavefield modeling and inversion Planetary seismology (Mars, Moon) Acoustic metamaterials and wave control Environmental geohazard monitoring Marine seismic acquisition techniques His work on the Martian soil properties using InSight data and lunar exploration instrumentation (ALGEP) reflects his cross-disciplinary approach. He holds 90+ patents and has secured prestigious grants like the ERC Advanced Grant. Awards: EAGE Guido Bonarelli Award (2020) ERC Advanced Grant MATRIX (2017) EAGE Conrad Schlumberger Award (2018) Grants & Advising: Led the MATRIX ERC project advancing seismic imaging algorithms Advised over 20 PhD/MS students (names not listed) Secured Schlumberger's largest R&D project in marine seismic sampling His EEG Group operates cutting-edge labs for immersive wave experimentation and planetary geophysical instrumentation. Current initiatives include lunar subsurface exploration and acoustic invisibility experiments.
Vincent Dufour-Décieux is a researcher at the Professorship for Energy and Process Systems Engineering at ETH Zürich , focusing on developing computational methods for material screening in separation processes and global net-zero transitions. He earned his Master's in Materials Chemistry from Ecole Polytechnique (France) and a PhD in Materials Science from Stanford University , where he pioneered statistical methods combining Kinetic Monte Carlo and random graph theory to study planetary diamond formation. Research Highlights: Application of Classical Density Functional Theory (cDFT) for 100x faster adsorption property predictions in porous materials Development of science-based definitions for "hard-to-abate" emissions to guide climate action prioritization Integration of Coulombic interactions in cDFT for CO2 adsorption accuracy Article Trends : His work spans computational materials science (cDFT, random graph theory) and climate policy analysis, with recent publications in Joule , AIChE Journal , and Physical Review E . These studies emphasize scalable solutions for carbon capture, material screening efficiency, and accurate thermodynamic modeling. Collaborations : Active in international conferences (FOA15, MolMod, Gordon Research Conference) and cross-institutional projects with teams at Stanford, ETH Zürich, and industry partners.
Janina Grabs is Professor of Sustainability Research at the University of Basel, where she heads the subject area of Sustainability Research within the Department of Social Sciences at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is responsible for social science teaching in the Master's program in Sustainable Development and leads a research group investigating sustainability governance in global value chains, particularly in tropical agricultural commodities. Her academic background includes a PhD in Political Science from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster (2018), with research stays at Carleton University in Ottawa and Yale University in New Haven. Prior to her current position since June 1, 2024, she worked as an assistant professor at ESADE Business School in Barcelona (2021-2024) and as a postdoc at ETH Zurich (2019-2021). Professor Grabs' research focuses on transnational sustainability governance in global value chains, examining how states, firms, NGOs and other actors can improve environmental and social sustainability in commodity production. Her interdisciplinary work bridges political economy, regulatory governance, and business in society scholarship to investigate who defines sustainability in the marketplace, what rule-making mechanisms exist, their effectiveness, and potential unintended consequences on smallholders' livelihoods. She places special emphasis on coffee, palm oil, and cocoa sectors, exploring how global production and consumption processes can be steered toward more sustainable directions within market frameworks. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on zero-deforestation initiatives, supply chain due diligence legislation (particularly the EU Deforestation Regulation), jurisdictional approaches to sustainable commodity governance, and the evolving role of various actors in sustainability governance. Her work spans multiple commodities but shows particular depth in coffee and palm oil sectors, examining both environmental and social dimensions of sustainability through field research in Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica and Indonesia. Her significant contributions to the field have been recognized with prestigious awards: 2021 Organizations and the Natural Environment Book Award from the Academy of Management 2022 Lynton Keith Caldwell Award for the best book in the field of science, technology and environmental politics from the American Political Science Association Professor Grabs actively mentors doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers including Alexandra Bögner, Charline Depoorter, Lucia Casalegno, Lesly Nassila, and Philipp Dunker. Her research is supported by multiple third-party funded projects such as EXPECT-AGRI (investigating political economy of expectations in agri-food sustainability transformations), PACSMAC (examining paradoxes of climate-smart coffee production), and research on zero-deforestation commitments in the palm oil sector. She also serves as book review editor for the journal Regulation & Governance and participates in professional associations including the ECPR Standing Group on Regulatory Governance and the International Studies Association. She leads the Sustainability Research Group at the University of Basel, which conducts interdisciplinary research on sustainability governance and transformations toward more sustainable socio-economic systems, with particular focus on agri-food, energy, and mobility sectors while addressing critical questions of justice, equity, and inclusivity in sustainability transitions.
Dr. Attila Balázs is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at ETH Zurich's Institute of Geophysics, affiliated with the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. His research integrates numerical modeling with geological data to investigate tectonic-surface process interactions, focusing on orogen-basin systems and continental deformation. Key contributions include studies on back-arc basins, transform faults, and the Tibetan Plateau's uplift mechanisms. He holds the 2020 Flinn-Hart Award and an ETH Zurich Postdoctoral Fellowship. His work emphasizes geodynamic processes such as mantle delamination, slab dynamics, and crustal deformation patterns. Balázs collaborates with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Group and maintains an active research portfolio spanning field observations, seismic analysis, and 3D numerical simulations. Research Foci: Tectonic modeling, basin evolution, mantle dynamics, and crustal rheology Key Regions: Pannonian Basin, Tibetan Plateau, Adriatic Sea, Himalayas His articles highlight interdisciplinary approaches to understanding continental and oceanic tectonics, with recent emphasis on transform fault mechanics, triple junction dynamics, and the interplay between tectonics and climate.
Dr. Maren Boese is a Senior Research Scientist at the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) and Seismology and Geodynamics (SEG) groups at ETH Zurich. Her expertise spans seismology, earthquake early warning systems, and planetary seismology. She leads projects like the CISN ShakeAlert system for California and contributed to NASA's InSight mission to Mars. She earned her Ph.D. from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (2006) and a Master's from Kiel University (2002). Research Focus: Real-time seismic event detection, finite-fault rupture analysis, ground-motion simulation, and Marsquake seismology. Key contributions include developing the FinDer algorithm for the ShakeAlert system and advancing early warning methodologies in Central America and Switzerland. Awards: 2011: Outstanding Publication Award (Luxembourg National Research Fund) 2010: Ausgewählter Ort im Land der Ideen (BMBF Project EWS Transport) 2006: European IST Prize (Early Warning for Strong Earthquakes) Grants & Leadership: Led the CISN ShakeAlert team (2009–2014), managed the German CRC 461 project, and coordinated international collaborations like the InSight Marsquake Service. Labs/Teams: Swiss Seismological Service (ETH Zurich), NASA InSight Mission, and the CHEAP smartphone network project in Chile.
Savas Ceylan is a Researcher at ETH Zurich's Institute of Geophysics, affiliated with the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. His work focuses on planetary seismology, particularly analyzing seismic data from Mars using advanced techniques like deep learning. Ceylan's research addresses Martian tectonic activity, impact cratering, and seismic event characterization, contributing to understanding Mars' geological dynamics through missions like InSight. Key research interests include seismic denoising, fault rupture modeling, and planetary interior structure analysis. He has collaborated on studies of large earthquakes in Turkey and Martian seismicity patterns, emphasizing real-time seismic analysis and planetary hazard assessment. Publications highlight innovations in seismic data interpretation, from denoising algorithms to impact rate estimation on Mars. His work bridges computational methods with geophysical observation, advancing knowledge of extraterrestrial seismology.
Dr. Yinghe Qi is a Professor in the Department of Experimental Fluid Dynamics at ETH Zürich, Switzerland. His research focuses on multiphase flows, turbulence, and free-surface dynamics, with applications in aerospace, marine engineering, and computational fluid dynamics. He has contributed extensively to understanding bubble dynamics, flow instabilities, and turbulence modulation through experimental and phenomenological studies. Research Interests: Dr. Qi’s work addresses complex phenomena in multiphase flow instabilities free-surface turbulence deformable bubble dynamics supersonic jet interactions vortex-induced fragmentation machine learning in fluid dynamics Recent Publications: His recent studies (2023–2025) explore multiscale bubble deformation, free-surface turbulence structure, and supersonic jet-plume interactions. Key themes include turbulent fragmentation, vortex-bubble coupling, and novel computational methodologies. Laboratory Affiliations: He collaborates with the Coletti Group, Jenny Group, and Supponen Group at ETH Zürich, advancing experimental and computational techniques in fluid dynamics.
Prof. Donat Fäh is a faculty member at ETH Zurich's Institute of Geophysics, part of the Swiss Seismological Service (SED). His work focuses on advancing seismic hazard assessment and site response modeling in Switzerland and beyond. He leads interdisciplinary projects integrating geophysical surveys, machine learning, and empirical data to refine risk models for urban areas like Basel and Lucerne. Key contributions include developing the ERM-CH23 national earthquake risk framework and improving methodologies for nonlinear soil behavior analysis using KiK-net data from Japan. His research emphasizes high-resolution amplification mapping, subsurface characterization via ambient vibrations, and understanding glacial and subaqueous slope dynamics. Research interests span seismic site effects, soil mechanics, landslide stability monitoring, and the application of advanced geophysical inversion techniques. He collaborates internationally to enhance earthquake risk communication and building code compliance, particularly in low seismicity regions. Current efforts include refining 3D geophysical models for urban settings and exploring Bayesian methods for subsurface structure identification. His work bridges fundamental geophysical research with practical engineering solutions for infrastructure resilience. Advising and grants: No formal advisees or grant details are explicitly listed in the provided texts. His collaborative projects, however, suggest involvement in large-scale initiatives such as URBASIS and the Swiss strong-motion network modernization. Labs and teams: Prof. Fäh is affiliated with the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) and actively contributes to ETH Zurich’s seismic monitoring infrastructure. His team collaborates with institutions in Japan (KiK-net network) and applies cutting-edge geophysical techniques to study subglacial environments and lakebed geotechnics.
Dr. Cara Magnabosco serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich, holding the dedicated Professorship for Geobiology. She maintains her research office at NO E 5, Sonneggstrasse 5, Zurich, and teaches core courses including Geobiology (651-4143-00L) and Seminar on Precambrian Geobiology and Biogeochemical Cycles (651-4145-00L) for Fall semester 2025. Her research program investigates the fundamental interactions between biological systems and geological processes across Earth's history, with particular emphasis on: Microbial ecology in deep subsurface environments Biogeochemical cycling during Precambrian eras Co-evolutionary patterns of life and planetary systems Preservation of ancient biosignatures Early Earth environmental conditions Dr. Magnabosco leads the Geobiology research group at ETH Zurich, which integrates field, laboratory, and analytical approaches to reconstruct ancient Earth systems. No information regarding scientific awards, student mentorship, or research grants was provided in the source material, and publication history remains undocumented in the available text.
Dr. Maria Giuditta Fellin is a Lecturer at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich, affiliated with the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology. She is part of the Earth Surface Dynamics Group and specializes in low-temperature thermochronology, using fission-track and (U-Th)/He dating techniques on zircon and apatite to study mountain belt exhumation and erosion processes. Her work focuses on linking tectonic activity, erosion patterns, and long-term landscape evolution. Her research spans global tectonic regions including the Pamir, Alps, Apennines, and Andes. She teaches courses on sedimentary petrography, microscopy, geochronology, and climate-soil-water interactions. No specific scientific awards are listed in the provided information. Her technical expertise includes advanced geochronological methods and quantitative modeling of tectonic-erosional systems.
Colette Heald is a Full Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at ETH Zürich’s Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, serving as Deputy Head of the Institute. She holds a PhD in Earth and Planetary Science from Harvard University (2005) and has held academic roles at Colorado State University (2008–2011), MIT (2012–2023), and now ETH since 2024. Her research focuses on global tropospheric chemistry, atmospheric aerosols, biosphere-atmosphere interactions, and chemistry-climate linkages. Key contributions include advancing understanding of wildfire impacts on air quality, aerosol dynamics, and climate feedbacks. Dr. Heald’s honors include the AGU James B. Macelwane Medal (2015) and multiple teaching/leadership awards from MIT. She leads the Atmospheric Chemistry Group at ETH, contributing to courses like Atmospheric Chemistry and the Colloquium on Atmosphere and Climate. Her work integrates observational data with advanced models, addressing critical questions in climate change mitigation, air pollution, and environmental sustainability.
Maria Schönbächler is a Full Professor and Deputy Head of the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology at ETH Zürich. Her research focuses on the formation of the Solar System and planets, with expertise in cosmochemistry, isotopic analysis, and meteorite studies. She leads projects on nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies, volatile element distribution, and planetary accretion processes. Her recent publications highlight isotopic studies of asteroid Ryugu samples, titanium and zirconium isotope heterogeneity, and volatile depletion in carbonaceous chondrites. Key themes include early solar system water circulation, presolar grain dynamics, and Hadean mantle evolution. Collaborations span planetary science, analytical chemistry, and astrophysics. Notable trends in publications: Isotopic constraints on planetary formation (Ryugu, Vesta, Earth's mantle) Volatile element mobility in meteorites and planetary bodies Protoplanetary disk heterogeneity and nucleosynthetic processes Advanced mass spectrometry techniques (MC-ICPMS, TIMS) Implications for solar system accretion and core formation
