ETH Zurich Annual report 2007 ETH ZURICHETH Annual report 2007 ETH Zurich annual report 2007 Contents Donations 4 Portrait of ETH 6 Foreword from the President 8 Teaching 10 Research 12 Planning 14 ETH and industry 16 ETH and the climate 22 ETH and medicine 28 Cultural facilities 34 Picture gallery 38 Facts and figures: Highlights 40 Facts and figures 44 Honors at the ETH Day 64 Other honors for ETH staff 66 Organizational chart 73 3 Donations to ETH Zurich and the ETH Zurich Foundation Many thanks! The following companies, foundations and private individuals have given financial support to ETH Zurich and the ETH Zurich Foundation in 2007, or have promised a donation1. ETH Zurich is grateful to everyone who supports it for their valuable contributions and for their confidence. Companies GSM Association ABB Schweiz AG Hans Süsli Stiftung Ascom (Schweiz) AG Hasler Stiftung Avaloq Helmut Horten Stiftung Bühler AG HFSP Human Frontier Science Program Organization Collano AG Hirschmann-Stiftung Credit Suisse Group Zürich Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Constructions De Beers Consolidated Mines The Holcim Foundation for the Advancement Det Norske Oljeselskap AS of Scientific Research Glencore International AG International Foundation of Research in Paraplegia Gübelin AG JDRF Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Jubiläumsstiftung der Schweizerischen Mobiliar Hilti Schweiz AG Genossenschaft Johnson Matthey & Brandenberger Körber-Stiftung Mineral Consult AG Krebsliga des Kantons Zürich Novartis Pharma AG Krebsliga Zentralschweiz Omya SA Lotteriefonds des Kantons Zürich Pfizer SA Max Rössler Fonds of the Empiris Foundation Sika AG Medicor Foundation Stump ForaTec AG Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience Swiss Re Naturstein-Verband Schweiz UBS AG NIH National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Zürcher Kantonalbank Kidney Diseases ZZ Wancor Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Novartis Stiftung Oncosuisse Organizations/Foundations OPO Stiftung Age Stiftung Präventionsstiftung der kantonalen Gebäudeversicherungen Avina Stiftung Roche Research Foundation Baugarten Stiftung SHG Stiftung für humanwissenschaftliche Bonizzi-Theler Stiftung Grundlagenforschung DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Stanley Medical Research Institute Eawag Staub/Kaiser-Foundation Winterthur EMBO European Molecular Biology Organization Foundation Academia Engelberg Emil Barell Stiftung Stiftung Diakoniewerk Neumünster Erdöl-Vereinigung Stiftung Professor Dr Max Cloëtta Ernst Göhner Stiftung swisselectric ESF European Science Foundation swisstopo Esperanza Medicines Foundation SWO-Stiftung Wirtschaft und Ökologie Fondation Claude & Giuliana The Rockefeller Foundation Forschungsstiftung Mobilkommunikation Velux Stiftung FWF Der Wissenschaftsfonds Verein urholz Gebert Rüf Stiftung Volkswagen Stiftung Georg und Bertha Schwyzer-Winiker Stiftung Vontobel-Stiftung GIAN – Geneva International Academic Network Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Gottfried und Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Stiftung ZIL – Swiss Center for International Agriculture 4 Donations to ETH Zurich and the ETH Zurich Foundation Private individuals Christoph Menn Kurt Allemann Dr Bruno Meyer Gratian Anda Dominik Meyer Ede Andrâskay Andreas Müller Dialma J. Bänziger Tanja Müller Arnfinnur Bertelssen Lars E. Mülli Heinrich Bossert Walter Munz Frank W. Bosshart Dr Erwin Neuenschwander Walter Brauchli Rudolf Pfister Johanna Buchmann Ruedi Räss Dr Christoph Bühler Renato Reggiori Patrick Burgherr Cuno Reinhard Heinz Busenhart Dr Max Rössler Reto Caflisch Robert Rudolf Gian Carlo Dalla Vedova André J. Rotzetter Dr Martin Deuring Roger Sas Camille Diederich Peter Scartazzini Dr Peter Eckardt Milutin Scepan Ernst Fahrni Carl Schaufelberger Prof. Mario Fontana Peter Schlub Prof. Peter Fricker Dr Fritz Schnorf Kurt Funk Daniel C. Schmid Dr Armand Fürst Thomas Schmid Ulrich Graf Gianfranco Sciarini Antoine Gremaud Peter Spirig Friedrich L. Grenacher Mathias Stüssi Dr Mathis Grenacher Paolo Tamò Frank P. Gross Yves Tournier Thomas Häring Peter Trauffer Maurice Hartenbach Thomas Trüb Hans R. Holenweg Viktor Tscherry Konrad M. Huber Walter Vetsch Orhan Iskit Hans Vollenweider Reto Jenatsch Dr Ulrich Vollenweider Werner Keller Dr Branco Weiss Dr Christoph Kerez Prof. Willy Wilk Georg Kern Hansjakob Windler Waldemar Kieliger Maximilian Winkler Peter Knoblauch Dr Willy Wüthrich Dr André Lambert Alfeo Zanetti Prof. Hans-Jürgen Lang Dr Walter Ziegler Emil Lanker Walter Zundel Aleardo Lombardi Marc Luedi Peter Lüthi 1 This list includes all donations known Anita Lutz to ETH transfer and the ETH Zurich Foundation. 5 Portrait of ETH ETH Zurich ETH Zurich stands for world-class scientific expertise, research that benefits industry and society and the education of highly qualified specialists. As a globally leading technical and scientific university, ETH Zurich opens up wide and diverse horizons to students of natural sciences and engineering. Furthermore, as a premier international research university, it also provides a stimulating environment for top-flight research. The university’s outstanding reputation is confirmed by the fact that no fewer than 21 Nobel Prize Laureates have studied, taught or carried out their research here. Now, with the Science City campus project, ETH Zurich is helping to develop Zurich into a lively knowledge hub. Its long-established partnerships with industry, its location in the heart of Europe and its relationships with other world-class universities and research institutions combine to foster a unique regional and networked knowledge environment that is rooted in the multilingual and rich cultural tradition of Switzerland. 6 Foreword from the President A combination of large and small Dear Reader, It is something we often observe in business: small and areas of research such as neurosciences and environmen- medium-sized enterprises can operate more flexibly than tal risk research, greatly strengthening Zurich’s importance large international companies. By contrast, major corpora- as a knowledge hub. tions have the critical mass and also the financial resour- ces that small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) lack to New faces on the Executive Board undertake large-scale projects. In its academic endeavors, The unsettled and politically turbulent time that followed ETH Zurich tries to combine both approaches and to be not the resignation of former President Ernst Hafen in Novem- only flexible but also effective. To this end, it offers indi- ber 2006 is now over. With Konrad Osterwalder, who took vidual professorships on the one hand, for tackling the on the demanding dual role of interim President and Rec- unimaginable and the fundamental, and on the other hand tor until his retirement at the end of August 2007, the af- various networks of competence that attempt to find so- fairs of ETH were in capable hands. He has now been given lutions to complex problems. the honor of becoming President of the UN University in Tokyo. Since September, ETH has once again had a full Award-winning research groups executive team, including three new faces: President Ralph The honors awarded this year to outstanding scientists are Eichler (a physicist), Rector Heidi Wunderli-Allenspach good examples of the successes of individual professor- (a biologist) and Peter Chen (a chemist), Vice President Re- ships. Particularly worthy of note are Professor Peter See- search and Business Relations. Gerhard Schmitt (an archi- berger, who won the renowned Körber Prize, and Professor tect) was already part of the previous board as Vice Presi- Ari Helenius, who won the Marcel Benoist Prize, the “Swiss dent Planning and Logistics. Nobel Prize”. Both scientists have achieved remarkable re- Student numbers have risen again. It is particularly pleas- sults with their groups. Another excellent performance ing to see a reversal in the decline in numbers of engineers, was that of our student team at the International Micro especially the increase in mechanical and process engi- Robot Maze Contest in the USA, where they won first neers. Nevertheless, industry still requires many more such prize. A larger network of competence is the Department highly qualified professionals from ETH. That is why efforts of Environmental Sciences, which was founded 20 years to encourage schoolchildren to go on to study engineering ago. At a small ceremony, the speakers paid tribute to the or natural sciences continue to be a high priority. department’s achievements in education and networked research. The contribution made by ETH to the IPCC report Record 21 spin-offs founded on the highly complex subject of climate change is also Not all ETH graduates wish to stay in academic research or noteworthy, with the climate researchers who worked on use their knowledge in an existing company. A growing it being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Striking the right number of them are interested in setting up their own balance between supporting individual projects and the companies. Last year we set a new record with 21 compa- theme-based networks was and remains the long-term nies being established. All these young entrepreneurs re- duty of the ETH Executive Board. ceive professional assistance from experienced people from the world of business, who make their expertise Pooling expertise available to help produce an effective business plan. For Research is increasingly networked and responds to global- the first two years, spin-offs can rent premises at ETH, so ization. This is why the newly established competence as to be able to