Chalets provide insight into our relationship with mountains

Published:07.12.22 — Chalets have been widely adopted as the standard form of architecture for mountain homes – but according to Patrick Giromini, an architect and lecturer at EPFL, it’s worth taking a close look at why. In a well-documented book, he explores how chalets reflect a societal construct established in the 18th century that has largely shaped our relationship with mountains.

Locomotion modeling evolves with brain-inspired neural networks

Published:06.12.22 — A team of scientists at EPFL have built a new neural network system that can help understand how animals adapt their movement to changes in their own body and to create more powerful artificial intelligence systems.

Chip lets scientists study biocement formation in real-time

Published:05.12.22 — Scientists from EPFL and the University of Lausanne have used a chip that was originally designed for environmental science to study the properties of biocement formation. This material has the potential to replace traditional cement binders in certain civil engineering applications.

Photonics chip allows light amplification

Published:01.12.22 — Scientists at EPFL have developed photonic integrated circuits that demonstrated a new principle of light amplification on a silicon chip. It can be employed for optical signals like those used in Lidar, trans-oceanic fiber amplifiers or in data center telecommunications.

Urban planning helps mitigate extreme weather effects in Haut-Valais

Published:30.11.22 — Olivier Lalancette, an EPFL Master’s student in architecture, has come up with some development proposals for the Brig-Visp-Naters conurbation. His suggestions, relatively modest in scope, could help these cities better withstand the droughts and heavy rainfall that are expected to intensify by 2050. Lalancette hopes his study will start a conversation about the region’s future.