News EPFL

Awarded for his real-world teaching strategy

Published:04.10.19 — Dominique Pioletti, an associate professor at EPFL’s School of Engineering, has won the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching 2019. Students enrolled in his Master’s-level biomechanics class get to work directly on problems encountered by doctors.

The right carbon tax to reduce the impact of transport in Switzerland

Published:03.10.19 — Using macroeconomic modeling, EPFL researchers have identified the most effective carbon tax for Switzerland to meet the Paris Agreement targets: a uniform levy on gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil, rising steadily to 1.70 francs per liter by 2050. 

Drawings by architect Alberto Sartoris to be shown by EPFL in Rome

Published:01.10.19 — From 10 October to 10 November 2019, EPFL’s Archives of Modern Construction will exhibit around 100 drawings by avant-garde architect Alberto Sartoris at Rome’s Casa dell’Architettura. Entitled “La macchina delle meraviglie” (“The machine of marvels”), the exhibition shows Sartoris’ desire to elevate architectural drawings into an art form. The event is also an opportunity to highlight the strong cultural ties between Switzerland and Italy.

EPFL researchers invent low-cost alternative to Bitcoin

Published:30.09.19 — The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is limited by its astronomical electricity consumption and outsized carbon footprint. A nearly zero-energy alternative sounds too good to be true, but as School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC) Professor Rachid Guerraoui explains, it all comes down to our understanding of what makes transactions secure.

Artificial skin could help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality

Published:27.09.19 — EPFL scientists have developed a soft artificial skin that provides haptic feedback and – thanks to a sophisticated self-sensing mechanism – has the potential to instantaneously adapt to a wearer’s movements. Applications for the new technology range from medical rehabilitation to virtual reality.

Appointments of EPFL professors

Published:26.09.19 — The Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology has announced the appointment of 20 professors at EPFL. Among them, seven women and five men, newly appointed, join the EPFL.

Promoting peace and helping victims in cyberspace

Published:26.09.19 — Created to address the growing impact of major cyberattacks, the CyberPeace Institute is an independent NGO based in Geneva. EPFL President Martin Vetterli will be sitting on the Executive Board, and the EPFL Center for Digital Trust is named as a scientific partner of the CyberPeace Institute.