News
Carving diamonds for optical components
Published:04.09.17 — Thanks to a new technique developed at EPFL, optical diffraction gratings can now be made out of pure diamond, with their surfaces smoothed down to the very last atom. These new devices can be used to alter the wavelength of high-powered lasers or in cutting-edge spectrographs.
First-ever EPFL Drone Days a runaway success
Published:04.09.17 — More than 5,000 people were treated to drone races, a robotics showcase, a conference and demonstrations on EPFL's campus in a three-day event that started last Friday. Switzerland’s fastest drone pilot was crowned on Sunday following a spectacular race.
A cancer therapy that inhibits the Notch signaling pathway
Published:01.09.17 — EPFL spin-off Cellestia Biotech has just been given the regulatory go-ahead to start clinical testing a molecule it has developed to treat cancers involving mutations of the Notch gene. The molecule is a ray of hope for the 250,000 patients diagnosed every year with this mutation, which sharply reduces their chances of recovery.
EPFL's Technicians Training Laboratory turns 20
Published:01.09.17 — The Technicians Training Laboratory at EPFL’s Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC) has trained more than 100 chemistry lab technicians since it was opened in August 1997. Its guiding principles: to train up young EPFL technicians, continually improve its training program and stay one step ahead of the industry's needs. While most trainees opt to go straight into a job after completing the course, around 40% get hooked on studying.
Launching phase two of EPFL's Valais expansion
Published:31.08.17 — The Canton of Valais, the City of Sion and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) held their annual strategy committee meeting on Wednesday, 30 August. Building on the achievements of the EPFL Valais Wallis campus over the past three years, the parties have officially launched the second phase of EPFL’s Valais expansion. At the committee meeting, the Canton of Valais and EPFL signed the second amendment to the 19 December 2012 agreement on the creation of the EPFL Valais Wallis campus, thereby formalizing the agreement in principle reached in December 2016. A new EPFL building that will host a research center on alpine and extreme environments will be constructed on the Energypolis campus in Sion. The rehabilitation and health cluster and the green chemistry and energies-of-the-future hub will also be strengthened.
New soft robots really suck
Published:30.08.17 — EPFL scientists have created the first functional robot powered entirely by vacuum: made up of soft building blocks, it moves by having air sucked out of them. The robot can be reconfigured to perform different tasks, like climbing vertical walls and grabbing objects.
Drones will take center stage this weekend at EPFL
Published:29.08.17 — EPFL is preparing for its first Drone Days, which will be held on campus from Friday, 1 September to Sunday, 3 September. The program includes drone races, a robotics showcase and a conference. The event will be open to the general public, and visitors will be able to try their hand at flying a drone themselves.
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