European Commissioner for research visits EPFL
Martin Vetterli, Martina Hirayama, Carlos Moedas and Frédérique Vidal (left to right) © EPFL / Alain Herzog 2019
Carlos Moedas was at EPFL on Monday. He visited the campus before attending the official opening of the World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ), taking place all week at the SwissTech Convention Center.
A distinguished guest came on Monday to congratulate EPFL on its 50th anniversary. The European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation visited the campus and met Martin Vetterli. He encountered two of the school’s major scientific projects: Time Machine, led by Frédéric Kaplan, and the Swiss Plasma Center, active in nuclear fusion research, led by Ambrogio Fasoli.
Visiting the Swiss Plasma Center (left: Ambrogio Fasoli).
He was joined by the French Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation Frédérique Vidal and the Swiss Secretary of State for Education, Research and Innovation Martina Hirayama. After the visit, he participated in the opening ceremony of the World Congress of Science Journalism (WCSJ 2019), which takes place all week in Lausanne. Even Swiss Vice-President Simonetta Sommaruga joined the guests for the grand opening.
For Carlos Moedas, setting step on the Lausanne campus was a first – although he knew the institution, and several of its professors, through its many mentions in European research programmes. The visits did not fail to arouse his interest. Time Machine, like the Swiss Plasma Center, has ambitions that go far beyond EPFL or Switzerland, thus confirming the institution's international role. “In 50 years, EPFL has demonstrated an extraordinary dynamism and developed a culture of excellence that is reflected in international rankings. The number of European research projects that EPFL coordinates or participates in is impressive”, says Carlos Moedas. “I wish that EPFL will continue on that excellent path for the next 50 years and beyond.”