SIE award 2025 for the best maturity thesis

Since 2024, the Environmental Sciences and Engineering Section (SSIE) of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) is awarding a prize for the best maturity project linked to natural sciences and environmental engineering. This prize, worth CHF 1'000, has been awarding the best maturity thesis related to sustainability, and more specifically: water quality, soil, atmosphere, waste management, pollution, natural resources, biodiversity, renewable energies, climate change or natural hazards.

For this second edition, the Section is pleased to award the prize to Timo Deiss from the “Alte Kantonsschule Aarau” in Aarau (canton of Aargau) for his work entitled: “PFAS im Hallwilersee. Eine Vorstudie über die Bioakkumulation von PFAS in Egli und Felchen aus dem Hallwilersee” ("PFAS in Lake Hallwil. A preliminary study on the bioaccumulation of PFAS in perch and whitefish from Lake Hallwil").

His work consisted of a preliminary study officially supported by the Environment Department (AfU) and the Consumer Protection Office (AVS) of the canton of Aargau, and emerged from an initial idea focusing on the issue of PFAS ("per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances"). This study analyzed PFAS and bioaccumulation in the muscles and liver tissue of two fish species from Lake Hallwil: perch (Perca fluviatilis) and whitefish (Coregonus wartmanni). Until the publication of this maturity thesis, no studies on PFAS had been conducted on these species from Lake Hallwil. Although the concentrations measured in the tissues were well below the Swiss legal limits for drinking water, bioaccumulation was demonstrated for both fish species. This project is therefore an important and relevant piece of work.

The student's perspective: "The biggest challenge of this project was not biological, but rather political and organizational. Launching such a project as part of my high school maturity thesis proved to be much more complex and time-consuming than I had initially assumed. Most of the effort was focused on coordinating the analyses, obtaining fish samples, maintaining contact with various administrative departments, and dealing with the difficulties associated with a field that was completely new to me."

The Environmental Science and Engineering Section (SSIE) will once again reward a swiss maturity thesis on topics related to sustainability, natural sciences, and environmental technology in 2026.

Deadline for submission of the high-school student's application: 30 April 2026

More information: https://www.epfl.ch/schools/enac/education/environmental-sciences-and-engineering/environmental-sciences-and-engineering/studying-the-environment/maturity-thesis/

Email: [email protected]