News EPFL

Women at EPFL: (civil) engineering the future

Published:09.03.21 — International Women’s Day Series - Like EPFL’s other branches of engineering, its civil engineering program struggles to attract female students, who account for approximately 25% of total enrollment. Nonetheless, the department is determined to boost the appeal of this discipline and the wide range of professions for which it prepares graduates. We interviewed women in Bachelor’s and Master’s programs about why they chose civil engineering and how to bring more women on board.

Does computer science still have a ‘woman problem'?

Published:08.03.21 — International Women’s Day - Three female professors working in EPFL’s School of Computer and Communication Sciences talk equality, men’s role in changing the world and the need to rebrand this ‘field of the future’ to attract more diverse talent. 

7 ideas to promote the circular economy and mitigate climate change

Published:05.03.21 — Around 30 students took part in the pilot version of EPFL’s Climate and Sustainability Action Week, working in cross-disciplinary groups to outline circular economy solutions. It was an intense five days of teamwork to build a brighter future.

Appointment of EPFL professors

Published:05.03.21 — The Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology has announced the appointment of professors at EPFL.

Army of robots pushes the limits of astrophysics

Published:05.03.21 — One thousand newly-minted microrobots created in EPFL labs will soon be deployed at two large-scale telescopes in Chile and the United States. These high-precision instruments, capable of positioning optical fibers to within a micron, will vastly increase the quantity of astrophysics data that can be gathered – and expand our understanding of the Universe.

Swiss statistical systems could be enhanced by big data

Published:04.03.21 — Using anonymized policyholder data from Swiss insurance company La Mobilière, EPFL scientists were able to predict a number of socio-economic indicators in 170 Swiss towns. This innovative approach could help increase the granularity and applicability of official statistics.

Water influences the stickiness of Hyaluronan

Published:03.03.21 — Hyaluronic acid, also known as hyaluronan, is a polysaccharide that helps establish the viscosity of bodily fluids. According to a new study by EPFL scientists, it also influences the behavior of far more water molecules than previously thought. Their findings – just published in Science Advances – open new avenues of research on the role water plays in the human body.