News

EPFL scientists have developed AI-powered nanosensors that let researchers track various kinds of biological molecules without disturbing them. 

School of Engineering's spin-off CompPair has developed a family of composites that can repair themselves in just a few minutes when heat (100°C to 150°C) is applied locally. The firm has just completed its first fundraising round.

Results demonstrate MRI compatibility, good surgical handling and reliable recording in bioelectronic interfaces that conform to the nervous system

The director of the Protein Design and Immunoengineering Laboratory, School of Engineering, has been awarded the Protein Science Young Investigator Award.

EPFL Pavilions re-opens its exhibition Nature of Robotics which offers perspective on robotics in a human and organic environment.

Power converters play an essential role in electric vehicles and solar panels, for example, but tend to lose a lot of power in the form of heat in the electricity conversion process. Thanks to a new type of transistor developed at EPFL, these converters can perform at substantially improved efficiencies, especially in high-power applications.

EPFL engineers are taking part in PROMETEO – an EU research project to generate hydrogen on a large scale from renewable sources, in an effort to lower industrial carbon emissions.

EPFL startup INERGIO has just unveiled a prototype for a lightweight, eco-friendly, high-performance fuel cell that can supply energy in situations where there’s no power grid. Its system can be used to run delivery drones, weather stations, environmental sensors, telecommunication antennae and even campsites. 

The Institutes of Microengineering and Electrical Engineering at EPFL, which have been pillars of strength in the School of Engineering (STI) for many years, are joining forces and merging into a world-class Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering (Institut d’électricité et microtechnique).

Twenty EPFL students recently completed the first EPFL Changemakers program – a new initiative designed to help students develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills and flesh out their business ideas. We took a closer look at three of the promising projects they’re working on.

A team of EPFL engineers has developed technology that could partially restore vision in blind people.

EPFL is pleased to announce that three promising startups Corintis, Omnigrasp and Qaptis, joined the EPFL Tech-Launchpad and received an Innogrant of CHF 100,000 each.

The Laboratory of Life Sciences Electronics (CLSE), led by professor Carlotta Guiducci, has worked with the Obstetrics unit of CHUV, led by Professor David Baud, to develop an innovative medical device to remotely monitor the risk of preterm birth from home.

The Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology has announced the appointment of professors at EPFL, including two promotions at the School of Engineering

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.

Hyaluronic acid, also known as hyaluronan, is a polysaccharide that helps establish the viscosity of bodily fluids. According to a new study by EPFL School of Engineering 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.

A team from EPFL and the Swiss Cancer Centre Léman has discovered that CD4 T lymphocytes, which usually play a supporting role in fighting cancer cells, also have the power to destroy them. 

EPFL scientists have developed a method for boosting the sensitivity of rapid-detection tests like those used for the new coronavirus. The results of their feasibility study have just been published in Nano Letters.

This year International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), which is a major conference for circuit designers, will be well represented by EPFL’s School of Engineering.

EPFL engineers, working in association with startup Xsensio, have developed a wearable sensing chip that can measure the concentration of cortisol – the stress hormone – in human sweat. Enabling future quasi-continuous monitoring, their device can eventually help doctors better understand and treat stress-related conditions like burnout and obesity.

In the second edition of the master’s course Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Engineering (IEE) – jointly offered by STI and CDM – students responded to industry challenges, building prototypes in teams and analyzing the viability of businesses. Under this year’s theme of “Sustainable Technology” six teams of 3-5 students competed, each developing a product prototype, a business plan, and an impact assessment for at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations.

EPFL scientists have succeeded in making droplets flow just as fast on soft surfaces as on hard ones by changing the surface texture.

Andrea Ruffino, student in the Laboratory of Quantum Architecture in the School of Engineering has been awarded a Predoctoral Achievement Award by the Solid-State Circuit Society (IEEE SSCS).

With the restructuring of EPFL, the CIS Board of Directors proposed to adapt the structure of the Center for Intelligent Systems as well. We are happy to announce that EPFL’s Vice President for Academic affairs, Prof. Jan S. Hesthaven, upon proposition by the Associate Vice President for the Centers and Platforms, Prof. Anna Fontcuberta I Morral, decided to nominate Prof. Pierre Vandergheynst as Academic Director of CIS starting January 1, 2021 for a period of 4 years. 

Engineers at EPFL’s Center for Artificial Muscles have developed a silicone aorta that can reduce how hard patients’ hearts have to pump. Their breakthrough could offer a promising alternative to heart transplants.

The personal mobility device sector is booming. But there’s a problem. Most mobility devices still don’t offer their users a comfortable or flexible experience. Mohsen Falahi from EPFL School of Engineering’s Biorobotics Laboratory has developed Allure - a new wheel technology – to help people with mobility difficulties rediscover lost freedom of movement. In this interview, he talks about the benefits of his invention and how Innogrant will help bring his vision to life.

A mechanical system developed at EPFL’s Instant-Lab halves the number of hospital staff needed to turn coma patients and makes the task less physically demanding. It has won the approval of the doctors and nurses who tested the system on dummies.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Signal Processing Society (IEEE SPS) has appointed the School of Engineering Professor Distinguished Lecturer.

Pedro Reis, professor at the School of Engineering’s Flexible Structures Laboratory (FLEXLAB) and director of the institute of Mechanical Engineering, has become the President of the Society of Engineering Science (SES).

EPFL engineers teamed up with luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin to develop an innovative system that uses lasers to create 3D sculptures within sapphire watch crystals.

Scientists at EPFL and the Universities of Geneva, Cape Town and Bochum have joined forces to investigate brain activity during sleep with the help of MRI scans. It turns out our brains are much more active than we thought.

EPFL scientists have developed a metamaterial whose mechanical properties can be reprogrammed on demand and whose internal structure can be modified by applying a magnetic field. 

The latest scientific article by Edoardo Charbon, director of the quantum architecture laboratory, has been selected by the journal "Physics".

Organic waste – whether from households, agriculture or agroforestry – can be used as energy resource, but is often underexploited. A team of the School of Engineering scientists has developed a methodology to better incorporate this resource into existing power grids and gas distribution systems, depending on local availability and demand.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease caused by the wearing down of cartilage in the joints and affects over 500 million people in the world [1]. The Inmodi team, led by Dr Jérôme Thevenot and Olga Motovilova from the School of Engineering's Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement (LMAM), plan to change the future of those suffering from knee pain. We caught up with these recent Innogrant winners to find out more about their startup.

An international team of scientists have developed a photonic processor that uses rays of light inside silicon chips to process information much faster than conventional electronic chips. Published in Nature, the breakthrough study was carried out by scientists from EPFL, the Universities of Oxford, Münster, Exeter, Pittsburgh, and IBM Research – Zurich.

Professor at the School of Engineering, Adrian Ionescu was awarded the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept Grant to develop integrated 2D supercapacitors

School of Engineering’s scientists have developed a new computational method to design artificial proteins with functions that are not found in nature. 

Yves Bellouard, an associate professor in the Galatea Laboratory from the School of Engineering, has been named best teacher in the microengineering section.

EPFL scientists have invented a technique to navigate electronic devices that are smaller than human hair inside blood vessels and reach arterioles. The next step will be conducting in vivo tests.

The IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference just awarded Francesco Gramuglia, PhD in Advanced Quantum Architecture Lab (AQUA Lab)

EPFL students are preparing for a second round of exams under coronavirus conditions. It's not easy to stay motivated given the challenges of distance learning, lack of social contact and difficulties in maintaining study habits. But help is available. EPFL is committed to supporting its students, and a range of initiatives have been rolled out to enable everyone to have a stress-free as possible end of the semester.

Professor and Dean of the School of Engineering, Ali Sayed, has been awarded by the IEEE Signal Processing Society

EPFL spin-off Aica has developed AI-based software that makes industrial robots easier to program and more capable of adapting. The software is designed in a modular format so that operators can build a customized application based on their needs. Aica’s advancement expands the range of tasks that robots can perform while cutting implementation costs.

Véronique Michaud, an associate professor in EPFL’s materials science and engineering department since 2017, has been named best teacher for this section.

Under a cross-disciplinary program spearheaded by EPFL, scientists will develop an AI-based system that can predict whether Covid-19 patients will develop severe cardiovascular complications and, in the longer term, detect the likely onset of inflammatory disease.

EPFL scientists have developed a synthetic molecule capable of killing the virus that causes influenza. They hope their discovery will lead to an effective drug treatment. 

The Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology has announced the appointment of 4 professors at EPFL.

Professor Michele Ceriotti, from the School of Engineering, was awarded the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant.

Launched by the School of Engineering, the eSeed initiative aims to encourage collaboration and interdisciplinarity between the laboratories of the faculty.