At the request of Empa Director Tanja Zimmermann, the ETH Board appointed chemical and bio-engineer Nathalie Casas as a member of Empa's Directorate. Casas has headed the Department Energy, Mobility and Environment since October 2023. With her appointment, a proven expert in CO₂ capture has taken on this leadership role. Before joining Empa, Casas was Head of Research and Development at the cleantech company and ETH spin-off Climeworks. She is a member of the Innosuisse Innovation Council and a member of the Swiss Federal Energy Research Commission (CORE).

Empa's Materials Meet Life Department has been jointly headed by René Rossi and Manfred Heuberger since August 2023; they have since then represented the department as Co-Heads in the Directorate. The ETH Board has now also elected them to the Empa Directorate. At the same time, they continue to head their respective research labs – thus ensuring close links and a direct exchange between the various management levels at Empa.

René Rossi and his team develop intelligent textiles as the basis for innovative digital health technologies. In addition to his professorship at ETH Zurich, he is a visiting professor at the Université de Haute-Alsace in France. Rossi is strongly committed to the transfer of knowledge and the translation of scientific findings into economically valuable services.

Manfred Heuberger and his interdisciplinary team are researching the future of sustainable plastics; new types of synthetic fibers are being developed in the laboratory with the clear aim of industrial transfer. In particular, Heuberger is involved in basic research in the field of material interfaces and gives lectures at ETH Zurich.