News 2016
Jun 22, 2016 | Bi-directional energy network in buildings
In the district of the future, favors amongst neighbors will go much further than lending a lawnmower or giving some sugar for baking. They will help each other out with energy – with electricity, heat and gas. With the...
Jun 16, 2016 | Oil and gas production in the US
Air measurements at 49 sites all over the world show that, since 2010, long-declining global atmospheric ethane concentrations are on the uptick again in the Northern Hemisphere. The new study by an international team of...
Jun 15, 2016 | Terahertz radiation
Although terahertz radiation is as harmless as a lukewarm cup of tea, it can penetrate textiles and come into contact with the surface of the skin. Empa researchers aim to use this technique to research, among other...
Jun 14, 2016 | White paper by Empa, PSI and BFH on CO2 legislation
Newly registered private cars must meet certain defined CO2 emission standards, and these are expected to be made more stringent in the forthcoming revision of the national regulations, in parallel with similar EU...
Jun 8, 2016 | Thanks to PRODEX
On one side Empa is very down to the earth and works in the longest tunnel of the world; on the other she can bring in her competences to bear in the vastness of the universe. Last Monday Empa CEO Gian-Luca Bona had the...
Jun 7, 2016 | On the road to artificial photosynthesis
As part of the "LightChEC" research project at the University of Zurich, Empa scientists are working with other researchers on a novel method of artificial photosynthesis – photocatalysis, which uses a purely chemical...
May 25, 2016 | Deciphering cloud nucleation
An international team of researchers led by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and with the participation of researchers from Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, has demonstrated how...
May 23, 2016 | NEST inauguration with the Swiss President
A unique research and innovation platform has opened its doors: on 23 May 2016, the modular experimental building NEST was inaugurated on the Dübendorf campus of the two research institutes Empa and Eawag. Its official...
May 13, 2016 | Distinguished Senior Researcher
Two researchers at Empa have already been appointed Distinguished Senior Researchers but, as the saying goes, all good things come in threes. As of 1 May, this title now also applies to Barbara Lothenbach.
May 12, 2016 | National Research Program
Carbon nanotubes remain attached to materials for years while titanium dioxide and nanozinc are rapidly washed out of cosmetics and accumulate in the ground. Within the National Research Program “Opportunities and Risks...
Apr 28, 2016 | Spectacular installation of the second NEST unit
After roughly four weeks of prefabrication in the factory of wood construction company Renggli in Schötz, the installation of the Vision Wood unit in NEST went ahead in the last week of April. Two mobile cranes lifted...
Apr 27, 2016 | Empa staff member honoured
Prof. Maksym Kovalenko, of Empa‘s Thin Films and Photovoltaics Laboratory, has been awarded the Swiss Chemical Society’s Werner Prize for 2016. The award ceremony took place on 22 April during the Spring Meeting of the...
Apr 25, 2016 | Refreshing cycling
Any cyclist who wears a helmet knows the feeling: heat builds up under your helmet and the sweat starts to flow, especially in summer. As a result, many cyclists will take a risk and not even wear a helmet. A research...
Apr 21, 2016 | Long lasting roads thanks to nanoparticles
Empa scientists have developed a technique that can repair old, cracked asphalt. They got their inspiration from a method used in cancer treatment based on nanoparticles.
Apr 13, 2016 | Functional coatings: advantage for Swiss industry
At Empa’s new Coating Competence Center, which has just opened, tailor-made surface technologies find their way from the research labs to marketable industrial applications. The center boasts diverse coating systems for...
Apr 5, 2016 | FOCUS: Wood – a new discovery
Bamboo is a feat of nature. After all, this member of the grass family contains fibers that are as strong as steel. With a bit of help from the lab, it has the potential to become the building material of the future.
Apr 5, 2016 | FOCUS: Wood – a new discovery
For centuries, wood has been a popular light, solid building material. Moreover, it is a renewable and easily recyclable raw material – with one drawback: wood burns. But this doesn’t necessarily have to be that way, as...
Apr 5, 2016 | A true all-rounder
Wood is robust and versatile. But even the best material has its limits. Empa researchers are thus looking to transform wood into a high-tech material and broaden the range of applications for this natural resource. The...
Apr 5, 2016 | FOCUS: Wood – a new discovery
Wood can be magnetized. And an Empa team has figured out exactly how. Even if magnetic wood only lends itself to smaller applications, the first industrial partners have already expressed their interest.
Apr 5, 2016 | FOCUS: Wood – a new discovery
Water causes wood to rot and weather, which looks unsightly and gradually destroys the material. Empa researchers have now developed a strategy to combat this.
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