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.
Apr 5, 2016 | FOCUS: Wood – a new discovery
Wood has one particular property that tends to cause problems: it swells when it gets wet. As this occurs according to strict rules, however, a team of Empa researchers is looking to produce wooden building components...
Apr 5, 2016 | New manufacturing process for electroactive polymers
Researchers from Empa and the University of Basel developed a new method of electrospraying which enables artificial muscles to be fabricated from nanometer-thin silicone layers. Since muscles of this type can operate at...
Apr 5, 2016 | FOCUS: Wood – a new discovery
Enzymes from fungi, bacteria and plants render wood resistant to decomposing and pathogenic microorganisms. Possible applications might be germ-resistant wood surfaces for hospitals and nursing homes, but also...
Apr 5, 2016 | Air analyses at the end of the world
Levels of greenhouse gas CO2 continue to rise and are about to exceed the next threshold. Empa makes sure that this and other air pollutants can be measured correctly and in a globally comparable way. To do this, Empa...
Apr 4, 2016 | David Bleiner
About 18 months ago, Davide Bleiner took over the helm at Empa’s Laboratory for Advanced Analytical Technologies. And he has big plans – for small things. Right at the top of his wish list is the development of a...
Apr 1, 2016 | New head of the “Technology and Society” laboratory
There will be a new face at the helm of the Empa “Technology and Society” laboratory, with Patrick Wäger heading up the department from May 2016. He will thus replace the interim head of laboratory, Heinz Böni.
Mar 24, 2016 | When electrons spin differently
As reported by the journal Nature in its latest issue, researchers from Empa, the Max Planck Institute in Mainz and the Technical University of Dresden have for the first time succeeded in producing graphene nanoribbons...
Mar 22, 2016 | Pilot project CarboCount
Mistakes can happen when estimating emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Researchers from Empa, the University of Berne and ETH Zurich funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have...
Mar 14, 2016 | STARTFELD inauguration
The STARTFELD development platform has taken a decisive step forward, with the opening of an innovation centre adjacent to the Empa site in St. Gallen. It is intended to act as a crystallization nucleus for innovative...
Mar 11, 2016 | In Stradivari's footsteps
Varnishes protect works of art and wooden instruments from environmental damage. However, until recently, little research had been carried out into the effects of varnish on the sound of violins. Empa researchers have...

Mar 4, 2016 | EU project TREASORES successfully concluded
In more than three years of work european scientists finally made future lighting technology ready to market. They developed flexible lighting foils that can be produced roll-to-roll – much like newspapers are printed....

Feb 24, 2016 | Measuring particulate emissions
Thanks to a close collaboration between the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), SR Technics and the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), Switzerland is setting an international...
Feb 22, 2016 | The «aura» of accelerating cars
Noise is disturbing and can be harmful to health. Empa researchers have now succeeded in simulating road noise by means of «auralisation». The aim is to make noise audible along traffic routes that are merely in the...

Feb 9, 2016 | Left-handed or right-handed?
Crystals of biominerals like the ones in bone or teeth oftentimes occur only either in a left- or right-handed form, which relate to each other like an object and its mirror image. How this “chirality” is conferred to...

Feb 8, 2016 | Clean energy from water and sunlight
Fuel cells generate electrical energy through a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. To obtain clean energy, the splitting of water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen is critical. Researchers at Empa and the...
Feb 5, 2016 | ERC Grants
Generous research funding is allocated to Empa from the EU's budget. Two Empa researchers – Rolf Erni, Manager of the Electron Microscopy Center, and Josep Puigmarti, who works in the Department of Safety and Physiology...
Feb 2, 2016 | Knowledge and technology transfer for cleaner air
Bolivia’s cities suffer from severe air pollution. A Swiss project entitled Aire Limpio is helping to improve their air quality. Empa is also on board, readily passing on its expertise in the field of air measuring...

Feb 1, 2016 | Fuel-cell vehicles on the brink of a breakthrough
Just how safe, sustainable and economical are hydrogen-powered vehicles? This was the question that around 300 experts and members of the interested public addressed during a conference held at Empa. While the safety of...

Jan 20, 2016 | The digital transformation of industries
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos a key topic is focusing on the "Digital Transformation of Industries”. The fourth industrial revolution is imminent. It goes by the name “Industry 4.0” and is expected to...
Jan 19, 2016 | Try your luck!
Same as every year! Our calendar 2016 is now available and you can get one of those for your home, your desk, your lab – or whatever place you like. We have 20 calendars to give away and all you need to do to get one is...
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