May 7, 2021 | Repetitive mass testing against the pandemic
Since February 2021, the canton of Grisons is using saliva-based PCR mass testing within its mobile workforce as a potential means to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce infection rates. Empa researchers are now...
May 6, 2021 | Ground-breaking ceremony for new research campus
On Wednesday, 5 May, the expansion of the Empa and Eawag research campus in Dübendorf began with a ground-breaking ceremony for a new laboratory building. This was attended by representatives of the two research...
May 4, 2021 | Tiny plastic particles in the environment
The images leave no one cold: giant vortices of floating plastic trash in the world's oceans with sometimes devastating consequences for their inhabitants – the sobering legacy of our modern lifestyle. Weathering and...
Apr 29, 2021 | High Performance Ceramics
Removing pathogens from drinking water is especially difficult when the germs are too tiny to be caught by conventional filters. Researchers at Empa and Eawag are developing new materials and processes to free water from...
Apr 27, 2021 | Autonomous driving
Cars that autonomously navigate from A to B are expected to be a common sight in a few years from now. But road approval is still a long way off. One important aspect: How can we tell a self-driving car has become...
Apr 22, 2021 | New weapons against antibiotic resistance
Multi-resistant pathogens are a serious and increasing problem in today's medicine. Where antibiotics are ineffective, these bacteria can cause life-threatening infections. Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich are...
Apr 21, 2021 | From high-tech to re-use
The NEST partner network is growing rapidly. Its latest member: Saint-Gobain Switzerland. The company will initially equip two units, Sprint and HiLo, with glazing that covers a broad spectrum – from high-tech to re-use....
Apr 21, 2021 | Success for Eastern Switzerland initiative
The national innovation platform Switzerland Innovation is expanding in Eastern Switzerland with its latest addition, the Innovation Park East. On 21 April, the Federal Council has given the thumbs up. The main location...
Apr 20, 2021 | Technology transfer center for medtech certified
Since 15 April, it is official: The Technology Transfer Center for 3D Printing in Medical Technology – Swiss m4m Center, in short – meets the requirements of ISO standard 13485:2016; it is thus allowed to produce...
Apr 15, 2021 | How much does Switzerland consume?
Empa researchers have analyzed the entire material and energy flows of the Swiss economy. Their final report now provides important data and comparisons. The team also looked into how the behavior of the Swiss population...
Apr 13, 2021 | Sprint – A new NEST unit under construction
At NEST, the research and innovation platform of Empa and Eawag, the new Sprint unit is currently under construction – an office unit built largely from recycled materials. Sprint aims to set new standards for circular...
Apr 8, 2021 | Next generation of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is nowadays considered a fundamental asset for developing products and technologies across industries, giving companies who master it a competitive edge. What is still lacking, however, is a...
Apr 1, 2021 | Developing countries
Empa researcher Cristina Dominguez is developing a computer model, which can be used to plan electricity grids in developing countries. To collect data, she travelled to Kenya to get an idea of how people live without...
Mar 31, 2021 | SILVARSTAR: Launch of a new European research project
SILVARSTAR, a two-year European research project funded under the EU's Horizon 2020 program, aims to provide the railway community with software tools and methodologies to assess the noise and vibration environmental...
Mar 29, 2021 | Thurgau Technology Day
Making more targeted use of digital technologies, advancing industrial projects with the new OST Ostschweizer Fachhochschule (Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences) and building a bridge to basic research...
Mar 25, 2021 | "Best employers in Switzerland 2021"
According to a survey conducted by Handelszeitung, Le Temps and Statista, an independent market research institute, Empa is considered the best employer in Switzerland in the category "Education and Research"; overall,...
Mar 23, 2021 | Digitalized road construction
Empa scientists are investigating how roads could be reinforced with simple means and recycled easily after use. Their tools are a robot and a few meters of string.
Mar 18, 2021 | Transparent electronics
Hard times for burglars and safecrackers: Empa researchers have developed an invisible "keypad" made of printed, transparent electronics. Only authorized persons know where to enter the access code.
Mar 15, 2021 | Piezoelectric wood
Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have made wood compressible and turned it into a micro-generator. When it is loaded, an electrical voltage is generated. In this way, the wood can serve as a bio-sensor - or generate...
Mar 11, 2021 | New exhibition at the Swiss Museum of Transport
Together with its partners Avenergy Suisse and Hyundai, Empa is presenting a new permanent exhibition on sustainable fuels of the future at the Swiss Museum of Transport starting in March 2021. Among other things, the...