ENAC news about research

Articles about research

two roe deer foraging, with manual annotations for each individual animal. Credit: A. Mathis (EPFL)

AI monitors wildlife behavior in the Swiss Alps

— Scientists at EPFL have created MammAlps, a multi-view, multi-modal video dataset that captures how wild mammals behave in the Swiss Alps. This new resource could be a game-changer for wildlife monitoring and conservation efforts.

Joan Rey on the EPFL campus with commercial tools used to measure radon.© EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Reliable radon measurements, a challenge for property owners

— Joan Rey tested the reliability of commercial tools and artificial intelligence to measure and predict radon levels in buildings for his doctoral thesis in civil engineering. He shares his conclusions in a column that appeared in three Swiss dailies.

Martin Peikert. © 2024 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Has the architectural bidding system run its course?

— Switzerland's unique architecture competition guarantees anonymous, objective evaluation of architects. Does Switzerland’s approach really level the playing field and foster diversity? That's what Martin Peikert sets out to find out in his PhD thesis. He summarizes the issues at stake in this column published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland.

A considerable amount of cooling is required in a data center. © iStock Photos

EPFL engineers explore new applications for geothermal energy

— EPFL engineers have examined the use of geothermal energy in two very different applications: a metro station and an underground data center. The works had a focus on the internal airflow conditions of these structures and possible optimization of the mechanical ventilation. Each case presents its own set of challenges.

According to the study, earthworms avoid more contaminated soils. © iStock toeytoey2530

Earthworms avoid tire abrasion

— A study by the Ecotox Centre, in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and EPFL, shows that earthworms avoid soils more contaminated by tire particles. In tests, however, these particles showed no negative effects on earthworm survival or reproduction.

Michela Bonomo highlights that we need to anticipate the rising sea levels predicted by 2100. © 2024 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

How long will the dream of the seaside holiday villa last?

— Michela Bonomo examines in this column the ideology of the luxury seaside villa and shows its limits. Her column was published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. 

31% of the samples contained traces of the compounds typically found in tire additives © iStock

Tire additives found deposited on fruits and vegetables

— A study by EPFL and the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) has found that tire additives enter into and pass through the food chain. Further research is needed to establish the implications for human health.

Biological particles may induce rain events that could contribute to flooding and snowstorms. 2025 CleanCloud/EPFL CC-BY-SA 4.0

Biological particles may be crucial for inducing heavy rain

— EPFL atmospheric and climate scientists show that biological particles may induce rain events that could contribute to flooding and snowstorms, owing to their ability to precipitate ice formation in clouds. They call for an update of meteorological and climate models.

The colourful holds in climbing gyms collect rubber abrasion from the soles, which also gets into the air. Photo: Aaron Kintzi/CeMESS

Chemicals from climbing shoes cause trouble in indoor halls

— A study led by researchers from EPFL and the University of Vienna shows that concentrations of concerning chemicals as high as those by a busy road can be found in the air of bouldering gyms.

The operator sees the instructions through colored lines on the screen. 2024 EPFL/Andrea Settimi CC-BY-SA 4.0

Augmented reality improves carpentry ease and precision

— A system developed at EPFL uses augmented reality (AR) to help carpenters make extremely precise timber cuts without having to measure or mark up beams. Its hybrid approach stands to make digitally assisted technology affordable for small businesses, woodworkers and construction professionals in developing countries.

Glacier-fed streams could well become greener in the future. © 2022 EPFL/Mike Styllas - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Glacier melt puts unique microbial ecosystems under threat

— A pioneering study has revealed how climate change is impacting glacier-fed streams and the essential microbiomes they contain – which could change radically by the end of this century.

Three members of the Medusoil team – Vincent Laurençon, Dimitrios Terzis and Roberto Perez – at their production plant in Vaud canton. © Alain Herzog / EPFL 2025 - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Exploring the use of environmental strains for biocement production

— A recent study examines the effectiveness of environmental strains for the production of biocement. The study’s lead author, Dimitrios Terzis, is an EPFL senior scientist and a co-founder of Medusoil, a company that produces organic binders and that opened a production plant in Vaud in 2024.

The researchers and study's co-authors Wenlong Liao and Fernando Porté-Agel. © 2025 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

New study improves the trustworthiness of wind power forecasts

— By applying techniques from explainable artificial intelligence, engineers can improve users’ confidence in forecasts generated by artificial intelligence models. This approach was recently tested on wind power generation by a team that includes experts from EPFL.

© iStock

Harnessing proteins to clean contaminated soil

— Scientists from EPFL work on sustainable approaches to soil remediation, like the use of naturally occurring microorganisms that can “eat” pollutants found in soil and the water table.

The research team around the CryoNanoSIMS instrument. © 2025 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

How cryogenic microscopy could help strengthen food security

— A joint EPFL and University of Lausanne research team reports on a novel observation of a plant protection mechanism in response to salt stress. The study opens new avenues of research to strengthen food security.

Picture taken in Ecuador, while sampling the river on February, 27, 2020. © NOMIS Field Team

Scientists discover a unique microbiome on our planet's roof

— Two EPFL-led studies published in 'Nature' and 'Nature Microbiology' shed light on the uniqueness, complexity and climate-related vulnerability of the world’s glacier-fed-stream microbiome.

Departure of the AWACA convoy from the Adélie Coast.© Nicolas Pernin / French Polar Institute

In Antarctica to better understand the evolution of the ice cap

— A team of scientists from EPFL, CNRS, CEA and École polytechnique de Paris will be in Antarctica from December 2024 to mid-January 2025. As part of the AWACA project, they are installing innovative observation systems designed to predict the evolution of the ice cap over the next 100 years. Associate Professor Alexis Berne, Director of the Environmental Remote Sensing Laboratory at EPFL, is on site.

Aboard this icebreaker the Extreme Environments Research Laboratory set up gave its first results © EERL

Scientists quantify aerosols based on sea state

— A research team led by EPFL scientists has developed a system that provides key insight into the relationship between sea spray aerosols, sea state and atmospheric conditions. The system was mounted on an icebreaker and carried across vast regions of the Arctic to collect and analyze valuable data.

© 2024 EPFL

Closing of CLIMACT center

— The CLIMACT center will cease operations on December 31, 2024, after three years of existence.

© iStock

Towards comfortable, interactive and zero-carbon buildings

— In the future, buildings will provide enhanced, more personalized comfort to occupants while also achieving zero carbon emissions. This will be possible thanks to advances in sensors and AI, enabling new ways of interacting with our environments while leaving ultimate control in occupants’ hands. Yet, as users, we’ll also need to make lasting changes to our habits.

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Columns

Joan Rey on the EPFL campus with commercial tools used to measure radon.© EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Reliable radon measurements, a challenge for property owners

— Joan Rey tested the reliability of commercial tools and artificial intelligence to measure and predict radon levels in buildings for his doctoral thesis in civil engineering. He shares his conclusions in a column that appeared in three Swiss dailies.

Martin Peikert. © 2024 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Has the architectural bidding system run its course?

— Switzerland's unique architecture competition guarantees anonymous, objective evaluation of architects. Does Switzerland’s approach really level the playing field and foster diversity? That's what Martin Peikert sets out to find out in his PhD thesis. He summarizes the issues at stake in this column published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland.

Michela Bonomo highlights that we need to anticipate the rising sea levels predicted by 2100. © 2024 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

How long will the dream of the seaside holiday villa last?

— Michela Bonomo examines in this column the ideology of the luxury seaside villa and shows its limits. Her column was published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland. 

Fiona del Puppo, in a student residence near EPFL. © 2024 EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

So you've left student accommodation. What next?

— For her PhD thesis in architecture, Fiona del Puppo looked at the challenges young people face finding somewhere to live after leaving university. She outlines her observations in a column published in the Swiss French-language press.

Sara Formery is an architect and a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL. © François Wavre, Lundi 13

An interpretative framework for the urban banks of the RhĂŽne

— How can the banks of the Rhîne be developed in a sustainable and resilient way? That’s the question posed by Sara Formery, architect and postdoctoral researcher at EPFL’s Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), in this column published in four daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland.

Maxence Grangeot is PhD student at EPFL. © EPFL/Alain Herzog - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Is green concrete a myth?

— EPFL PhD student Maxence Grangeot questions current practices aimed at reducing concrete's carbon footprint in this column published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland.

Gabriele Manoli works as a tenure-track assistant professor at EPFL. © 2024 EPFL / Alain Herzog

To densify or not to densify? That is the question

— As researchers learn more about the costs and benefits of urban densification, city planners will be able to make better-informed measures, says Gabriele Manoli, a tenure-track assistant professor at EPFL, in this column published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland.

Barbara Lambec is an architect and a heritage specialist.  © 2024 EPFL / Alain Herzog

Making yesterday's commonplace today's innovation

— How can we renormalize reuse? Barbara Lambec, an architect, heritage specialist, and researcher at EPFL’s Structural Xploration Lab (SXL), answers to this question in a column published in three daily newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland.

Tiago P. Borges is architect and PhD student at EPFL. © 2024 EPFL / Alain Herzog

Reimagining dwelling

— It's possible to live in less conventional places, such as greenhouses, says Tiago P. Borges, architect and PhD student at EPFL’s Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types (EAST) in this column published in three local dailies.

Giuseppe Galbiati is an engineer-architect and former PhD student at EPFL. © 2024 EPFL / Alain Herzog

“Modern” does not mean “monster”

— Modern architectural buildings represent a rich repository of grey energy to be conserved, even if they are not always attractive, explains Giuseppe Galbiati, engineer-architect and former PhD student at EPFL’s Laboratory of Techniques and Preservation of Modern Architecture (TSAM), in this column.

Anjy Fröhlich and Lara Monti in front of a dismanteled filling stations. © Alain Herzog / 2024 EPFL

What does the future hold for filling stations?

— Filling stations will have to find a new purpose in a post-fossil-fuel world. That's what Anja Fröhlich, architect and associate professor, and Lara Monti, teaching assistant at EPFL's Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types, are talking about in this column.

Lucía Jalón Oyarzun and Emmanuelle Agustoni (ALICE). © EPFL/DR - Y.Bergeot - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Tapping into “urban intelligence”

— In this article appearing in Switzerland’s French-speaking press, Lucía Jalón Oyarzun, head of research at the Design Studio on the Conception of Space (ALICE) and Emmanuelle Agustoni, architect and scientist, explain how they built a picture of the living heritage of Vernier, a town on the western outskirts of Geneva

GlĂČria Serra Coch is architect and researcher at EPFL. © Alain Herzog / 2023 EPFL

Energy is (not) sexy

— In this article appearing in three local newspapers, GlĂČria Serra Coch, architect and PhD student at EPFL’s Human Environment Relations in Urban Systems (HERUS), wonders how to make the energy turn around more attractive.

Dimitrios Lignos is the Director of the Civil Engineering Institute at EPFL. © EPFL/Alain Herzog

How can we use steel efficiently for sustainable design?

— In this column, published in three regional dailies, Dimitrios Lignos, who heads EPFL’s Resilient Steel Structures Laboratory (RESSLab), explains how his laboratory's research is contributing to a more thoughtful use of steel in construction.

Emmanuel Rey is Associate professor of Architecture and Sustainable Construction Technologies. © Tonatiuh Ambrosetti

Toward post-carbon neighborhoods?

— In this column, published in three local dailies, Emmanuel Rey, Associate professor of Architecture and Sustainable Construction Technologies and head of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), explains what lies behind the concept of "post-carbon neighborhoods".

Andrew Sonta is Tenure track assistant professor at the Smart Living Lab in Fribourg.© 2023 EPFL

Why flexible working has the power to change our cities

— In this column, published in three local dailies, Andrew Sonta, engineer and Tenure track assistant professor at the Smart Living Lab explains how evolving patterns of behavior have called into question the value of the physical office space and add an additional layer of complexity to optimal building design and operation.

Giulia Marino is architect and researcher at EPFL. © DR

What can the Avanchet-Parc housing complex teach us today?

— In this column, published in three regional dailies, researcher and architect Giulia Marino discusses how the Avanchet-Parc housing complex near Geneva can inspire future ecodistricts

Camille Fauvel is lecturer at EPFL. © Alain Herzog / EPFL 2023

Temporary structures can help find lasting solutions

— In this column, published in three local dailies, Camille Fauvel explains how temporary structures can help us observe how people use public spaces. Fauvel, a lecturer in architecture at ENAC, cites a project carried out by EPFL students on Lake Geneva.

Mathias Lerch is researcher at EPFL. © A. Herzog/EPFL

Will urban sprawl in Switzerland ever end?

— Public policies aimed at curbing urban sprawl have limited effects, says Mathias Lerch in this column. The ENAC researcher cites a study conducted by his laboratory on peri-urbanization in Switzerland since the 1960s.

Anna Karla de Almeida Santos. © Alain Herzog / EPFL

Industrial heritage: a driver of the socioecological transition

— In this article appearing in Switzerland’s French-speaking press, Anna Karla de Almeida Santos, a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Urbanism (Lab-U), explains that the transformation of sites with an industrial past represents an opportunity to test research avenues and materialize the socio-ecological transition.

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Internal news

Glacier-fed streams could well become greener in the future. © 2022 EPFL/Mike Styllas - CC-BY-SA 4.0

Glacier melt puts unique microbial ecosystems under threat

— A pioneering study has revealed how climate change is impacting glacier-fed streams and the essential microbiomes they contain – which could change radically by the end of this century.

Parc Matin Luther King, Paris © Martin Argyroglo

Forum des transitions urbaines 2025

— Entitled "Towards bioclimatic cities ?", the Forum des transitions urbaines will be held on September 5, 2025 in the Auditorium of Microcity, an EPFL branch in NeuchĂątel (Switzerland). Organized jointly by the Ecoparc Association and the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) of the Ecole polytechnique fĂ©dĂ©rale de Lausanne (EPFL), in partnership with the journal TracĂ©s, the biennial event will approach this crucial theme for our built environment from different angles.

© 2023 EPFL

ENAC Fribourg Grants: apply now!

— We have the pleasure to launch an internal call: “ENAC Fribourg Grants”, offering a new opportunity to boost interdisciplinary research and innovative approaches for a sustainable development of the built environment. The call is open to all EPFL laboratories.

Freilager neighborhood, Zurich (arch. Rolf MĂŒhlethaler) © gataric-fotografie

Forum des transitions urbaines 2023

— Entitled "Towards Post-Carbon Neighborhoods", the Forum des transitions urbaines will be held on September 8, 2023 in the Auditorium of Microcity, a branch of the EPFL in NeuchĂątel (Switzerland). Organized jointly by the Ecoparc Association and the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) of the Ecole polytechnique fĂ©dĂ©rale de Lausanne (EPFL), in partnership with the journal TracĂ©s, the biennial event will approach this crucial theme for our built environment from different angles.

© 2023 EPFL

Three "ENAC Flagship projects" granted

— We're happy to announce the 3 successful ENAC Flagship projects, involving 7 ENAC Professors coming from different research disciplines. The Flagships will receive between 400 and 500 kCHF each and will be running until spring 2026!

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