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Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
From controlled earthquakes to the monitoring of unstable slopes
How do earthquakes occur? Seismologist Anne Obermann from the Swiss Seismological Service, together with a research team from Paris, has applied unsupervised machine learning to data from ETH Zurich’s BedrettoLab. The collaboration was made possible by the Germaine de Staël funding programme. The method identified significantly more seismic events than the previous reference catalogue. This now opens up a broader perspective: initial analyses of data from the Blatten ice and rockfall suggest that the activity of an unstable slope may already be trackable using just a single seismic station. In an interview with the SATW, Obermann explains how a research collaboration gave rise to a new idea for monitoring natural hazards.
Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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mRNA 2.0: From the COVID-19 vaccine to a potential treatment for skin cancer
During the Covid-19 pandemic, mRNA technology gained worldwide recognition. Now it could also transform cancer treatment: the first personalised mRNA vaccine against melanoma has shown promising results in a large Phase III trial. When used in combination with immunotherapy, it reduced the risk of recurrence by 42 per cent. How does a vaccine work that is produced individually for each patient? And what still stands in the way of its widespread use?Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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Agent-based AI in industry: Where are you heading, Switzerland?
What will change when AI no longer merely provides answers, but takes over work? The SATW’s Digital Industry specialist group examines the potential of agent-based AI, ranging from administrative order processing to collaboration between humans and intelligent robots. This also addresses the strategic question of what role Switzerland can and wishes to play in this development.Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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«Translation into effective action is needed» – Janet Hering on structures and what universities owe women in science
Since 2025, the global L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science program has had a Swiss chapter, with SATW as a partner: every year, four early-career researchers working in Switzerland receive 25,000 Swiss Francs each. The second cohort was honored on 21 October 2026. The jury is chaired by Janet Hering – aquatic scientist, professor emerita at ETH Zurich and EPFL, and the first woman to head a Swiss federal research institute, the Eawag. In conversation with SATW, she explains what convinces a jury, why role models alone are not enough, and where the implementation of gender equality actually breaks down.