New Imaging Center Pools the Know-How of Five EPFL Schools

Michaël Unser, academic director of the EPFL Imaging Center, and Laurène Donati, executive director © 2021 Alain Herzog - EPFL has just opened a new imaging center to serve as a hub for state-of-the-art technology in imaging systems. The only one of its kind in Switzerland, the center pools the imaging expertise that is currently housed at nearly a hundred laboratories in five EPFL schools. The goal is to facilitate cross-disciplinary research and anchor EPFL's position at the cutting edge of imaging technology for research applications. Imaging is an important tool for researchers in nearly all fields, whether to unlock the secrets of atoms or explore the origins of our galaxy. Nearly a quarter of all EPFL labs use imaging systems to study living cells, environmental phenomena, next-generation materials, and even outer space, among others. These systems let scientists observe what cannot be seen with the naked eye. However, a great deal of research also goes into the development of the systems themselves, such as the creation of new methods to capture images, improve the algorithms used to process them, and manage the reams of data generated as a result.