Research in the service of Switzerland

Advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing offer enormous potential for Swiss industry to further expand its innovative strength and competitiveness. Empa is developing such technologies for a wide range of applications - from valves and damping elements to customized hip implants - in close collaboration with its industrial partners, to whom it offers access to its infrastructure, as Jakob Heier ( left ) explained. Image: Luzia Schär - "How to best serve Switzerland" - that is the question behind numerous research projects and innovations from the institutions of the ETH Domain, said Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board, on the fringes of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Answers to this question were provided to Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and around 60 other high-ranking guests from politics, research and business at an event held at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos. On the fringes of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the institutions of the ETH Domain presented themselves to Swiss politics, research and business. Among the guests were not only Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, but also several members of the National Council and the Council of States, the State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Martina Hirayama, several members of the Graubünden government and the presidents of the two federal universities and the ETH Board, as well as the directors of the research institutes PSI, Empa, Eawag and WSL.