Archive News

November 30, 2017Michael Besmer has been awarded the 2017 Otto Jaag Water Protection prize for his thesis on “Monitoring short-term dynamics of bacterial concentrations in natural and engineered aquatic ecosystems”. The prize recognises excellent PhD theses and masters dissertations completed at ETH Zurich in the fields of water protection and hydrology. 

November 21, 2017As part of the artists-in-labs programme run by the Zurich University of the Arts, two artists from Saudi Arabia are currently artists-in-residence at Eawag for three months. Zahrah Alghamdi is working in the Aquatic Ecology department and is looking at running waters and their physical properties as well as their emotional and poetical aspects, while Muhannad Shono is a guest of the Environmental Microbiology department, where he is exploring parallels between microorganisms and humans.

November 20, 2017Tomorrow, 21 November 2017, will be Switzerland’s first ever Digital Day, with around 40 prominent businesses and institutions holding more than 80 events around the country to show what the significance of digitalisation will be for them and for Switzerland’s future. The President of the Federal Council, Doris Leuthard, will open the Digital Day at an event in Zurich’s main railway station, which will also be attended by federal minister Johann Schneider and Eawag Director Janet Hering.

November 2, 2017Christian Stamm and Alfred Johny Wüest are lecturing along with other academics and practitioners in a new online course on “Water in Switzerland”, run by the University of Zurich. The course, addressed to the public, examines how this element affects various aspects of life in Switzerland.

October 4, 2017Jörg Rieckermann, group leader within Eawag’s Urban Water Management department, was awarded with the “Mid-term Career Achievement Award” during this year’s International Conference on Urban Drainage (ICUD) in Prague. Every three years, the Joint Committee on Urban Drainage (JCUD) recognizes outstanding achievements of professionals in the field of urban drainage by bestowing this career achievement award.

October 2, 2017At a meeting held on 28 September, the ETH Board elected Gabriele Mayer, Head of the Finance and Personnel Departments, as the latest new member of the Eawag Directorate. In this capacity, Gabriele Mayer will be representing Eawag in the areas of compliance, corporate governance and support. She takes up her new role on 1st October 2017.

September 12, 2017Conversion of organic waste into valuable products is becoming more widespread, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The treatment of waste by larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF) has especially raised much attention in recent years.  Despite these advances, a significant need existed for guidelines on how to set up and operate a commercially viable treatment facility. The Black Soldier Fly Biowaste Processing: A Step-by-Step Guide published in July 2017 summarises the results of ten years of research and development in this field at Eawag and imparts valuable know-how through practical advice and instructions.

August 25, 2017Eawag researchers working on the research project “VUNA” have developed a new recycling process with which nutrients in urine can be harvested and used as fertilizer. In order to further their ideology of sustainable handling of water and wastewater and to work out and implement innovative concepts of water and wastewater treatment, the researchers have founded the Spin-off Vuna GmbH. 

August 4, 2017From August 2017, FIBER, the fisheries advisory service in Kastanienbaum, will again be managed by a team of two. Corinne Schmid, who currently heads up the office, is looking forward to working with Sébastien Nusslé as co-managers.

July 11, 2017Alexander Damm has been appointed by the University of Zurich as Assistant Professor tenure track for remote sensing of water systems, effective as of 1 August 2017. The joint professorship at Eawag and the University of Zurich will enable Eawag to broaden its competence and knowledge in the field of remote sensing.