Research

Enlarged view: Deka River, Zimbabwe — Monitoring water quality of Deka River, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Christian Dinkel)

ETH Zurich founded the Institute of Science, Technology and Policy (ISTP) in order to promote interdisciplinary teaching and research and tackle today's grand societal challenges.

To achieve this aim, ISTP has set up research groups, covering the topics of Mobility, Minerals, Urbanization, Mobility Panel, Sustainable Supply Chains and Carbon Removal.

It also hosted various other research projects: Swiss Environmental Panel, Co-Creating Mobility Hubs, and Impacts of Improved on-Farm Storage.

Incubators for interdisciplinary research

The research groups have been developed within the framework of the ISTP Research Incubator Initiative. Two of these, the Urban Research Incubator and the Swiss Mobility Lab, were set up in 2016. The third research group, the Swiss Minerals Observatory was launched in 2017.

In 2020, the Swiss Mobility Panel and in 2021, the SWISSCHAINS and the Carbon Removal Lab research incubators were launched.

The Research Incubators’ goal is to investigate and develop solutions for today's grand societal challenges at the intersection between technology and society/policy. The research incubators are funded by ETH Zurich through ISTP research grants and co-funded by the principal investigators.

Check out the Energy Blog @ ETH Zurich, to which the ISTP community contributes too.

ISTP research activities

Team from Hwange District community-based water quality monitoring project (f. l. t. r.). (Photo: Christian Dinkel) Virtual Environments as a Decision-making Tool for Public Lighting in Cape Town. Drone images are made to create up-to-date street maps for the lighting design in Bogotá. (Photo: A. Miranda) Désirée Ruppen (ETH Zürich) monitoring water quality of Deka River, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Christian Dinkel) Test-drive of a fully electrified Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) within the framework of a large-scale field experiment in Zurich. (Photo: Gracia Brückmann / ETH Zurich)
Analysing informal luminaire systems in Bogotá. (Photo: A. Miranda) Community monitors Priviledge Shoko, Rosemary Shoko, Mbengwa Ncube (f.l.t.r) discuss water quality results with ETH researcher Désirée Ruppen. (Photo: Fritz Brugger / ETH Zurich) Public Opinion on Route 12 - Pilot experiment of an automated bus service in Neuhausen am Rheinfall. Immersive Experience of Socio-Spatial Segregation. Romano Nyoni, community monitor, and Désirée Ruppen, researcher ETH Zürich, monitoring water quality at effluent channel, Hwange District, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Fritz Brugger / ETH Zurich) Spatial measurements for the development of public lighting in Bogotá. (Photo: A. Miranda) Public perception of autonomous driving - Route 12 in Neuhausen am Rheinfall.

In case you are interested in working with us, please check for open positions at ISTP.