READ.ME - Archive 2020
View READ.ME December 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Welcome, Professor Niao He
Shancong Yu new administrative assistant to Prof. Adrian Perrig
Johan Stettler: "There’s never a dull moment when working for VIS"
Prizes and awards
David Basin named IEEE Fellow
ERC Grant for Olga Sorkine-Hornung and Torsten Hoefler
Open positions
WANTED: Adventuresome student with ETH Bachelor's degree and great writing skills
Stories of the month
Prof. Friedemann Mattern: Computer science in the context of history, culture and society
Prof. Kenny Paterson: Raising the profile of quantum research
Upcoming events
Crossing Parallels, Graphische Sammlung
D-INFK in the news
Prof. Adrian Perrig, Scion, Spin-off Anapaya / Prof. Martin Vechev and Dr. Veselin Raychev, Spin-off DeepCode: Cybersecurity made in Zurich (Computerworld)
Prof. Marc Pollefeys, Mixed Reality & AI Lab: Arzt operiert am Balgrist mit Microsoft-AR-Brille (Netzwoche)
Kaspar Etter, Alumnus: Ten years later: the paths of scholarship recipients (ETH Foundation)
Dybuster AG, D-INFK Spin-off: 1,5 Millionen CHF für herausragende Leistungen im Bildungsbereich (Checkpoint eLearning)
Ferdinand Wittmann, D-INFK student: Wie zwei ETH-Studenten die Wohnungssuche revolutionieren wollen (Red Bull)
Sandra Tobler, D-INFK Spin-off: «Mein liebstes Gadget ist meine Bassgitarre» (Computerworld)
Tip of the month
Fun activities for your 2020 holidays
Please meet
Fábio Porfírio, Lab Coordinator for ETH Game Technology Center & ETH Media Technology Center
Coronavirus - Important updates
Dr. Hermann Lehner: “In-person exams are essential for ETH Zurich”
View READ.ME November 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Patricia Kilchhofer new administrative assistant to Prof. Gunnar Rätsch
Zuowen Wang elected for Cyber-Defence Master Thesis fellowship
Prizes and awards
Timothy Roscoe admitted to SIGOPS Hall of Fame
BenchCouncil Rising Star Award for Torsten Hoefler
Worlddidac Award for ABZ team
Ghislain Fourny receives Golden Owl
NextGen Hero Award for David Yenicelik
ETH Medal for doctoral theses
Open positions
Assistant Professor Quantum Computing
Stories of the month
Prof. Zhendong Su, Dr. Manuel Rigger: 450 logic errors found in popular databases
Cyber Group ETH Student Initiative: Cyber networks – from students for students
Upcoming events
CSNOW Samichlaus Game Night (3 December, 2020)
DeepLearn 2021 Summer (26-30 July, 2021)
Past events
Senior research scientist Barbara Solenthaler star guest science at Pestalozzi Schulcamp
D-INFK in the news
Max-Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems, ELLIS, Prof. Bernhard Schölkopf: Schweizer Grenzkantone auf virtuellem Besuch in Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Württemberg)
Dr. Alexander Ilic: Artificial intelligence won't replace humans (Swissinfo.ch)
Prof. Markus Gross: Mr. Disney im Interview (Handelszeitung)
Prof. Christian Holz: Microsoft’s ‘PIVOT’ Haptics Research Could Make Throwing A Ball In VR More Believable (Upload VR)
Master's student Jennifer Schürch: Eine Klasse für sich (Migros-Magazin)
Tip of the month
Cultural inspiration at home
Please meet
Peter Koschitz, Department Delegate and Administration Coordinator
Coronavirus - Important updates
New master plan for ETH
ISG remote support
Working from abroad
View READ.ME October 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Welcome, Professor Shweta Shinde
Alexander Ilic appointed Executive Director of ETH AI Center
Prizes and awards
ERC Grant
ELLIS PhD Award
Five ESOP 2020 students
Open positions
Doctoral fellows for ETH AI Center wanted
Apply to BRCCH Postdoctoral Excellence Programme
Stories of the month
Mihai Bâce: Our actual attention is now measurable
Christian Reiter: “You shouldn’t start a company just because it’s trendy”
Upcoming events
Inaugural lecture Prof. Valentina Boeva (4 November)
Inaugural lecture Prof. Julia Vogt (4 November)
Distinguished Colloquium with Prof. Bryan Parno (9 November)
Distinguished Colloquium with Prof. Tom Ristenpart (16 November)
Past events
VIScon Digital (5-10 October)
ETH AI Center opening (20 October)
D-INFK in the news
Professor Julia Vogt, Dr. Alexander Ilic: ETH eröffnet Kompetenzzentrum für KI (SRF Tagesschau)
Bachelor student Ivana Klasovita: Logic and passion (Science Olympiad)
Spin-off Modulos, Professor Ce Zhang: Dieser Gründer hilft Firmen, die richtige KI zu finden (Handelszeitung)
Spin-off Indoor Astronaut: "Unrailed!" im Test: Chaotischer Spass auf Schiene (Heute)
Tip of the month
Telephones are being updated
Please meet
Federico Mereu, Manager food&lab
Coronavirus - Important updates
ETH Zurich to suspend most classroom teaching
"We need to take action"
ETH Zurich tightens rules
Through the crisis with agility and perseverance
View READ.ME September 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Torsten Hoefler appointed Full Professor
Welcome, Professor Ana Klimovic
Professor Onur Mutlu changes departments
Farewell, Sibille Etling
Welcome, Paulina Motyka
Open positions
Doctoral positions at the CLS
Prizes and awards
KITE Award nomination
Students win hardware design contest
ETH Medals and Willi Studer Prize for our Master's students
Martin Hirt and Zuzana Trubini receive TCC Test-of-Time Award
Stories of the month
Professors Valentina Boeva, Ryan Cotterell, Thomas Hofmann, Andreas Krause; Dr. Severin Klingler: ETH Globe magazine on AI
Simon Dünser, Prof. Stelian Coros: A robot that controls highly flexible tools
Prof. David Basin, Dr. Ralf Sasse, Dr. Jorge Toro Pozo: Outsmarting the PIN code
Prof. Julia Vogt, Prof. Fanny Yang: How Machine Learning can help in medicine
Prof. Andreas Krause, Prof. Julia Vogt: Foundations for trustworthy artificial intelligence
Prof. Martin Vechev, Dr. Veselin Raychev: ETH AI spin-off DeepCode acquired by a unicorn in cybersecurity
Upcoming events
SDSC-Connect (1 October)
Presenting the Media Technology Center (1 October)
VIScon Digital (5-10 October)
ETH AI Center opening ceremony, save the date (20 October)
Past events
Master's degree graduation ceremony (27 August)
Information Days (2-3 September)
ETH Industry eWeek (21-24 September)
D-INFK in the news
D-INFK Spin-off Auterion: Alle Drohnen der US Army verwenden zukünftig eine Zürcher Software (Bilanz)
David M. Sommer, Moritz Schneider, Jannick Gut, Professor Srdjan Capkun: Passwort: «Wahlen» (Republik)
Alumnus Herbert Bruderer: We Just Found the User Manual for the First Digital Computer Ever Built (ExtremeTech)
Affiliated Professor Bernhard Schölkopf: Wie intelligent werden Computer, Herr Schölkopf? (FAZ)
Professor Markus Gross, alumni Urs Hölzle and Georg Polzer: Digital Shapers Hall of Fame (Bilanz)
Alumnus Kaspar Etter: The Internet (Explained from First Principles)
Tip of the month
New brochures and more colours
Please meet
Denise Spicher, Studies Administrator
Coronavirus
Mandatory presence tracing at D-INFK
Important updates
Compulsory facemasks in lectures
Covid-19 cases at ETH
Safety concept for catering outlets
View READ.ME August 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Welcome, Prof. Mrinmaya Sachan
Farewell, Ariane Nake
Welcome, Daniela Fritzsche
New role for Prof. Markus Püschel
Welcome, Dejan Jovanovic
Stories of the month
Animatico, D-INFK Spin-off: Interactive avatars for a contactless customer experience
Upcoming events
Studieninformationstage (2-3 September)
Schnupperstudium CSNOW (7-8 September)
ETH Industry eWeek (21-24 September)
VIScon Digital (5-10 October)
D-INFK in the news
Tinamu Labs, D-INFK Spin-off: Tinamu secures CHF 1.1M in an oversubscribed seed round (Venture Lab)
Prof. Christian Holz: Eye-tracking mask could monitor people’s reactions to what they see (New Scientist)
Beekeeper, D-INFK Spin-off: Beekeeper named vendor of the year award finalist for the 2020 North American Inspiring Workplaces Awards (Wall Street Call)
DeepCode, D-INFK Spin-off: DeepCode kommt bei Entwicklern gut an (Punkt 4)
Dr. Vlad Coroama: Surfe ich das Klima kaputt? (SRF Kultur)
Tip of the month
Documentary about start-ups
Please meet
Kari Kostiainen, Senior Scientist and Coordinator of ZISC
Coronavirus
Current working regulations
Important updates
Facemasks and physical distancing are key
Holidays and working hours in times of Corona
View READ.ME July 2020 here
Faculty and staff
David Steurer promoted to Associate Professor
Kenny Paterson and Peter Widmayer support scientific integrity
Amanda Caracas leaves Communication & Marketing Group
Noah Fleischmann finishes his apprenticeship
Prizes and awards
Markus Gross joins the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
ETH students ace the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge
ICML Test of Time Award for Andreas Krause
Yifan Wang receives Apple PhD Fellowship
Stories of the month
Prof. Srdjan Capkun, Karl Wüst, Aritra Dhar, Vasilios Mavroudis, Dr. Kari Kostiainen: Snappy nominated for Spark Award
Patrice Becker, Bachelor's student: "It’s almost like a drug"
Upcoming events
Virtual Master's Degree Celebration (27 August)
Paul Bernays Lectures (31 August - 1 September)
D-INFK in the news
New faculty members Prof. Niao He and Prof. Shweta Shinde: New professors: four women and four men (ETH News)
Prof. Markus Gross: Zu Besuch bei ETH-Professor Markus Gross (Radio SRF 2 Kultur)
xorlab, D-INFK Spin-off: xorlab raises more than CHF 1.2 million to accelerate growth and deliver safe corporate communications (Venture Lab)
Dr. Martin Wechsler, Alumnus: Die Migros Group hat einen neuen CIO (Inside IT)
Beekeeper, D-INFK Spin-off: Beekeeper adds $10M to series B financing round (Venture Lab)
Leonhard Helminger, Jacek Naruniec, Christopher Schroers, Romann M. Weber: Disney Research neural face-swapping technique can provide photorealistic, high-resolution video (TechCrunch)
Prof. Kenny Paterson, Alumnus Mathias Payer: Die pragmatischen Puristen (Republik)
Please meet
Barbara Solenthaler, senior research scientist at the Computer Graphics Laboratory
Tip of the month –ETH video services
Professional video production
Equipment to lend
Coronavirus
Current working regulations
Important updates
Session exams in the coronavirus era
Buildings to reopen starting 3 August
Ready to fight a potential second wave
View READ.ME June 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Marianna Berger retires after 25 years
Dr. Hermann Lehner to head Academic Services
Goodbye to our colleague Dave Avanthay
Professor Markus Gross new head of Institute of Visual Computing
Meet Vincent Fortuin, ESOP student
Meet Hanna Ragnarsdottir, ESOP student
Passed doctoral examinations: June 2020
Prizes and awards
Prof. David Basin and Prof. Joachim Buhmann: SACMAT Test of Time Award
Stories of the month
Cyber Group: Students against cyber threats
Prof. Martin Vechev, Benjamin Bichsel: The first intuitive programming language for quantum computers
Prof. Thomas Hofmann, Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems: “The greatest success would be if the centre were to be absorbed into something bigger”
BLP Digital, D-INFK Spin-off: One software for all documents
Upcoming events
HackZurich – Europe's biggest Hackathon (18–20 September)
Swiss conference on data science 2020 (26 June)
Call for collaborative data science projects
D-INFK in the news
David Dao, Doctoral student: Podcast #1 (Talent im Land)
Arbrea Labs, D-INFK Spin-off: Dieses Startup zeigt, wie man nach der Schönheits-OP aussieht (Handelszeitung)
Prof. Martin Vechev, Benjamin Bichsel: Silq is a new high-level programming language for quantum computers (Techcrunch)
Prof. Stelian Coros: Watch this two-armed robot carve like a Renaissance master (Gizmodo)
Cédric Neukom, Master's student: Um Andrang zu vermeiden: Studenten lancieren Reservations-App (Aargauer Zeitung)
Prof. Srdjan Capkun and Mathias Wellig, Alumnus: Alles, was du zur SwissCovid-App wissen musst (20 Minuten)
Scandit, D-INFK Spin-off: Scandit sammelt 80 Millionen Dollar (Inside-it)
Please meet
Felix Friedrich, teacher and study coordinator at D-INFK
Tip of the month
"Games" exhibition at the National museum Zurich
Important note
Current working regulations
Looking to the future
SwissCovid tracing app: Tracing app officially launched
Prof. Sarah Springman, ETH Rector: "We are aiming for an optimal mix of classroom and online teaching"
View READ.ME May 2020 here
Faculty and staff
New staff and farewells
Prizes and awards
Prof. Adrian Perrig: four Test of Time Awards
Julia Gschwind: Alfred Escher Prize 2020
Stories of the month
Media Technology Center: The virtual made real
Larissa Laich: "It began with a Lego robot"
Prof. Adrian Perrig: Who chooses the path that data takes?
Liliana Barrios: This is a step forward in our quest to understand fatigue
Prof. Gustavo Alonso: A unique opportunity to explore the latest technology
Prof. Srdjan Capkun: Making cryptocurrency payments fast and secure
Prof. em. Walter Gander: Obstacles facing the pioneers at ETH
Game Technology Center: MAG/NET app released
Upcoming events
Cyber threats in healthcare: Roche Tower Talk with Prof. Adrian Perrig (28 May)
ETH Game Programming Lab final presentations 2020 (26 May)
D-INFK in the news
Mathias Wellig, Alumnus: Der Mann, der die Corona-App baut (SRF Eco)
Xorlab, D-INFK spin-off: ETH-Spinoff schliesst Partnerschaft mit Avantec (Inside Channels)
David Dao: Can AI help tackle climate change? (ETH Podcast)
Alexandros N. Ziogas: A data-centric approach to extreme-scale ab initio dissipative quantum transport simulations (inside HPC)
Dr. Anna Maria Feit: Braucht es das Zehnfingersystem noch? (Merkur)
Prof. Srdjan Capkun: Snappy beschleunigt Zahlung mit digitalen Wärungen (Punkt 4)
Prof. Tanja Käser, Alumna: Sempacher Forscherin an die ETH Lausanne berufen (Luzerner Zeitung)
Please meet
Georg Schätti, president of the Association of Computer Science Alumni ETH Zürich (IAETH)
Tip of the month – Mental and physical well-being
Coaching services for students
Staying healthy at home
COVID-19 section
Sources of information
Information for staff and students
ETH news, stories and announcements
Important note
Current working regulations
Stories from the department
Nicola Rüegsegger: Practical training on the double
Peter Tatkowski and Andrea Tulimiero: Early disease detection through the sound of the voice
Prof. Srdjan Capkun: Swiss tracing app goes on trial
Alex Roque and Isaak Hanimann: Corona-compliant app reframing
View READ.ME April 2020 here
Faculty and staff
New staff and farewells
Prizes and awards
Prof. Emo Welzl: Symposium of Computational Geometry (SoCG) Test of Time Award
Dr. Robin Moser: Gödel Prize
Stories of the month
Nicola Rüegsegger, Pascal Wacker: "We have to do something!"
Katja Wolff: Sewing nicer clothes with algorithms
Julia Vogt: "With every project, I broaden my horizon"
Prof. Gunnar Rätsch: Circulatory failure is predictable
Dr. Mohsen Ewaida: FPGA computing platform for machine learning
Dr. Pelin Dogan: Machines learn to speak Swiss German
Upcoming events
VIScon – not just for students (9-11 Ocotber)
Cyber Security and its Communication Challenges (7 May)
How will Cyber Security Evolve? Zero Trust and other factors (14 May)
VIScon Call for Proposals (until 24 May)
D-INFK in the news
Prof. Ce Zhang, David Dao: Understanding the dynamics of the epidemic (ETH News)
Prof. Kenny Paterson: European coronavirus contact tracing app sparks uproar in the privacy community (NS Tech)
Mathias Wellig, Alumnus: Der Mann auf Millionen Smartphones (Walliser Bote)
Urs Hölzle, Alumnus: «Das Vertrauen in die Cloud steigt» (Computerworld)
Ankit Dhall, Master student: Enabling Biodiversity Research with Automated Species Identification (ETH Library LAB)
Daniel Schenker, Alumnus: «2232322» hat er gesagt (Tagesanzeiger)
Please meet
Giovanni Serafini, lecturer in didactics of computer science (ABZ)
Tip of the month
Improved services platform for D-INFK staff
COVID-19 section
Sources of information
Information for staff and students
ETH news, stories and announcements
Important note
Current working regulations
Stories from the department
Simona Bochsler, Amanda Caracas, Katharina Emry: "We encourage each other and exchange tips"
Jonathan Chen: A typical day in quarantine
Alex Lelidis, Radek Danecek: Hacking through a crisis – "Should I be worried"
Prof. Markus Gross: Seeing each other in times of Covid
Prof. Gunnar Rätsch: ETH Zurich and the canton of Bern – fighting coronavirus together
Prof. Juraj Hromkovic: Computer science for children of all ages
View READ.ME March 2020 here
Feature spotlight
Director of Studies, Prof. Ueli Maurer: "I am positively surprised at how quickly all the lecturers have adapted to the new situation"
HR in the spotlight
HR Manager, Jacqueline Braunschweiler: FAQs about working arrangements
Voices from the department – student organisations
VIS President, Jonathan Chen: "VIS fully supports the ETH strategy"
MOEB President, Michael Aerni: "We are happy to help!"
VMI President: Alexander Viand: "We want to keep connecting people"
Voices from the department – mixed
"This is how we cope with the Coronavirus"
Helpful sources of information and guides
Official information from the Federal Council, the canton of Zurich, and ETH Zurich as well as useful links, tips and tricks
Home office survival guide
Events
Online hackathon CodeVsCovid19
Tip of the month
Keep your office plants watered
New faculty and staff
Welcome, Claudia Otto
D-INFK in the news
D-INFK Spin-off Futurae: Diese Frau macht Logins kinderleicht (Handelszeitung)
Prof. Julia Vogt: Eine ETH-Forscherin erklärt, was KI den Ärzten bringt (Netzwoche)
Gabriela Keller (Alumna and CEO Ergon Informatik): Gabriela Keller über Leitbilder, Vorbilder und den Wandel in der Schweizer IT (Netzwoche)
News corporate communications
Corporate design refresh: phase two
View READ.ME February 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Welcome, Prof. Ryan Cotterell
Welcome, Prof. Dennis Hofheinz
Welcome, Pauline Lüthi
Prizes and awards
Prof. Onur Mutlu: IEEE Edward J. McCluskey Technical Achievement Award
International Collegiate Programming Contest: Team mETH off to world finals
Stories of the month
Prof. Gunnar Rätsch: A more accurate map of cancer genomes
STIU: The creative sides of computer science
Upcoming events
Informatiktage (23-28 March)
Spring semester 2020: Distinguished colloquium and inaugural lectures
Master your Master (28 February)
Master's degree celebration (28 February)
VIS Kontaktparty (29 February)
ETH Wikipedia Edith-a-thon (5 March)
Global Lectures Series: The Digital Ape (25 March)
Past events
Schnupperstudium by CSNOW (10-14 February)
D-INFK in the news
Prof. Ueli Maurer: Was lernen wir aus Cryptoleaks? (SRF Club)
Senior research associate Dr. Vlad Coroama: Klickscham - Surfen wir die Welt kaputt? (SRF Virus)
Prof. Hao Li (Alumnus): Deepfakes - A threat to democracy or just a bit of fun? (BBC News)
Prof. Marc Pollefeys: Zurich mixed reality researchers designing post-smartphone future (MENAFN)
Prof. Markus Gross: "I’m a Kind of Business Angel" (VentureLab)
Dr. Severin Hacker (Alumnus and Co-Founder Duolingo): The man teaching 300 million people a new language (BBC News)
Please meet
Franz Knobel, head of the organisation committee of the VIS Kontaktparty
View READ.ME January 2020 here
Faculty and staff
Welcome, Professor Siyu Tang
Welcome, Professor Fanny Yang
Professor Ueli Maurer new Director of Studies
Professor Julia Vogt in charge of CSNOW
Good-bye to our colleague Marion Wenger
Dr. Hermann Lehner appointed head of Academic Services
Prizes and awards
Dr. Leonel Aguilar nominated top innovator under 35
Three outstanding Master's theses honoured with ETH Medal
Stories of the month
Prof. Olga Sorkine-Hornung, Lara Schmid: "Women are just as good as men at computer science"
David Dao: Artificial intelligence can help combat climate change
Upcoming events
10th Swiss Day for Computer Science Education (STIU) (5 Feb 2020)
Master's degree celebration (28 Feb 2020)
Past events
D-INFK goes WEF (21-24 Jan 2020)
D-INFK in the news
Simon Zimmermann: Mehr als Spielereien: In Davos sind die Roboter los (n-tv.de)
Prof. Ueli Maurer: VBS: Darum kam Amherds «Krypto-Handy» noch nie zum Einsatz (SRF Tagesschau)
D-INFK Spin-off Beekeeper: Chatten mit dem Gemeindepräsidenten (Moneycab)
D-INFK Spin-off ChainSecurity: PwC Switzerland Incorporates ChainSecurity Team to Expand Blockchain Audit Tools (CoinDesk)
Please meet...
Professor Ueli Maurer, the department's new Director of Studies
Tip of the month
Meet our mascot