D-INFK news channel

In this series of interviews, we talk to three people who decided to pursue an academic career after studying computer science and are now working as professors. In the first part, Dennis Hofheinz explains why he chose this path and describes the hurdles he had to overcome.

For his fundamental contributions to cryptography and information security, Professor Ueli Maurer from the Institute of Theoretical Computer Science has been appointed Full Member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). Congratulations!

Since 1996, Emo Welzl has been a professor at the Institute of Theoretical Computer Science. He has dedicated his career to developing and analysing combinatorial algorithms and discrete mathematics. Among other things, he has worked on algorithmic geometry and the analysis of geometric structures. As he will be retiring at the end of January, we look back on his career in this interview and learn how he found his way into theoretical computer science and what fascinates him about it.

Raphael Steiner received his doctorate in mathematics at the age of 21. Now the Swiss National Science Foundation is funding his research at the ETH Institute of Theoretical Computer Science in the field of graph theory. Among other things, this involves proving a conjecture that is over 80 years old.

Niao He, Ana Klimovic, Rasmus Kyng and Fanny Yang are among the recipients of a SNSF Starting Grant for their respective research projects. This grant is currently awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Congratulations!

Professor Emo Welzl has been awarded the Golden Owl 2023, a distinction that honours lecturers for excellent teaching. Congratulations!

Professor Rasmus Kyng and Senior Assistant Maximilian Probst have received the inaugural Frontiers of Science Award for a paper they co-authored in 2022. Congratulations!

Large language models such as GPT-​3 are able to learn new concepts by interacting with their users. Doctoral student Johannes von Oswald reports in an interview on what lies behind this ability.

Dr Johannes Lengler, currently Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, has been awarded the title of Adjunct Professor by the ETH Board. As a leading theoretical computer scientist, his research ranges from pure mathematics to the neurosciences.

Manuela Fischer, postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, was awarded the prestigious Chorafas Prize for the best doctoral thesis at ETH Zurich. Congratulations!

Dennis Komm joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich in June 2022 as Associate Professor of Algorithms and Didactics. Get to know him in this short interview.

Manuela Fischer, former doctoral student at the Institute of Theoretical Computer Science, receives the 2022 ACM Principles of Distributed Computing Doctoral Dissertation Award. Congratulations!  

Five Master's graduates from the Department of Computer Science have won prizes for their outstanding performance. Four have received the ETH Medal and one the Willi Studer Prize. Congratulations!

Kristina Hostáková, postdoc in the Foundations of Cryptography Group at the Department of Computer Science was given the CAST/GI Promotion Award IT-Sicherheit. The award honours doctoral theses that promote advancements in IT security and make IT applications more secure.

Professor Ueli Maurer was Director of Studies at the Department of Computer Science (D-INFK) from January 2020 to December 2021. In his farewell interview, he looks back on an intense but rewarding time.

Manuela Fischer, Maciej Besta and Francesco Locatello, three doctoral students from the Department of Computer Science, have won the ETH Medal for their outstanding doctoral theses.

Prof. Angelika Steger has been elected as a new member of the ETH Zurich Prize Committee as of 1 November 2021. The Prize Committee advises the Executive Board on science prizes.

Postdoc Goran Zuzic from the Institute of Theoretical Computer Science received the 2021 Principles of Distributed Computing Doctoral Dissertation Award. Congratulations!

Kristina Hostáková joined Professor Dennis Hofheinz’s research group at the Institute of Theoretical Computer Science last December as a postdoc. In this interview, she talks about asymmetric cryptography, her experiences on the path to ETH Zurich and the promotion of women in computer science.

Dr. Zuzana Trubini and Dr. Martin Hirt receive the prestigious TCC Test-of-Time Award for their 2008 paper titled "Perfectly-Secure MPC with Linear Communication Complexity".

Four Master's graduates from the Department of Computer Science have won prizes for their outstanding Master's theses and grades: three ETH Medals and one Willi Studer Prize. Many congratulations!

David Steurer, currently Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Theoretical Computer Science, has been promoted to Associate Professor. His research focuses on complexity theory. 

Professors Emo Welzl and David Haussler have received the Symposium of Computational Geometry (SoCG) Test of Time Award for a paper with long-term impact they published 34 years ago. 

One of the most prestigious prizes in the area of theoretical computer science has been awarded to Robin Moser for his algorithmic version of the Lovász Local Lemma.

Dennis Hofheinz ist ab Februar 2020 offiziell als ordentlicher Professor für Informatik am Departement Informatik der ETH Zürich tätig. In diesem kurzen Interview stellt er sich vor.

Three Master's graduates from the Department of Computer Science have won the ETH Medal for their outstanding Master's theses. Many congratulations!

The Golden Owl is awarded annually by the VSETH to honour lecturers for excellent teaching.

Dennis Hofheinz makes significant contributions to topics such as e-voting, blockchain systems and digital money and will strengthen the important area of cybersecurity.

Rasmus Kyng officially joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich at the beginning of September 2019 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Theoretical Computer Science. Get to know him in this short interview.

Professor Mohsen Ghaffari has received an ERC Starting Grant. In his ERC project, he plans to tackle problems in distributed graph algorithms and to develop efficient massively parallel algorithms.

Dr. Rasmus Kyng conducts research in theoretical computer science with a focus on algorithm theory and theoretical aspects of data science.

After two and a half years as the Head of the Department of Computer Science, Professor Emo Welzl is stepping down. In a wide-ranging interview, the outgoing Department Head talks about the future of computer science, the balance between theory and practice, and the importance of appointing new professors.

Andreas Krause and David Steurer have been awarded with the Consolidator Grant for their projects in the field of learning systems and algorithmic methods. 

ETH computer scientist Bernd Gärtner explains why even youngsters should get to grips with computer science.

Congratulations to Manuela Fischer and Andrea Lattuada, doctoral students of Prof. Ghaffari and Prof. Roscoe, for winning this year’s Google PhD Fellowship.

The National Academy of Sciences will award both professors “for a body of work which revolutionizes our understanding of optimization and complexity" in computer science.

Professor Angelika Steger leads the Combinatorial Structures and Algorithms group. Her research areas include algorithms, combinatorics, randomisation and probabilistic methods as well as combinatorial models for optimisation.

What if you had the chance to complete your own research project at ETH over the summer and to join in discussions about the university’s future? Read more about Katherine Bancroft and Siqi Liu. 

At the age of 29, Professor of Computer Science Mohsen Ghaffari is one of the youngest professors at ETH Zurich. But in his native Iran he originally studied quite a different subject.

Professor Ueli Maurer leads the Information Security and Cryptography group. His research areas include cryptography, information security and information theory.

In recognition of his significant contributions to cryptography and information security, Professor Ueli Maurer has been named ACM Fellow. Professor Maurer is also the winner of the prestigious 2016 RSA Award for Excellence in the Field of Mathematics for his work and results in information theoretic-​based cryptography. Many congratulations!

Riding the Polybahn from Central up to ETH Zurich with Ueli Maurer: the computer science professor and head of ETH Zurich’s Institute of Theoretical Computer Science tells us in a new Polybahn Pitch what he’s doing to contribute to internet security.

Knowledge is not only a privilege but also a responsibility. Prof. Bernd Gärtner, Dr. Petra Adamaszek and their "Kinderlabor" (Laboratory for Children) bring scientific MINT subjects closer to individuals at the ETH hosted event "Treffpunkt Science City". Through the laboratory’s dedication towards young learners, disciplines such as computer science become both distributed and accessible. The benefits reach far into business, industry, and society.

President of the Swiss Confederation, Ueli Maurer, is currently testing a crypto phone. ETH News talked to his namesake, ETH professor and cryptography expert Ueli Maurer, about secure IT, the NSA and the threat of a cyberwar.

Information security, search engine marketing and mobile services are the topics of the Vodafone Innovation Award 2013 and the two grants that will be presented on Tuesday evening at the Vodafone Campus in Düsseldorf. With them, the Vodafone Foundation for Research in Mobile Communications honors groundbreaking science. (German)

London, April 10th, 2012 – Today, Nature Communications, a high-​profile journal of the Nature Publishing Group (NPG), publishes the article "Discreteness-​induced concentration inversion in mesoscopic chemical systems", co-​authored by Rajesh Ramaswamy, Nélido González-​Segredo, Ivo F. Sbalzarini, all from ETHZ’s MOSAIC Group, and Ramon Grima from the University of Edinburgh.