D-INFK news channel

Professor Menna El-Assady shines a torch into the black box of generative AI and talks about how a model makes decisions and whether we can correct them.

We've all heard it, we all know it, we’ve all seen it: Computer science is not regarded as a “beacon” of diversity. In this interview, Professor Kenny Paterson, Head of the Department of Computer Science details his experiences with diversity, the challenges we face, and how D-INFK might be getting a bit better one step at a time.

Juraj Hromkovic has been Professor of Information Technology at ETH Zurich for the past 20 years. During this time, he has been a leading advocate of teaching computer science in schools. He’s now giving his farewell lecture.

Public cloud services employ special security technologies. Professor Shweta Shinde has, together with her Secure & Trustworthy Systems Group, discovered a gap in the latest security mechanisms used by AMD and Intel chips. This affects major cloud providers.  

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.

Last year, it was decided that computer science would become a core subject in Swiss baccalaureate schools from the 2024/25 school year onwards. In this conversation, three generations of professors who have committed themselves to this cause look at the past and future of the school subject of computer science.

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!

For the past two years, Professor Zhendong Su has been the Director of Studies of our Department of Computer Science and, therefore, part of the department's executive board. In this interview, Professor Su talks about the accomplishments and challenges during his term. He also tells us what good teaching means to him, and we find out what four dreams he wants to accomplish before retirement.

Professor Andreas Krause from the Department of Computer Science has been named ACM Fellow for his contributions to learning-based decision making under uncertainty. Big congratulations!

This special edition of the department newsletter was made in honour of computer pioneer Niklaus Wirth. It reflects on his life and his achievements and features tributes from his colleagues.

Computer pioneer Niklaus Wirth died on 1 January 2024, just weeks before his 90th birthday. The long-​serving ETH Professor of Computer Science achieved world fame by developing the Pascal programming language in the 1970s. In 1984, he became the only German-​speaking computer scientist yet to have received the Turing Award, which is regarded as the Nobel Prize for computer science.

Professor Ana Klimovic has been chosen for a VMware Early Career Faculty Award which identifies recently-​appointed faculty whose research interests and accomplishments seem poised to have significant impact within the industry and academia. Congratulations!

Studying Data Science at ETH Zurich means being part of one of the most exciting driving forces of today’s Information Age. To gain deeper insights into the field, we have talked to various students, professors, and an alumna. In these video conversations, the interviewees elaborate on the growing need and importance of data science – both now and in the future.

Michalis Kokologiannakis, currently a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, Kaiserslautern, Germany, was appointed as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science by the ETH Board.

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

The United Nations has launched a global AI Advisory Body to work on risks, opportunities and international governance of the technology. Professor Andreas Krause, head of the Learning & Adaptive Systems Group and Chair of the ETH AI Center, is amongst the appointed experts. Congratulations!

Mennatallah El-Assady, a Research Fellow at ETH Zurich, has been appointed Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. She works at the intersection of data analysis, visualisation, computational linguistics and explainable artificial intelligence. Her research delivers an innovative methodology that contributes to creating explainable, robust and versatile AI. 

The treatment of children born with cleft lip and palate typically includes the use of therapeutic intraoral plates before surgical closure of the cleft. Now, researchers from the Department of Computer Science have teamed up with clinical care researchers at the University Hospital Basel to create a digital pipeline that enables the automatic production of the plates.

From Sept. 1, 2023, Professor Torsten Hoefler will be affiliated with the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS). CSCS, with its upcoming new “Alps” high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, and the ETH professor want to jointly test and advance methods and applications for machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Together with the Handelszeitung, PME and Digitalswitzerland, BILANZ has selected the 100 most important minds for the digitisation of Switzerland. Among them are several current and former D-INFK members and spin-offs.

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!

Professor Ce Zhang was Associate Professor in the Data Sciences, Data Systems, & Data Services Lab (DS3Lab). He left ETH Zurich at the end of last month to take a position as an associate professor at the University of Chicago, USA. We wish him all the best!

April Yi Wang, currently a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, is appointed Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Educational Technology. Her research focuses on the investigation and development of modern digital technologies, using AI and other tools to facilitate cooperation between data scientists.

After nearly ten years as Co-Director of the Max Planck - ETH Center for Learning Systems (CLS), Professor Thomas Hofmann steps down and hands over this role to Niao He, Professor of Data Science at the Department of Computer Science.

In theory, quantum computers vastly outperform classical computers in terms of computing speed. For them to do so in practice, it is necessary to design more and novel high-​speed algorithms, says ETH supercomputing specialist Torsten Hoefler. 

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.

Professor Gustavo Alonso has received the prestigious EuroSys Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding technical contributions to the field of computer systems. Congratulations!

For his outstanding achievements as a researcher, Professor Marc Pollefeys has been elected a member of Academia Europaea. Congratulations!

Ralf Jung’s work on the Iris logic framework is awarded the 2023 Alonzo Church Award for Outstanding Contributions to Logic and Computation. Congratulations!

Professor Bernhard Schölkopf from the Institute for Machine Learning is recognised with the 2022 ACM - AAAI Allen Newell Award for his widely used research in machine learning. Congratulations!

David Cock, senior researcher in ETH Zurich’s System’s Group, is one of the co-recipients of the prestigious ACM Software System Award. Congratulations!

Professor Torsten Hoefler, Head of the Institute for High Performance Computing Systems, is the inaugural recipient of the Jack Dongarra Early Career Award. Big congratulations!

Theodoros Rekatsinas, Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science, left ETH Zurich at the end of January to take up a position with Apple. We wish him all the best!

Dr Barbara Solenthaler, currently Lecturer and Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, has been promoted to Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich. Barbara Solenthaler develops algorithms and techniques for data-driven simulations and 3D modelling. 

Ce Zhang, currently Tenure Track Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Computer Science. Zhang conducts research at the interface between data science and systems, and works at the cutting edge of developments in IT following the transition to cloud-based systems. 

Valentina Boeva has been a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics at D-INFK since June 2019. She speaks not only Russian, French and English, but also the languages of computer science and biology. A rare talent that she is passing on to an increasing number of students.

Ralf Jung joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich in November 2022 as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Get to know him in this short interview.

Johanna Pirker, Assistant Professor at Graz University of Technology, spent September and October as a visiting professor at the Game Technology Center (GTC) of ETH Zurich. In this interview, she explains what we can learn from video games and why our image of gamers does not correspond to reality.

Florian Tramèr joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich in August 2022 as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Get to know him in this short interview.

Ralf Jung is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA. He was appointed as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. With this, the department boosts its expertise in programming languages.  

Otmar Hilliges has been promoted from Associate Professor to Full Professor of Computer Science. Hilliges conducts research in the areas of human-​machine interaction, machine vision and machine learning. 

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.

A team of cryptographers, led by Professor Kenny Paterson, conducted extensive testing on the New Zealand-​based cloud platform Mega. In doing so, they discovered security holes that would allow the provider to decrypt and manipulate customer data.

Theodoros Rekatsinas joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich in May 2022 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Get to know him in this short interview.

Professor Dennis Komm is currently a Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich and Professor at Graubünden University of Teacher Education (PHGR). He was appointed as Associate Professor of Algorithms and Didactics in the Department of Computer Science. With the appointment, the department builds on its 18 years of pioneering work in introducing the discipline of computer science to Swiss schools at various levels.

Professor Mohsen Ghaffari, head of the Discrete and Distributed Algorithms Group, is leaving ETH Zurich to take on a faculty position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We wish him all the best!

Martin Vechev, head of the Secure, Reliable, and Intelligent Systems Lab at the Department of Computer Science, has been promoted from Associate Professor to Full Professor.

Professor Ankit Singla, head of the Network Design Lab, is leaving ETH Zurich to take on a new role with Google.

Since June 2020, Professor Kenny Paterson has represented the Department of Computer Science in the Commission for Good Scientific Practice at ETH Zurich. In this interview, he talks about the role of scientists and scientific integrity in computer science.

In the last part of this video series, Niklaus Wirth tells us what doors the Turing Award opened for him and how he got one step closer to perfection with each programming language.

In this continuing conversation, Niklaus Wirth talks about the hurdles he had to overcome when introducing computer science to Switzerland and why the label "made in the USA" was absolutely necessary at the time.

Stelian Coros, currently Tenure Track Assistant Professor, has been promoted to Associate Professor of Computational Robotics in the Department of Computer Science.

1970, Prof. em. Niklaus Wirth developed the programming language Pascal and became world famous with it. In this conversation with Prof. em. Friedemann Mattern, Wirth talks about the beginnings of computer science and how he influenced them significantly.

Carl August Zehnder's work not only shaped the Department of Computer Science, but also the Swiss state and society. In this continuing conversation, the founder of D-INFK explains the benefits of associations, how not to lose touch in a fast-moving field and why openness is of great importance for computer scientists.

The Department of Computer Science invites applications for an assistant professorship (tenure track) in computer science with focus on Programming Languages and Software Engineering. The application period starts on 15 October 2021.

Professor emeritus Carl August Zehnder is one of the founders of the Department of Computer Science. In this video, he talks about how his research field developed out of practical necessity, the competitive pressure against other departments, and the importance of infrastructure at ETH Zurich.

Florian Tramèr is currently a doctoral student at Stanford University. Appointed as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science, he will significantly improve the links between the Department’s research programmes in IT security and machine learning.

Professor emeritus Walter Gander was a strong advocate for computer science since the 80s. He was committed to independent computer science teaching in Swiss schools, supported women in CS and participated in development projects abroad. In the second part of this interview, Walter Gander tells us about his work as head of department, his long-term book projects and how copy & paste was done in the 80s.

Prof. em. Walter Gander helped Switzerland acquire a high-performance computer, promoted the implementation of e-mail at ETH Zurich, and wrote the first book using LaTeX. In this interview with Lukas Fässler, high above the rooftops of Zurich, he talks about the beginnings of the Department of Computer Science and about a career that stretched from St. Gallen to Hong Kong.

How does the Internet of Things change our lives? What does computer science mean for society? Before his retirement in 2020, Professor Friedemann Mattern studied small things in a big context.

Professor emeritus Peter Läuchli passed away on May 12 at the age of 92. He was one of the founders of the Department of Computer Science.

Forty years ago, ETH Zurich launched its computer science degree programme. However, the history of computer science at ETH began even earlier. Our professor emeritus Carl August Zehnder reveals how he and the other founders of the department fought for their own degree programme.

Congratulations to Dr Fernando Perez Cruz. The current Chief Data Scientist at the Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC), and Lecturer at our department, has been awarded the title Adjunct Professor.

Niao He joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Data Science. Get to know her in this short interview.

Shweta Shinde joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich in October 2020 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Get to know her in this short interview.

Professor Onur Mutlu has left the Department of Computer Science to join the Department of Electiral Engineering. He remains affiliated with D-​INFK and will continue to teach and mentor students. 

Ana Klimovic officially joined the Department of Computer Science of ETH Zurich in August 2020 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering. Due to the coronavirus crisis, her arrival was postponed until September. Get to know her in this short interview.

Mrinmaya Sachan officially joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich in July 2020 as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. Due to the coronavirus crisis, his arrival was postponed until August. Get to know him in this short interview.

Video conferences instead of social coffee breaks and a very short commute to work. In order to slow the rapid spread of the coronavirus, most members of the Department of Computer Science are now working from home. Read how they are experiencing their new reality.

In light of International Women's Day 2020, ETH Zurich puts successful women centre stage. Read about Prof. Julia Vogt, tenure track assistant professor of medical data science, in this article.

Ryan Cotterell officially joined ETH Zurich’s Department of Computer Science in February 2020 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Get to know him in this short interview.

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.

Siyu Tang officially joined the Department of Computer Science of ETH Zurich in January 2020 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Vision. Get to know her in this short interview.

Fanny Yang officially joined the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich in January 2020 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Get to know her in this short interview.

Ryan Cotterell's research focuses on human languages with regard to scientific knowledge, automated processing and artificial intelligence.

At the age of 81, the ETH professor emeritus of Computer Science Jürg Nievergelt passed away this October. He had been instrumental in the founding of the Department of Computer Science.

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

Christian Holz officially joined the Department of Computer Science of ETH Zurich in August 2019 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Get to know him in this short interview.

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 Thomas Gross is retiring at the end of July, but will still continue to support the department in teaching.

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

Dr. Siyu Tang focuses on the development of computer-aided processes for the perception and digitalisation of people and their activities in complex and natural environments.

Mrinmaya Sachan explores concepts and methods of machine learning for the comprehension of natural language.

Dr. Ana Klimovic’s research areas include computer architecture, cloud computing, computer systems and data centre architecture.

Professor Valentina Boeva officially joined the Department of Computer Science of ETH Zurich in early June 2019 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics. Get to know her in this short interview.

Professor Julia Vogt officially joined the Department of Computer Science of ETH Zurich at the beginning of May 2019 as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Medical Data Science. Get to know her in this short interview.

Professor Kenneth Paterson officially joined the Department of Computer Science of ETH Zurich at the beginning of April 2019. He will be leading the newly established Applied Cryptography group. Get to know him in this short interview.

The focus of Julia Vogt's research is on machine learning methods in the life sciences, and the use of algorithms for biomedical data analysis.

Valentina Boeva develops analysis algorithms which are used to investigate changes in genetic information and epigenetic imprinting in tumours.

This February, Professor Peter Widmayer received professor emeritus status after 27 year of teaching and research at ETH Zurich. D-INFK says thank you.

Fan Yang’s research into data analysis and statistics ranges from theoretical studies and statistical methods through practical applications in life sciences. 

Kenneth Paterson, currently Full Professor at Royal Holloway College, London, was appointed by the ETH board as a Full Professor.

Christian Holz, currently a researcher in private industry, is newly appointed as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Computer Science. 

Prof. Norrie will retire in August this year. She has worked at ETH Zurich since 1993. Her research focused on the use of object-oriented and web technologies in information systems.

Prof. Su is an expert in software engineering and programming languages. He develops innovative test methods for compilers – the most important software development tool. 

One of Prof. Sorkine-Hornung's main reseach areas is the interactive modelling of surfaces. She is also working on digital fabrication and 3D printing techniques in computer design.

In his research on machine learning and artificial intelligence, Professor Krause develops innovative models and algorithms that can optimize submodular quality functions efficiently.

Assistant professor Torsten Hoefler leads the Scalable Parallel Computing Laboratory. His research areas include high-​performance computing, performance modeling and parallel programming.

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.

Associate professor Martin Vechev leads the Secure, Reliable, and Intelligent Systems Lab. His research areas include concurrency, program analysis and synthesis as well as the application of machine learning to programming languages.