Empa Colloquia, Seminars & Events

Episodes

1. 41

   Luciano Boesel: Polymere im medizinischen Bereich

   MedTech Day 2015: Im medizinischen Bereich kommen häufig Polymere und Hydrogele zum Einsatz. Luciano Boesel nutzt diese Fasern in Wundverbänden, um beispielsweise Medikamente abzugeben oder den Heilungsprozess zu überwachen.

   Jul 3, 2015
2. 40

   Giuseppino Fortunato: Elektrospinnen für medizinische Anwendungen

   MedTech Day 2015: Giuseppino Fortunato stellt Membranen aus Nanofasern mit der Methode des Elektrospinnens her. Die Fasern werden beispielsweise für Wundverbände gebraucht, um kontrolliert Medikamente abzugeben.

   Jul 3, 2015
3. 39

   Bernhard Weisse: Rechnerische und experimentelle Biomechanik

   MedTech Day 2015: In der experimentellen Biomechanik geht es darum, Materialien etwa für Implantate durch Bruch- und Ermüdungstests zu charakterisieren. Aber auch Computersimulationen und andere rechnerische Methoden kommen zum Einsatz, wie Bernhard Weisse zeigt.

   Jul 3, 2015
4. 38

   Kerstin Thorwarth: Osseo-integrative Beschichtung

   MedTech Day 2015: Die Empa entwickelt verschiedene Beschichtungen für medizinische Anwendungen. Kerstin Thorwarth zeigt, wie Bandscheibeinimplantate aus Polyetheretherketon (PEEK) mit Titan beschichtet werden, damit Knochen besser am Implantat anwachsen können.

   Jul 3, 2015
5. 37

   Martin Amberg: Polymer- und Metallbeschichtungen

   MedTech Day 2015: Materialien können auf unterschiedliche Weise beschichtet werden. So etwa durch das chemische Verfahren der Plasmapolymerisation oder durch das physikalische Abtragen, dem Sputtering-Verfahren. Martin Amberg zeigt, wie diese Methoden auch miteinander kombiniert werden können.

   Jul 3, 2015
6. 36

   Antonia Neels: Aktivitäten am Röntgenzentrum der Empa

   MedTech Day 2015: Im Röntgenzentrum der Empa werden beispielsweise Mikrosysteme, Fasern oder Knochen mittels Röntgenanalytik untersucht. Antonia Neels zeigt, wie nicht nur Materialien, sondern auch einzelne Materialkomponenten analysiert werden können.

   Jul 3, 2015
7. 35

   Cordula Hirsch: Nanosafety in der Medizin: Nano trifft Bio

   MedTech Day 2015: Empa-Forscherinnen untersuchen, wie kleinste Partikel mit menschlichen Zellen und biologischen Barrieren, etwa die Plazenta, wechselwirken. Cordula Hirsch zeigt, wie Erkenntnisse von der Forschung in Therapie und Diagnostik übertragen werden können.

   Jul 3, 2015
8. 34

   Katharina Maniura: Biointerfaces/ Biokompatibilität

   MedTech Day 2015: Künstliche Gelenke müssen biokompatibel verträglich sein. Empa-Forscherinnen und -Forscher um Katharina Maniura untersuchen, wie Zellen und Gewebe auf ein Implantat reagieren.

   Jul 3, 2015
9. 33

   Qun Ren: Biofilms activities at Empa

   MedTech Day 2015: Empa scientists analyze bacterial biofilms that adhere to different material surfaces, e.g. on implants and medical devices such as endoscopes. Qun Ren and her team have developed a technique for purging medical devices from bacteria in order to make it safe to reuse them.

   Jul 3, 2015
10. 32

    Oliver Gröning: Materials Science at the Atomic Limit - Status, Prospects and Challenges

    In his «Promotion Lecture» Oliver Gröning talks about materials at the mesoscopic scale – materials between the size of a molecule and a few micrometers. Modifications at this level can cause significant differences in the materials’ physical properties. Fullerenes are paradigmatic structures to...

    Mar 13, 2015
11. 31

    Gottfried Schatz: What science is, what it gives us - and what it takes to suceed in it

    Prof. Gottfried Schatz from the University of Basel talks about what science has given him, what he considers to be important, and what he would do differently if he could start his successful research career all over again. Most of Europe’s universities still have a long way to go in adopting...

    May 7, 2013
12. 30

    Konrad Steffen: Greenland ice sheet and dynamic response to global warming

    The ice loss in Greenland shows acceleration during the last decade. WSL director Konrad Steffen explains how scientists gained new insight using ground penetrating radar and a video system during the melt peak in August 2007-2010. Water penetrates to great depth through moulins and cracks,...

    May 7, 2013
13. 29

    Lars Jeurgens: Surprises at interfaces in nanomaterials

    The energetics of nanomaterials are typically dominated by (excess) surface and/or interface energy contributions. In his talk, Dr. Lars Jeurgens from Empa, addresses recent advances in the thermodynamic description of reactions and phase transformations in nanomaterials.

    Sep 4, 2012
14. 28

    Eduard Arzt: Bio-inspired micropatterned surfaces with new adhesive functions

    3D-micropatterning of surfaces signifies a recent paradigm change for control of surface functionalities: the exploitation of cleverly designed surface protrusions at the micron scale. In his talk Prof. Eduard Arzt from the Leibniz Institute for New Materials / Saarland University, Saarbrücken,...

    Jul 2, 2012
15. 27

    Reinhard Madlener: Energy Efficiency in a Growing Economy: Curse or Blessing?

    Energy efficiency is a key element of many energy and environmental policies. Despite autonomous and forced improvements in energy efficiency, however, in most countries overall energy consumption has not decreased. Reinhard Madlener from RWTH Aachen explains how «rebound effects» emerge and...

    Jan 30, 2012
16. 26

    Claudia Felser: Multifunctional properties in HEUSLER compounds – from topological insulators to spintronics

    The rational design of new functional materials is the dream of every materials scientist. Prof. Claudia Felser explains in her talk, why Heusler compounds are an important class of materials with potential for applications in electronic devices and green energy.

    Oct 22, 2011
17. 25

    Markus Niederberger: Inorganic Materials Synthesis in Organic Solvents

    Liquid-phase routes to inorganic functional materials in organic solvents are a well-established and flexible alternative to aqueous methods. In his talk, Prof. Markus Niederberger from ETH Zurich will give an overview of nonaqueous synthesis routes to various inorganic materials such as metal...

    Sep 22, 2011
18. 24

    Andrew Walter: Electronic Structure of Graphene: Simple but complex

    Interest in graphene appears endless at the moment, with most interest related to the «simple» Dirac particle like electronic structure. On the surface this simplicity would appear to make investigations into the electronic structure less than exciting. Andrew Walter explains how on the contrary...

    Sep 20, 2011
19. 23

    Martin Heimann: Monitoring the global carbon cycle

    The global carbon cycle has become an important research topic in Earth System science. In order to understand and predict and potentially manage its behavior in response to human influences and climate change, a global scale observing system for carbon is needed. Prof. Martin Heimann talks about...

    Jun 14, 2011
20. 22

    Nicola Spaldin: Using density functional theory to design new materials: From magnetoelectronics to a theory of everything

    Modern computational methods are proving to be invaluable in the first-principles design of new materials with specific targeted functionalities. Prof Nicola Spaldin illustrates their utility with two examples from the field of multiferroics: First, the design of new materials for electric-field...

    Apr 12, 2011
21. 21

    Olivier Martin: Controlling and using light at the nanoscale with plasmonic antennas

    Numerous structures have been developed in electrical engineering to help the radiation of electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies. In this presentation, Olivier Martin Professor at EPFL describes the functioning principles of plasmonic antennas and their fabrication.

    Jan 25, 2011
22. 20

    Petra Rudolf: The hybrid Langmuir-Schaefer deposition – a new approach to create low dimensional functional nanostructures

    Low-dimensional assemblies, where order and organization follow supramolecular principles, have assumed remarkable importance due to their outstanding physical and/or chemical properties. An easy method to produce tailored functional materials combines self-assembly and Langmuir-Blodgett…

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    Nov 23, 2010
23. 19

    Philippe Marcus: A Surface Science Approach of Corrosion

    The protection of metals and alloys against corrosion is a major issue in many respects including, but not limited to, scientific and technical aspects. In his lecture Philippe Marcus shows how a surface science approach contributes to provide a detailed understanding of corrosion at the…

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    Nov 9, 2010
24. 18

    Jürg Osterwalder: Topological insulators – new physics with old materials

    Materials like Bi-Sb alloys, Bi2Se3 or Bi2Te3 have been known and studied for decades, mostly for their interesting thermoelectrical properties. They are insulators with relatively small band gaps, which are opened by the spin-orbit interaction. Recently, it was recognized that the topology of…

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    Nov 2, 2010
25. 17

    Marcel Kastler: Materials development at BASF for printed electronic

    The field of printed electronics or organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) has been identified by both industry and academia as an interesting area to pave the way towards new applications in electronics such as flexible displays or low cost RFID tags. In his talk, Marcel Kastler discusses the...

    Oct 12, 2010
26. 16

    Robert Sausen: Quantifying the climate impact of global and European transport systems

    Transport emissions are on the increase - more than in any other industrial sector. In his talk, Prof Sausen presents QUANTIFY, a project in which scientists studied and quantified the impact of transport on the composition of the atmosphere, on clouds and on climate.

    Oct 5, 2010
27. 15

    Andreas J. Heinrich: Measuring spin relaxation times of single atoms with nanosecond time resolution

    Spin is a fundamental quantity in quantum mechanics. Andreas J. Heinrich from IBM Research, Almaden, shows how a Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) can be used to study the dynamic evolution of individual spin systems on surfaces on time scales ranging from pico- to nanoseconds.

    Jul 9, 2010
28. 14

    Julian Vincent: Crossing continents, narrowing gaps

    Biomimetics wants to enhance technology with the introduction of ideas derived from biology. But there is no proof that the technical systems work in the same way as the biological ones. Tiny innovations such as Gecko adhesive or Velcro are not going to lead to a revolution. Prof Julian Vincent...

    Mar 30, 2010
29. 13

    Gian-Luca Bona: Photonic Opportunities and Challenges in a Fully Networked Society

    In seiner Antrittsvorlesung als Professor für Photonik an der ETH Zürich spricht Empa-Direktor Gian-Luca Bona über die Möglichkeiten der Datenübertragung in optischen Netzwerken und über die physikalischen Probleme bei Baukomponenten und -systemen, wenn diese nur noch wenige Nanometer gross sind.

    Mar 16, 2010
30. 12

    Bruce D. Patterson: The SwissFEL X-Rray laser project at PSI

    Third generation synchrotrons provide an average X-ray brightness 109 times that of a laboratory source, making trivial many experiments which were formerly impossible. But standard short-wavelength synchrotron light is also incoherent and limited. Prof. Bruce D. Patterson from PSI presents the...

    Mar 2, 2010
31. 11

    Danilo De Rossi: Smart polymers and electromechanical transduction

    In the last decade there has been an impressive growth in research and development in the field of sensor technology. Danilo De Rossi discusses the sensing properties of redundant piezioresistive polymer arrays and the actuation properties of dielectric elastomers for new physical sensors and...

    Feb 16, 2010
32. 10

    Ernst Peter Fischer: How scientific is science? Personal aspects of a great adventure

    «Science» can be defined by what scientists do. «Scientific» can be defined by what philosophers think what scientists do. How do the two compare? Do philosophers of science understand how science proceeds? Or do they miss certain dimensions of the greatest adventure of mankind? In his talk Ernst...

    Nov 24, 2009
33. 9

    Ulrich W. Suter: A world of plastics – whence and whereto?

    Plastics are older than humanity. Still, most plastics inventions were made only in the past 200 years, scientific success happened less than 100 years ago, and it is only 60 years ago that the conversion of our world into a plastics universe has assumed dramatic speed. In his talk Ulrich W.…

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    Nov 17, 2009
34. 8

    Peter Northover: Ships, trains, copper and iron – Metallurgy in the industrial heritage

    The application of metallurgy in archaeology and the cultural heritage has a long history going back to the 18th century. In contrast, application of metallurgy in the study of the industrial heritage has been recent and hesitant. Peter Northover from Oxford University presents results from...

    Nov 3, 2009
35. 7

    Louis Schlapbach: Anforderungen an Materialien – Herausforderungen an die Materialwissenschaft

    Ob wir in Zukunft unsere Probleme bei der Energieversorgung und der CO2-bedingten Klimaveränderung in den Griff bekommen, hängt davon ab, wie Materialien weiterentwickelt werden. Louis Schlapbach erläutert in seiner Abschiedsvorlesung, wie letztlich alle von den Materialwissenschaften profitieren...

    Oct 26, 2009
36. 6

    Siegfrid Bauer: Materials for flexible and conformable electronics

    «The future is flexible»: This also means that future electronics is expected to be flexible, so that devices can easily be rolled or bent. In his talk Siegfrid Bauer from the University of Linz will outline how the ingenious combination of energy and entropy elasticity leads to new...

    Oct 20, 2009
37. 5

    Lino Guzzella: Automobiles of the future – options for efficient individual mobility

    Individual mobility is closely linked to the welfare of society. Not surprisingly, the number of automobiles has been increasing and is likely to double in the next twenty years. Clearly, this development creates many benefits, but also many problems such as air pollution, traffic fatalities,...

    Sep 15, 2009
38. 4

    Dario Anselmetti: Single Molecule Biophysics

    The detection and quantitative analysis of single biomolecules, smallest analyte quantities and the hunt for low abundant proteins at the single cell level, require new sensitive and efficient techniques. Prof. Dr. Dario Anselmetti (University Bielefeld) talks about novel biophysical measurement...

    Jun 18, 2009
39. 3

    Didier Sornette: Prediction of Crises and Extreme Events in Complex Systems

    Extreme fluctuations or events are often associated with power law statistics. In his speech, Prof. Dr. Didier Sornette (ETH Zürich), documents that in several systems is life beyond power law tails: Power laws can be supersedes by "kings" monster events. These events reveal hidden mechanisms…

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    May 5, 2009
40. 2

    Felicitas Pauss: The Mystery of Matter, Space and Time

    Particle physicist Felicitas Pauss is investigating the basic building blocks which make up matter, and their mutual interactions. Currently she is preparing to carry out experiments using the new LHC accelerator at CERN. The ETH Professor is attempting to observe and understand, on a small…

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    Mar 4, 2009
41. 1

    Peter Richner: Transforming the building stock for sustainability

    Buildings account for more than one third of the world’s primary energy demand, and a large part of resource use. There is, however, enormous potential to save energy and operate buildings without producing CO2. How can we manage our existing building stock to dramatically reduce energy and...

    Jan 27, 2009