Professor Luca Benini (*1967), currently Full Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy, as Full Professor of Digital Integrated Circuits and Systems. Luca Benini is an internationally recognised expert on embedded computer architectures, integrated multiprocessorsystems, energy-neutral intelligent systems and the detection of biological molecules with microsensors and biochips. His research activity links the classic fields of computer architecture with new information-processing methods. The appointment of Luca Benini will enable ETH Zurich to significantly intensify its teaching and research activity in the forward-looking field of electronic systems.

Dr Laura Heyderman (*1967), currently scientific group leader at PSI, as Full Professor of Mesoscopic Systems. Laura Heyderman specialises in periodically structured magnetic nanomaterials. These are extremely interesting, both for fundamental research and for industrial applications such as magnetic read/write heads and storage elements. Laura Heyderman will further enhance the existing reputation of ETH Zurich as a leading research institution in the field of materials with strong electronic correlations. Her professorship is a 50% position. In parallel she will continue to head the Magnetic Nanostructures Group at PSI. This will further consolidate cooperation between the two institutions.

Professor Pavel Hora (*1955), currently Associate Professor at ETH Zurich, as Full Professor for Virtual Manufacturing and Forming Technology. Pavel Hora is particularly active in research work in the field of virtual modelling for production processes and with mathematical material models. The inclusion of real processes and close links with industry are among his major areas of interest. Pavel Hora has been teaching at ETH Zurich since 1991. He was appointed Associate Professor in 2004. His appointment to a Full Professorship recognises his extraordinary achievements in research and teaching.

Professor Reto Knutti (*1973), currently Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, as Associate Professor of Climate Physics. Reto Knutti researches changes in the global climatic system due to increasing emissions of greenhouse gases, employing numerical models of varying complexity. His work has been published in such renowned journals as Nature and Science. Reto Knutti’s appointment as Associate Professor secures for ETH Zurich’s Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science a successful researcher who will uphold the tradition of global climate modelling and reinforce the university’s international reputation.

Professor Marloes Henriëtte Maathuis (*1978), currently Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, as Associate Professor of Statistics. Among her research interests are causal inference and interdisciplinary applications at the interface between biology, epidemiology and statistics. Her work and publications have brought Marloes Maathuis an outstanding international reputation. Her innovative, ground-breaking approaches open up an extremely wide field for interdisciplinary applications in information technology, the natural and social sciences, and medicine. With the appointment of Marloes Maathuis, ETH Zurich retains a creative mathematician und statistician with charisma and great potential.

Professor Pierre Mérel (*1976), currently Associate Professor at the University of California in Davis, USA, as Full Professor of Agricultural Economics. Pierre Mérel’s research work at the interface between agricultural and environmental policy makes important contributions to interdisciplinary research into environmental decision-making, and to lessening the environmental impact of agriculture. His specialist fields cover such topical subjects as the quality of agricultural produce, competition policy and the use of natural resources at regional level. Pierre Mérel’s appointment reinforces the expertise of the Department of Environmental Systems Science in a socially important field.

Professor Sonia Isabelle Seneviratne (*1974), currently Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, as Associate Professor of Land-Climate Dynamics. Sonia Seneviratne is known as a highly innovative, promising researcher in the relatively new field of land-climate interactions. She works on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, using models, data analyses and new procedures to generate validation datasets such as diagnostic water balance calculations. Her findings have been published in such renowned journals as Nature and Science. In Sonia Seneviratne ETH Zurich is retaining a successful scientist who will set milestones in a future-oriented research field.

Dr Susanne Ernestine Ulbrich (*1975), currently Senior Lecturer at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, as Full Professor of Animal Physiology. Susanne Ulbrich is an expert on livestock metabolism, focusing on relationships that affect fertility and reproduction. Her new, ultra-modern research methods have brought her an international reputation. Susanne Ulbrich’s professorship is an important element in the global nutrition strategy of the Department of Environmental Systems Science. She will also take on a key role in the implementation of ETH Zurich’s major Agrovet-Strickhof project.

Award of the title of Professor

Dr Ilya Karlin, Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich.

Dr Thomas Lippert, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, as Adjunct Professor at ETH Zurich.