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| A new technology for the ETH community |
Dear readers,
The SCION network technology is now also available to ETH employees: Lecturers, researchers or employees with special security, performance or reliability requirements can use the novel network technology. SCION was developed by groups of Adrian Perrig, Peter Müller and David Basin, and distributed by the D-INFK spin-off Anapaya Systems. A closer look at the attendees of the second SCION Day on January 26 shows that the technology attracts interest from academia and industry from around the world.
Speaking of international success: Julia Vogt and Ce Zhang have been awarded ERC Starting Grants, and Adrian Perrig and Torsten Hoefler were named IEEE Fellows. Congratulations!
Finally, I would like to thank Ueli Maurer for his services as the department’s study director for the last two years – a period that presented some serious challenges due to the pandemic. My colleague Zhendong Su has taken over the role in January. I wish him all the best for his new role.
Enjoy this edition of READ.ME, stay healthy and to all our students: good luck with your exams!
Best regards,
Timothy Roscoe
Department Head
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| Faculty and staff |
We would like to extend a warm welcome to all new staff members who have joined our department by the end of last month. We look forward to working with you.
Our new staff
To the staff who are leaving us, we wish you the best of luck in your future careers and hope to work with you again someday.
Farewells |
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New Director of Studies Zhendong Su
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As of January 1, Zhendong is our new Director of Studies. We thank you for taking on this big responsibility and wish you all the best in your new role. |
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“Computer science is a way of thinking”
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| Ueli Maurer looks back on his term as Director of Studies, remembers his student days and explains why online formats will never completely replace classroom teaching. |
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| Farewell, Petra Lüthi |
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| Petra Lüthi has worked in administration for the Institute for Machine Learning over the past 2.5 years. She is leaving the department at the end of January for a professional reorientation and new training. Good luck, Petra! |
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Farewell, Professor Gene Tsudik
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| Gene Tsudik from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) has been a visiting professor with the Institute of Information Security since August. He will be leaving us this month. All the best, Gene! |
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Luka Rimanic promoted to Senior Assistant
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| Luka has been promoted to Senior Assistant in the Systems Group. He does research in machine learning, focusing on estimating data quality, transfer learning and data privacy. Congratulations, Luka! |
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Welcome, Karen Klein
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Karen joins the Foundations of Cryptography Group as a postdoc from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria. Her research interests are applications of algebraic and combinatorial methods. Welcome to D-INFK, Karen! |
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Welcome back, Manuela Fischer
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| Manuela completed her doctorate in the Discrete and Distributed Algorithms Group prior to working as a postdoc at Reykjavík University. Now, she has returned to D-INFK as a postdoc. Good to have you back, Manuela! |
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Welcome, Michal Friedman
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| Michal Friedman gained her doctorate from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. In December, she joined the Systems Group as a postdoc, researching concurrency, non-volatile main memories, hybrid systems and data structures. Welcome, Michal! |
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Welcome, Chengyu Zhang
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| Postdoc Chengyu Zhang joined the Advanced Software Technologies Group from the East China Normal University. His research focuses on software engineering, programming languages, and formal methods. Welcome, Chengyu! |
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Welcome, Jing Ren
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Jing Ren joined the Interactive Geometry Lab in December from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. Her research interests are computer graphics and geometry processing. Welcome, Jing! |
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Farewell, Julia Hörrmann
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| Julia Hörrmann, formerly a postdoc in the Statistical Machine Learning Group, left the department by the end of last year. She is taking up a position as a lecturer at the Seminar for Statistics in the Department of Mathematics. All the best, Julia! |
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Farewell, Ingo Müller
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Ingo Müller, formerly a postdoc in the Systems Group, was working on data analytics systems on modern hardware and the cloud. He left the department at the end of December to take up a new role at Google. Good luck on your future career path, Ingo! |
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Farewell, Aurélien Lucchi
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| Aurélien Lucchi, formerly a postdoc in the group for Information Science and Engineering, has left the department to take up a role as an Assistant Professor of Data Analytics Systems at the University of Basel. Good luck, Aurélien! |
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| Passed doctoral examinations: January 2022 |
Lukas Humbel (Prof. Timothy Roscoe), 24.1.
Congratulations to our newly minted Doctor of Sciences ETH Zurich! |
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| Prizes and awards |
Congratulations to our faculty, researchers and students who have won prizes, awards and fellowships for their work. We are proud of you and thank you for asserting our reputation.
Browse our award section |
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Adrian Perrig and Torsten Hoefler named IEEE Fellows
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| Adrian and Torsten have been named IEEE Fellows, Adrian for his contributions to network and system security, and Torsten for his contributions to large-scale parallel processing systems and supercomputers. Congratulations! |
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ERC Starting Grants for Julia Vogt and Ce Zhang
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| Julia and Ce Zhang have received ERC Starting Grants for their respective research projects. They will receive the grant money despite Switzerland's non-association. Well done, Julia and Ce! |
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| Stories of the month |
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“We scientists must stand for truth and impartiality”
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| Prof. Kenny Paterson
Since June 2020, Kenny has represented the department in the Commission for Good Scientific Practice at ETH Zurich. In this interview, he talks about scientific integrity in computer science. |
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Accelerated AI training
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Prof. Torsten Hoefler,
Roman Boehringer,
Nikoli Dryden
Two researchers from the Scalable Parallel Computing Laboratory have developed a software that considerably speeds up the training of neural networks. |
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One step closer to lifelike avatars
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| Prof. Otmar Hilliges,
Xu Chen,
Marcel Bühler
Otmar's team has developed new algorithms for creating virtual humans much more easily: only a few 3D images are needed to render realistic animated avatars. |
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SCION secure internet enters everyday service
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| Project SCION
The SCION network technology provides fast, secure and reliable connections for data transfer. It is now available to any ETH employees with special security, performance or reliability requirements. |
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"I felt like I was in the wrong place."
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Selin Bariş, Bachelor student
D-INFK student and CSNOW member Selin Bariş talks about the challenges of studying at ETH, setbacks and how she dealt with them in a video portrait. |
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| Upcoming events |
Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge, apply until 31 January, 2022
The Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge is a cyber crisis simulation competition where students are tasked to respond to a major cyber incident in Europe. In the last two years, ETH's Cyber Group has formed and trained ten teams of ETH students. Interested students can apply to train for the next competition until January 31. More information and application |
Informatiktage 2022, 28 March - 1 April, 2022
Mark the dates, tell your teacher friends and register your child or godchild for a fun course: Informatiktage will take place again from March 28 to April 1, 2022. A varied programme is offered for school classes, teachers and children. Many D-INFK lecturers and students are involved and make ETH Zurich's exciting selection of courses possible. More information
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| Please meet... |
Matilda Backendal, President of VMI and doctoral student at the Institute for Information Security.
Describe what you do in one sentence.
I do research in the area of provable security for applied cryptography and lead the executive board of VMI, the association of scientific staff at D-INFK.
What do you like most about your role?
The variety of my work and that I learn new things every day. Both in my doctoral studies and in VMI, I have the fortune to work with amazing people, and I am grateful for all the things they teach me about computer science, life and everything in-between. I also enjoy when it feels like our work has a positive impact, both in research and for my colleagues at the department through VMI.
What are the most important skills someone in your role must have?
Good organisational skills are always helpful. It's also important to have empathy and be good at listening and communicating. I think that in the long term, people are the most productive when they are happy and are having a good time (myself included). So creating an enjoyable working environment is important. That's what we try to do through our VMI events!
What is the best advice you ever got?
I've got a lot of good advice over the years, it's hard to choose the best. One thing that I think of often is the following analogy, which my colleague Matteo Scarlata told me (roughly paraphrased): "Life is like a long hike. There is no wrong way, you will only see different sights depending on which path you choose. It might be challenging if you choose to climb a particular peak, and you're always allowed to take a break or turn back if you decide it's not for you, but often it is worth the effort." This helps me get through tough times and keep going even if it feels hard. It also helps me to be kind to myself.
What is your favourite place at and around ETH?
My office in CNB, which I miss now that we are working remotely again. The terrace at Dozentenfoyer has my favourite view over Zurich though!
How do you spend your leisure time?
When I'm at home, I like to bake bread, cook with friends, read and go for walks in the forest. I also like to write letters and solve crossword puzzles with my dad over the phone. When I have more time, I go for adventures in the mountains. I've always loved hiking, climbing and skiing, and my new hobbies since I moved to Switzerland are Via Ferratas and snowshoeing. |
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| D-INFK in the news |
| • | | Prof. Ueli Maurer
Tagesanzeiger: "Unsere Gesellschaft ist abhängig von Systemen, die wir nicht beherrschen"
Read article |
| • | | Prof. Marc Pollefeys
Inside Channels: Bericht: Google arbeitet an einer Augmented-Reality-Brille
Read article |
| • | | D-INFK spin-off Animatico
Persönlich: Avatar «Tom» berät Reiselustige
Read article |
| • | | Prof. Otmar Hilliges
NZZ: «Sich selber aufnehmen und fotorealistisch woandershin transportieren – das ist unser Ziel für die nächsten fünf Jahre»
Read article (Paywall) |
| • | | D-INFK Alumna Paulina Grnarova
Handelszeitung: Forbes 30 under 30: «Erhöht globale Visibilität»
Read article |
| • | | D-INFK Alumna Prof. Christina Pöpper
The Hacker News: New Mobile Network Vulnerabilities Affect All Cellular Generations Since 2G
Read article |
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| Tips of the month – Social media and anniversary logo |
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The anniversary year is over
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| The anniversary year is over. We thank everyone who celebrated with us. Remember to remove the anniversary logo from your signature and website if you had included it. |
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| The coronavirus will continue to affect our lives and our work for some time to come. To keep you informed about news, regulations and projects connected to the pandemic, we will add a short COVID-19 section to the end of every READ.ME until further notice. |
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| No changes to the coronavirus master plan |
| Following the Federal Council’s decision from 19 January, ETH Zurich keeps the current coronavirus master plan in place. A new plan might be released on February 21 due to the need to reopen buildings for the Spring Semester. The Crisis Management team is asking all members of the ETH community to continue exercising caution and to follow the distancing and hygiene rules at all times. |
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