FEATURED «150 Jahre Agrarwissenschaften an der ETH Zürich» The 60-minute anniversary film How can we protect the field from pests without harming the environment? And how can we produce sustainably, achieving as much yield as possible on as little land as possible? Journalist Katharina Locher explores these and similar questions in the film «150 Jahre Agrarwissenschaften an der ETH Zürich». October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
FEATURED How it all began in 1871 The foundation of agricultural sciences The call for a "Landwirtschaftliche Schule" dates back to the time shortly after the foundation of the Polytechnic. After lengthy negotiations, the Federal Council and Parliament decided to put the project into action in 1869. Two years later, the first five students were able to begin their agricultural studies. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Holzkuh on the road An exhibition module goes online Whether it was the drone skill flight, the "Jenga of agricultural sciences" or feeding a wooden cow with different feeds: The interactive exhibition elements were very popular with visitors. The almost life-size wooden cow in particular hardly had time to catch its breath during the exhibitions. This has now changed with its digital twin, the "methanecow". October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
When cows meet robots Mini series on Explora In the course of "150 years of Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zurich", scientists and staff collected an impressive amount of information. The ETH library created a Mini series on the subject digging up interesting case studies, facts and stories. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Sickle, bull’s head and tree trunk A statue that symbolises the discipline of agriculture and forestry Created for the four large niches on what was the main façade of the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, the four allegorical female figures represent the institute’s areas of academic focus in 1896. One of the statues is dedicated to agriculture and forestry, a field of study that had formed part of the institute’s range of courses since 1871. October 2024 – Standorte
SDC–ETH Zurich–CGIAR Magic beans to mark an anniversary The success story of Michelle Nay, a 30-year-old Swiss scientist and bean specialist, demonstrates how multi-stakeholder work is helping to improve global food security. October 2024 – Forschung
Drones, Jenga and soap bubbles Agricultural sciences at your fingertips At Scientifica on September 4 and 5, various research groups from ETH and the University of Zurich presented their latest research under the slogan "synthetic naturally". At a prominent location, in the middle of the atrium of the ETH main building, the Institute of Agricultural Sciences presented their research for the agriculture of the future. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Früebüel research station From a military prison to a research station Shaped by the food shortages of the war and post-war years, intensive animal husbandry was long the focus of the Früebüel farm. ETH Zurich took over operations in 1989, heralding the start of a new era with more extensive use of the land more extensively and and the implementation of ecological compensation measures. October 2024 – Standorte
Anniversary event: webinars and press review Great echo from "150 Years of Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zurich" Almost 4,000 people have seen the anniversary film "150 Years of Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zurich" so far. The various webinars by researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS) were also well attended. Here are the recordings of the webinars and the press review. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Insurance for the agricultural sector How ETH researchers are improving weather insurance Research at ETH Zurich in the field of agricultural economics has played a key role in developing insurance solutions for the agricultural sector. An example are new solutions for insurers including index-based weather insurance. October 2024 – Forschung
«150 Jahre Agrarwissenschaften an der ETH Zürich» The 60-minute anniversary film How can we protect the field from pests without harming the environment? And how can we produce sustainably, achieving as much yield as possible on as little land as possible? Journalist Katharina Locher explores these and similar questions in the film «150 Jahre Agrarwissenschaften an der ETH Zürich». October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Jean Vallat A person who set out to ask the right questions When former fellow students ask me what I remember of ETH, I generally say: “interdisciplinary thought and action”. And when they ask me how I came to learn that at ETH, of all places – the epitome of a technical university – there’s precisely one name and one role model to mention: Jean Vallat. October 2024 – Personen
Agricultural economics From agricultural business operations to operations research If you run your own farm, you can’t do without it, and it has a key role to play when it comes to questions of agricultural policy, too: agricultural economics. Since the agricultural school was founded in 1871, agricultural business operations has been a core component of the agricultural sciences. October 2024 – Forschung
Plant Science Center Where researchers and stakeholders interact Agricultural sciences at ETH have always had close links to the Swiss farming community and politics. It started in 1871 with Professor Kraemer informing about the setup of the study programme in the "Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung" or Prof. Laur becoming Farmers' Secretary and managing director of the Swiss Farmers' Union in 1898. October 2024 – Forschung
Diversity at the IAS Enrichment and challenge at the same time ETH is the only university in Switzerland to offer a degree course in Agricultural Sciences. This leads to a mix of students from all language regions of Switzerland and from abroad. The mix of employees is even more colourful. People from all continents are researching at the IAS together. October 2024 – Personen
Agroscope The Control Station for Preventing Seed Fraud The research station in Zurich-Reckenholz of Agroscope, the Swiss Federal Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Research, has its origins in the Swiss Federal Polytechnic (later the ETH). Said research station was established by the private tutor Friedrich Gottlieb Stebler, founder of the first Swiss agricultural seed control station for preventing fraud in the trading of agricultural inputs. October 2024 – Forschung
From Dipl. Ing.-Agr. ETH to MSc ETH Agr Start of the first Bachelor’s programme in Agricultural Sciences Around the year 2000, the Agricultural Sciences degree programme was revised in the course of the Bologna Reform processes. The programme was transformed from an engineering programme (leading to the degree of Dipl. Ing.-Agr. ETH) into a field of study with two consecutive courses. The first three-year Bachelor’s programme started in October 2004, followed two years later by the initially 1. October 2024 – Studium
The LFW building Where agricultural sciences are at home Shortly after the founding of today’s agricultural sciences, they were given their own building, which underwent several conversions over the years. The LFW (Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, west building) is still a gem today, as the authentic stylistic elements of the architects of the time have been preserved in the building. October 2024 – Standorte
Hans Vontobel Award for Agronomy The most valuable or original doctoral thesis receives an award Since 1989, the Hans Vontobel Award has been given every year to the author of a doctoral thesis that has produced outstanding findings in the field of agricultural sciences. October 2024 – Personen
New crisis, new growth? Development of student numbers in one and a half centuries Crises influence interest in agriculture. This was shown relatively clearly by the development of student numbers during the First and Second World Wars. Over the last 150 years, the proportion of international students has decreased, while more and more women have enrolled. October 2024 – Studium
Between tradition and modernity Ernst Laur, Professor at ETH Zurich and Director of the Swiss Farmers’ Union With the onset of agricultural protection through tariffs and subsidies, Ernst Laur, co-founder of the Swiss Farmers’ Union (SFU), came to the Polytechnic. Laur’s triple function (association director, Farmers’ Secretary and professor) made him one of the most influential figures in Swiss public life in the first decades of the twentieth century. October 2024 – Personen
Science and practice for food security How the “cultivation battle” helped shape training for agronomists Friedrich Traugott Wahlen studied and obtained his doctorate at ETH Zurich. Under his leadership, the “cultivation battle” to increase domestic food production during the Second World War was planned and implemented. October 2024 – Personen
Cow breeds and their effect Research in a hiker's paradise When ETH acquired the Weissenstein Alp on the Albula Pass in 1967, initially only Braunvieh cattle continued to go to the Alpine pasture, as had been customary up to then. Over time, however, new research questions came into focus and with them other cattle breeds. While this caused quite a stir in the early years, animals of specific breeds were even missed by people in the later years. October 2024 – Forschung
The first woman with an ETH agricultural diploma Maria Kovalik – a life that could be made into a film Maria Filippovna Kovalik was born in Tschernikoff (Russia), in today’s Ukraine, the daughter of an officer and landowner. She only came to the Polytechnic at the age of 30, so she was quite a bit older than her fellow students. After seven semesters, she successfully completed her agricultural studies, making her the first woman to obtain an agricultural diploma at the Polytechnic. October 2024 – Personen
Swiss FACE Atmospheric CO2 increase studied under real outdoor conditions Professor J. Nösberger’s research group, in collaboration with research groups from Switzerland, Europe and overseas, investigated the effects of increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and intensification of management on grasslands. October 2024 – Forschung
History of the World Food System Center (WFSC) Tackling world food system challenges The World Food System Center (WFSC) is the competence centre of ETH Zurich on the topic of food systems. It brings together researchers and students from all disciplines involved in the food system to work together on building resilient food systems capable of providing food and nutrition security over the long term. October 2024 – Forschung
AgroVet-Strickhof – new teaching and research platform for agricultural sciences The interdisciplinary way of working together After ten years of planning and two years of construction, AgroVet-Strickhof was officially opened on 1 September 2017. October 2024 – Forschung
The system-oriented natural sciences unite Emergence and dissolution of the S-ENETH The School Domain of Earth, Environment and Natural Resources (S-ENETH) was established with the intention of building a leading international academic institution to promote new research approaches to the problem area of sustainable development. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Ranking top agrar 1st Award for the ETH Agricultural Sciences programme The Agricultural Sciences programme at the D-USYS has received an award in an international ranking in 2016 for the “Best Career Preparation for Employment in Science and Research”. October 2024 – Studium
Research contributions for development International focus at the Institute for Agricultural Sciences Within projects of the World Food Systems Center (WFSC) and ETH for Development, several professors of the Institute for Agricultural Sciences (IAS) have increased their involvement in agricultural research for development. October 2024 – Forschung
The development of agricultural chemistry and soil science at ETH A tradition of influential scientists and professors Agricultural chemistry and soil sciences have a long history at ETH. Teaching was established right away and research started early in the twentieth century. Many famous soil scientists came out of the school. Today, 150 years later, the tradition is still continued. October 2024 – Forschung
AgriTech Day 2019 in Lindau-Eschikon Open doors for visitors at the ETH Research Station for Plant Sciences, Strickhof and AgroVet-Strickhof Under the title “Agriculture of the future – digital and sustainable?”, the ETH Research Station for Plant Sciences, Strickhof and AgroVet-Strickhof opened their doors to visitors in May 2019. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Professorship of Molecular Plant Breeding And about the synergies between breeding and breeding research With the support of Agroscope, the Swiss centre of excellence for agricultural research, and the fenaco cooperative, the professorship of Molecular Plant Breeding was implemented in 2016. The professorship is headed by Bruno Studer, who had already been assistant professor for Forage Crop Genetics since 2012. October 2024 – Forschung
The launch of D-USYS And the end of the D-AGRL The decision that Agricultural and Food Sciences should no longer be united in one department was not taken lightly. However, due to the declining number of students in Agricultural Sciences, it seemed unavoidable. The positive development of the two newly created departments today shows that their foundation was the right thing to do and created many new synergies. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
The “Green Library” The institute libraries are merged In 1998, considerations were made for the first time about merging the differently sized institutional libraries of the Department of Environmental Sciences (D-UWIS) and the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (D-AGRL) into one unit. In October 2005, the new departmental library was opened in room H43 of the CHN building. October 2024 – Standorte
Virtual cereal cultivar garden Successful digitisation for future generations With the retirement of the long-time “curator” Ernst Merz, the end was threatening for the cereal cultivar garden in Eschikon. The maintenance of the unique plants could no longer be guaranteed. As a replacement, the collection was digitised and preserved as a “virtual cultivar garden” for future generations of students. October 2024 – Standorte
Arable ecosystem – source or sink for carbon? What measurements reveal about CO2 exchange At the Oensingen research station, the CO2 exchange between the field and the atmosphere has been measured continuously since December 2003. When, how much and under what conditions the field releases CO2 into the atmosphere is important to understand, as CO2 is the main cause of climate change. October 2024 – Forschung
Expoagricole 2002 in Morat Plant research sparks great interest from the public Every 25 years or so, Switzerland presents itself in a major national exhibition. In 2002, the time had come again. Expo.02 placed the emphasis on an open Switzerland and its concern for an intact environment. Agriculture was not to be missed. It presented itself in a special show, Expoagricole, in Murten. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
The AGROfutur is now Study reform with a participatory approach The demands on agricultural science graduates are diverse and constantly changing. Therefore, a study programme must also be revised again and again. The last study reform, AGROfutur, came into force in 2016. October 2024 – Studium
Smart farming In the service of more sustainable management Agriculture ought to become more efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable. In order to come closer to this goal, various groups of the Institute for Agricultural Sciences (IAS) are driving the development of modern technologies. At ETH, weeding robots, independent cows, hovering plant breeders and emission-measuring barns are already a reality. October 2024 – Forschung
From blood group analyses to resistance breeding Peter Vögeli – a pioneer in pig genetics Pig breeding organisations recognised early on that laboratory methods (biochemical and later molecular genetics) are important for practical pig breeding. In 1980, an agreement on the creation and maintenance of a scientific service centre for blood group and enzyme type determination in pigs came into force between ETH Zurich and a few pig breeding organisations. October 2024 – Forschung
Ravi Sangakkara The good soul of Sri Lanka Crop production in the tropics is a fascinating business. For more than 20 years, Professor Ravi Sangakkara taught ETH students about this topic. October 2024 – Personen
The interdisciplinary project work A 25-year model of success In the interdisciplinary project work (iPA), problems are not only discussed theoretically, but tackled in a very practical way. Since 1996, small teams of Master’s students in agricultural and food sciences have been working on real-life issues and putting their skills to the test. October 2024 – Studium
Three small treasure chests in the LFW When art and science are close to each other Quite forgotten, a teaching collection of special value was stored in a cupboard in the LFW for many years. Only by chance did the 130 hand-coloured glass slides by artist Josef Hanel reappear. They show botanical motifs with incredibly realistic colours and impressive detail. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
The history of the Division VII and its institutes The last 50 years The history of the institute over the last 50 years has been marked above all by the detachment of Food Sciences from Agricultural Sciences. It was completed in 2012 with the creation of two departments. However, close cooperation between the two related disciplines continues to be emphasised. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Modern greenhouses for excellent research The history of the greenhouse complex at the Eschikon-Lindau research station In the 1970s, things got tight for plant cultivation at the ETH centre in Zurich. Hospitals and other new buildings needed space. The resulting demands for a new location for greenhouses were met by the university management in the new millennium: in Eschikon-Lindau, a greenhouse complex for plant sciences was built that brought all requirements under one roof. October 2024 – Standorte
The renovation of the LFW And the subtle shenanigans at the handover ceremony The LFW was converted for six years from 1987 to meet the modern requirements of the agricultural science disciplines also in the future. Shortly before the handover ceremony, the newly installed showcases were equipped with model ploughs as a kind of prank, which can still be admired in the LFW today. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Piglet diarrhoea and E. coli F18 resistance Reminiscences by Professor Gerald Stranzinger A piglet disease puzzled the researchers. Was diet to blame for the fatal disease or was it rather a genetic disposition? Thanks to the persistence of researchers at the Institute for Animal Breeding, the mystery was finally solved after many years. October 2024 – Forschung
Choice of subjects in Agricultural Sciences over time More subjects, but also more choice The comparison of timetables from 1939, 1971, 1994 and 2018 shows: the agricultural sciences degree programme is in constant development. While the basic subjects have remained the same over the years, there are more choices today than in the past. October 2024 – Studium
100 years of Department VII “In the service of the economy and for the benefit of the Swiss farming community” Department VII or the Department of Agriculture celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1971. In ceremonial speeches and a symposium on the “Tasks and goals of agricultural research”, the then current challenges of agricultural sciences were discussed. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
Challenges and successes The first female Head of the Department D-AGRL After joining ETH in 1992 as the first elected woman professor in Agricultural Sciences, Silvia Dorn also became the first female Head of the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences in 2002. During her tenure, she introduced some lasting changes. October 2024 – Personen
Research station at Chamau from 1948 to 2017 Applied research in the canton of Zug For over 69 years, the Chamau research station was used as a teaching and experimental facility for ETH to research questions (mainly) relating to farm animals with innovative experimental facilities. October 2024 – Standorte
VIAL – Student Association for Agricultural and Food Sciences More than just the "Dunnstigsbier" As the Student Association for Agricultural and Food Sciences, the VIAL is responsible for organising events and representing student concerns vis-à-vis ETH bodies. October 2024 – Studium
Weissenstein Alp From a horse-changing station to a state-of-the-art research platform Instead of stagecoaches, researchers from ETH Zurich now go in and out of the Weissenstein Alp at the foot of the Albula Pass. Studies on botanical diversity, sustainable livestock systems, carbon sinks and greenhouse gas emissions are now shaping what happens on the Alpine pasture. That was different 45 years ago when ETH acquired the Alpine pasture. October 2024 – Standorte
Greenpeace campaign against ETH’s experimental release of genetically modified wheat Wild West in Eschikon A field experiment with genetically modified wheat in Eschikon made waves in 2003. There was already a heated discussion in the run-up, and the researchers presented their point of view at information events for the public. A legal odyssey lasting several years finally ended in 2004 with the experiment. October 2024 – Besondere Ereignisse
The first female full professor in Agricultural Sciences at ETH Encouraging young scientists and women in science Silvia Dorn became the first elected woman professor in Agricultural Sciences in 1992 and only the fourth female full professor at ETH overall. From 2002 to 2004, she served as the first female Head of the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences and as Director of Studies for both degree programmes. Promoting young talent, especially women in science, ranked high in her priorities. October 2024 – Personen