Congratulations to Anne-Florence Bitbol and Maryam Kamgarpour for both being promoted to Associate Professor at EPFL. Anne-Florence Bitbol’s research at the School of Life Sciences at EPFL investigates the coevolution and structure of proteins, as well as the spatial dynamics of populations. Maryam Kamgarpour’s work in Mechanical Engineering at the School of Engineering at EPFL is about theoretical frameworks for trustworthy automation in areas such as intelligent transportation systems, smart grids and energy systems, multi-robot systems for assembly and construction, and air traffic control.

The WPF and the SNSF jointly hosted an event on November 25, 2025 surrounding Dr. Anna Feller receiving the Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize. A panel discussion was held on the topic „Career perspectives for postdocs“ with the panelists Dr. Anna Feller, Prof. Dr. Verdon Taylor, Dr. Regina Notz and led by Prof. Dr. Rachel Grange, with senior PhD students and postdoctoral students in mind.

After this, Prof. Dr. Verdon Taylor of the SNSF spoke about the work the SNSF does to support research careers, which includes the Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize, awarded to an outstanding woman researcher each year. Following this, Anna Feller gave a talk on her innovative work on plant speciation and diversity that earned her this award. Verdon Taylor then presented the Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize to her.

The event was held in the Semperaula at the ETH Zentrum. Some impressions:

Copyright photos: ©SNF/Julia Foster

Congratulations to Janet Hering for being awarded an honorary Doctorate from the University of Basel. At their Dies Academicus, the Faculty of Medicine awarded her this honorary doctorate for her research into drinking water quality and the relationship between environment and health.

Congratulations to Sabine Süsstrunk for winning the UK Royal Photographic Society Award for Imaging Science. The Royal Photographic Society has hosted the world’s longest running photography prize for 147 years and this year they are recognizing Sabine Süsstrunk’s notable contribution to the advancement and application of imaging science.

Her research focuses on computational photography and imaging, generative AI, image quality, and image aesthetics.

Congratulations to Julia Vogt, Giulia Tagliabue and Mahsa Shoaran for recently being promoted to Associate Professors. Julia Vogt’s research at the ETH is in Computer Science where she combines computer science with medicine to improve machine learning tools. Giulia Tagliabue’s research in Mechanical Engineering at the EPFL is on nanoscience applied to energy technologies, nanophotonics, and the nanoscale control of energy conversion processes. Also at the EPFL, Mahsa Shoaran conducts research in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, namely at the intersection of circuit design and algorithm development, with a particular focus on biomedical and neural interfaces.

Congratulations to Sonia Seneviratne who is set to receive the German Environmental Award bestowed by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt – DBU). The award is given to people whose work has greatly contributed to the understanding of climate change, in the case of Sonia Seneviratne both in her research and her activities on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

More details and an interview with Sonia Seneviratne about receiving the award can be found in this article.