Anna Fontcuberta i Morral named as first female EPFL president
The Swiss government has appointed Anna Fontcuberta i Morral as the new president of the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). The 49-year-old professor of materials science and engineering will take over from Martin Vetterli on January 1, 2025.
This content was published on
3 minutes
RTS
Appointed for a four-year term, Anna Fontcuberta i Morral is a renowned researcher who has made her semiconductor laboratory a world leader in sustainable nanotechnologies, the government said in a press release on Wednesday. The Swiss-Spanish dual national has also co-founded the start-up Aonex Technologies.
As associate vice-president of EPFL in charge of centres and platforms, she already participates in the academic management of the federal institute. She has also spent over eight years at the Swiss National Science Foundation, where she has been a member of the management committee since 2020.
She also works actively on several scientific boards, committees and organisations.
Anna Fontcuberta i Morral was born in 1975 and grew up near Barcelona, where she studied physics. After obtaining her doctorate at the Ecole polytechnique de Palaiseau in France, she was a visiting researcher in 2001-2002, then in 2004-2005, at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena (United States), during which she helped create the start-up Aonex Technologies.
She completed her habilitation in experimental physics at the Technical University of Munich in 2009. From 2008 she worked as Assistant Professor Tenure Track at EPFL’s Institute of Materials.
Anna Fontcuberta i Morral has won several awards. She received a student prize from the Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Techniques for her teaching.
Other awards and grants include the Marie Curie Excellence Grant in 2005, the Starting Grant from the European Research Council in 2009 and, in 2015, the Back-up schemes Consolidator Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Emmy Noether Prize from the European Physical Society.
In 2014, she was made associate professor and in September 2019 full professor of materials science and engineering. She speaks Catalan, French, German, English and Spanish.
She will take over from Martin Vetterli, who has led the EPFL since January 2017.
Adapted from French by DeepL/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
‘Switzerland could lose competitiveness in research and innovation’
This content was published on
The abrupt end to negotiations over a framework agreement with the European Union will affect Swiss scientific research and university exchanges.
Swiss researchers regain access to certain European programmes
This content was published on
With the start of negotiations with the EU, Swiss researchers once again have access to certain Horizon Europe programmes.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.