Institute of Energy and Process EngineeringOpen OpportunitiesThe aim of this project is to characterize the aggregation behaviour of nanoparticles and relate them to the macroscopic properties of the polymer-nanoparticle hydrogel. - Macromolecular Chemistry, Medical and Health Sciences
- Bachelor Thesis, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| The transition to renewable energy must be sustainable to avoid additional pressure on biodiversity, which would further disrupt the climate. Expanding energy infrastructure, such as wind farms, solar installations, and hydropower projects, can significantly impact local ecosystems. Hence, biodiversity concerns should be integrated into energy system planning. - Engineering and Technology, Environmental Impact Assessment
- Master Thesis, Semester Project
| The transition to a sustainable energy future requires innovative energy production and carbon management approaches. Synthetic methane production via pyrolysis presents a promising pathway by transforming car- bon from the air into methane and solid carbon. This process provides a renewable energy source in the form of methane and offers a potential solution for long-term carbon sequestration by incorporating the resulting solid carbon into construction materials.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a critical tool for evaluating the environmental impacts of this process. Life Cycle Costing (LCC) provides insights into the economic performance of products and services. By analying the entire lifecycle, from feedstock acquisition to the end use of methane and solid carbon, LCA and LCC can identify potential environmental and economic benefits and trade-offs, ensuring that synthetic methane production and carbon storage options are truly sustainable. - Engineering and Technology
- Master Thesis
| We aimed to design a biomaterial suitable for 3D, in situ stiffening to mimic changes to the dermis during fibrosis and wound healing. By adapting Methacrylated Hyaluoronic Acid (MeHA), a material previously used for 2D in situ studies, to create a 3D macroporous gel comprised of fibrous microgels, we hypothesize we will be able to dynamically increase matrix stiffness without increasing cell confinement, allowing us to identify new mechanotransduction pathways involved in fibrosis and wound healing, specifically myofibroblast activation and macrophage polarization. - Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Macromolecular Chemistry, Materials Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
- Master Thesis
| There is a clear consensus among scientists, institutional bodies, and private organization that large amounts of renewable energy sources will have to be deployed to achieve climate targets and improve energy security1. Terawatts of new renewable energy sources will have to be installed in a relatively short amount of time to comply with the European climate neutrality targets across several sectors, ranging from power to mobility, heating, and industry2.
Within this framework, energy storage is seen as a key pillar of the energy transition and the transition to net-zero emissions, as it allows to compensate the mismatch between renewable energy generation and energy demand, hence to maximize the deployment of renewable energy technology3-5. Beyond shifting energy from times of excess energy generation to times of energy shortage, energy storage is increasingly being used to provide power grid ancillary services, such as spinning reserves, non-spinning reserve capacity, frequency regulation, and voltage support to maintain stable and efficient grid operation. Such market mechanisms are key to improve the profitability of energy storage systems and foster their deployment6,7.
Previous research showed that combining different revenue streams by bidding simultaneously in different energy markets increases the profitability of battery energy storage systems (BESS)6. Building up on this multi-revenue perspective, this project aims at investigating the profitability of BESS when considering the carbon emissions associated with the battery operation. - Engineering and Technology
- Master Thesis
| For a carbon-neutral energy system, it is key to achieve a high electrification of heat and transport and, at the same time, a high increase in energy supply from photovoltaics. However, energy supply and demand have to match every minute, and for example, photovoltaic power does not produce energy in the hours when power for heat pumps is in the most demand.
As a result, flexible power supply technologies like gas turbines have gained attention as a potential solution to balance energy demand (or to be used in case of emergency) [1]. In the first case, a carbon capture process is necessary to fit the definition of “net-zero” if natural gas is used. Alternatively, other promising fuels are emerging to reduce environmental impacts while phasing out other fossil fuels e.g. green ammonia and green hydrogen. Furthermore, the recent energy crisis boosted research on multi-fuel turbines [2], including bio-fuels [3].
While literature already investigated different multi-fuel gas turbines from a techno-economic perspective, a comparative prospective environmental assessment remains untapped.
- Engineering and Technology
- Master Thesis
| The accumulation of metals in tissues can either contribute to or arise from metabolic disorders, resulting in supraphysiological concentrations of deleterious species within organs and tissues. Chronic metal overload can lead to organ failure and arthritis, while in the short term is proinflammatory and complicates wound healing. - Biomaterials, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry
- Bachelor Thesis, Course Project, Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Hydrogels composed of ultra-high molecular weight polymers exhibit remarkable mechanical properties, including exceptional stretchability exceeding 2000%. This performance stems from the extensive polymer entanglements inherent to their high molecular weight. These entanglements create a dense, interconnected network that distributes stress efficiently, enabling the hydrogel to withstand significant deformation without breaking. The resulting materials combine the advantageous properties of hydrogels, such as high water content and biocompatibility, with superior mechanical robustness, making them ideal for applications in flexible electronics, soft robotics, and biomedical devices. Their ability to endure extreme stretching and recover their original shape highlights their potential in innovative, high-performance material design. - Chemistry, Engineering and Technology
- Bachelor Thesis, Course Project, Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Multicellular assemblies like microtissues (organoids, spheroids, and tumoroids) can self-organize into 3D structures that mimic native tissues, enhancing drug screening and understanding of physiology. Optical imaging of these microtissues throughout their life cycle is critical but challenging due to their high cell density and size. Microhistology, the histological study of microtissues, has emerged to address this need but requires adapted techniques for microscopic analysis. However, a major challenge is the stochastic placement of microtissues in embedding media, leading to inefficient processing and increased time and cost for analysis. In this project we aim to use acoustofluidics to pre-pattern microtissues to enable high-throughput microhistology and reduce losses in the conventional process. - Biomedical Engineering, Interdisciplinary Engineering, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
- Bachelor Thesis, ETH for Development (ETH4D) (ETHZ), ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Global Summer Program (IARU), IDEA League Student Grant (IDL), Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project
| Hydrogel materials are crosslinked polymer networks with reversible swelling, tunable porosity, elasticity, toughness, and flexibility. Conventional hydrogels often suffer from weak mechanical properties and display brittle and unstable behaviour limiting their scope for load-bearing applications. Such networks consist of side-chain functionalized polymers, whose covalent crosslinks occur at fixed positions on the polymer backbone (Figure 1A). Upon deformation, tensile stress is concentrated on the closest neighboring crosslinks, eventually leading to their rupture and material failure. Hence, the molecular design of high-performance hydrogels with toughness and elasticity similar to rubber is an emerging area of research in the engineering of polymeric materials with applications towards robust medical materials or soft robotics. - Macromolecular Chemistry, Materials Engineering, Supramolecular Chemistry
- Master Thesis
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