Appointments at ETH Zurich
Dr Athina Anastasaki (*1988), currently Research Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Polymeric Materials. Athina Anastasaki conducts research on polymer nanoparticles whose shape can be controlled for use in biomedical applications. Her work also focuses on biomimetic nanostructured materials which regulate the folding and unfolding of polymer chains. She uses sequence controls to synthesise polymers which resemble peptides and proteins. This enables her to synthesise complex polymer architectures in order to develop new and more effective antibiotics. By appointing Athina Anastasaki, the Department of Materials is strengthening its research and teaching in polymer chemistry.
Dr Olga Fink (*1983), currently Group Leader at Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, as Assistant Professor of Intelligent Maintenance Systems. Olga Fink develops data-driven, intelligent maintenance processes for energy and transportation systems. These enable error signatures to be learnt from condition monitoring data sources, error signatures to be transferred between different systems, and defective conditions to be predicted in advance. The appointment of Olga Fink, who holds an SNSF Professorship, enables the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering to strengthen research areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data, and to reinforce its relationships with other departments.
Professor Elli Mosayebi (*1977), currently Professor at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, as Associate Professor of Architecture and Design. Elli Mosayebi forges a close connection between practice, research and teaching. The architecture firm Edelaar Mosayebi Inderbitzin Architekten, which she co-founded, places particular emphasis on urban design and residential construction, for which it has won numerous awards. In her research she explores European residential construction since 1945, looking at the forms of housing found in model dwellings and examining the conditions under which they came into being. Elli Mosayebi will be an outstanding and dynamic addition to the teaching staff of the Department of Architecture.
Dr Emma Wetter Slack (*1981), currently Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich, as Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Food Immunology. Emma Wetter Slack researches the interactions between intestinal flora and the host immune system. The use of innovative oral vaccines enabled her to discover a previously unknown mechanism by which antibodies in the intestine protect the host from bacteria. She now wants to make her findings applicable in clinical and veterinary practice as quickly as possible. By appointing Emma Wetter Slack, who was awarded the ETH Zurich Latsis Prize in 2017, the Department of Health Sciences and Technology is integrating the new discipline of immunology into the research area of food, nutrition and health.