Informatik / Computer Science D-INFK, ETH Zürich

01/06/2026

Congratulations to David Basin on being awarded an honorary doctorate by Chalmers University of Technology!

The honour recognises his outstanding contributions to cybersecurity research and his long-standing collaboration with Chalmers. As head of the Information Security Group at our department, David Basin has made seminal contributions to the design and verification of secure systems, with tools such as Tamarin and MonPoly shaping modern information security in academia and industry.

We are delighted to see this recognition of his scientific achievements and impact. Congratulations, David! 🎉

https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/infk-news-channel/2026/05/david-basin-awarded-chalmers-honorary-doctorate.html

ETH Zürich

29/05/2026

🔥 How can AI help us better understand and prepare for wildfire risk?

Researchers at (INSAIT - Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology) in Sofia, Bulgaria, have created the first public AI wildfire risk map for Europe, with support from ETH Zürich.
The project is a compelling example of how artificial intelligence can support decision-making in the face of complex environmental challenges.

This project brings together expertise from INSAIT and ETH Zurich, including the research groups of Professor Konrad Schindler and Professor Martin Vechev, with contributions from Mario Markov.

Check your region on the AI wildfire risk map.

The first publicly available high-resolution AI wildfire risk map for Europe. Explore 11 M km² of interactive map with plain-language explanations. Space AI @ INSAIT.

26/05/2026

Congratulations to Fan Yang on her appointment as Associate Professor of Computer Science at the Department of Computer Science, ETH Zurich.

Previously a Tenure Track Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, Fan Yang researches machine learning models that form the core of modern AI. Her work focuses on the lack of robustness in ML models and on understanding when forecasts can be trusted beyond average accuracy measures.
Her research combines theoretical guarantees for ML models with tailored solutions for specific applications.
In addition to receiving an SNSF Starting Grant, she is highly appreciated for her teaching at ETH Zürich.
We are delighted to see her continue strengthening the field of data science at our department.

26/05/2026

Upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zürich, the ETH Board has appointed Shivaram Venkataraman as Associate Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich. We are pleased to welcome Shivaram Venkataraman to the Department of Computer Science.

Shivaram Venkataraman’s research focuses on systems and algorithms for large-scale data analysis and machine learning. A key aspect of his work is efficient computing for AI systems, reducing the resources needed to train machine learning models.
His appointment strengthens our expertise in computer systems and AI systems, particularly in data management and cloud architectures that underpin modern AI applications.

https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2026/05/eleven-professors-appointed.html

13/05/2026

In this article, Torsten Hoefler, D-INFK professor and Chief AI Architect at the CSCS, elaborates on how the AI weather model ESFM can acquire a form of fundamental knowledge through training on very different types of data.

Thanks to this knowledge, it can flexibly solve a wide range of tasks in weather and environmental science. 🖥️ 🌪️ ⛈️ ☀️

Learn more (DE/EN) ⬇️

Fehlende und schwer vergleichbare Messdaten begrenzen, was KI-Modelle über Klima und Wetter aussagen können. Forschende aus dem ETH‑Bereich stellen nun ein KI‑Modell vor, das solche Lücken gezielt ergänzt, Satellitenbilder rekonstruiert und sichtbar macht, wie Wetter, Land und Wasser zusamme...

06/05/2026

Pseudonymity is not invisibility.

A new study by the SPY Lab at ETH Zürich shows how efficiently large language models can reveal the identities of anonymous online users from seemingly harmless textual traces.

Their findings were picked up by various international media outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian or Ars Technica.

We sat down with paper co-author and Master's student Joshua Swanson for an interview. In this conversation, he shares:

◾ How seemingly harmless information becomes a fingerprint ☝

◾ Why platforms like Reddit need to rethink their privacy architecture 👁️‍🗨️

◾ A piece of advice for anyone currently posting online 💡

Read the full interview here 👉 : https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/infk-news-channel/2026/05/the-more-you-post-the-easier-you-are-to-unmask.html

30/04/2026

Programming without writing a single line of code. This is the promise of Hashtag . A new study by Sverrir Thorgeirsson, Theo B. Weidmann and Professor Zhendong Su from our department examines which skills are needed to build simple apps with AI agents.

The results show that participants with stronger computer science backgrounds achieve better outcomes. Writing ability also has a clear impact, while frequent everyday use of language models does not improve performance.

The work highlights the role of human expertise in prompting, critical assessment and system understanding. It shows how computer scientists shape effective collaboration between humans and AI.
👉 Read the full article: https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2026/04/what-skills-do-people-need-to-successfully-program-with-ai.html

🎬 Also featured today on SRF’s «Einstein»: "Gamechanger Hashtag – how AI is reshaping the job market”, with Theo B. Weidmann and Friedrich Wicke (behind the AI tutoring startup tutor.new).
https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/einstein/video/gamechanger-vibe-coding---wie-ki-den-arbeitsmarkt-veraendert?urn=urn:srf:video:4e300374-8942-43c3-8a30-4b14e6aca697

30/04/2026

How do you create a digital human?
For the documentary “Mein Avatar und Ich”, Swiss actor Bastian Inglin undergoes a unique experiment: the creation of a digital version of himself.

Developed in collaboration with the ETH Game Technology Center, the project combines facial scanning, voice cloning and AI-based modelling of personal history and behaviour.

At the Game Technology Center, an interdisciplinary team led by Fabio Zünd works on the foundations of digital humans. The research builds on decades of work in computer graphics and visual computing, initiated by Markus Gross.
The project highlights both the technological possibilities and the open questions around identity and digital representation.

👉 Read the full article on our website: https://bit.ly/3QSsfUo

Image: Docmine Productions AG / SRF

28/04/2026

The ETH Cyber Group has organised its first own Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge.

After the official 2026 competition was unexpectedly cancelled, the student initiative quickly created an internal alternative. The Cyber 9/12 format places teams in a simulated cyber crisis with geopolitical implications and tasks them with developing strategic responses under time pressure.

For this edition, ETH students created a scenario based on a large scale cyberattack on critical infrastructure. The challenge was organised by Aleksa Mićanović and Gabriele Stentella, who worked closely with experts from politics, technology and the military to ensure a credible and high quality storyline.

The winning team “Hack and Cheese” impressed with a strong and coherent response plan: Christoph Pabsch, Philipp Semmel, Kai Tran, Brandy Nogales and team coach Thomas Birchler.

Learn more about this year’s Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge: https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/infk-news-channel/2026/04/making-the-best-of-a-crisis-eth-students-save-the-cyber-912-challenge-2026.html



(Images: Aleksandra Kirsanova)

27/04/2026

At the Swiss Air Rescue Service Rega, seamless coordination is critical. Every day, teams manage missions across Switzerland and worldwide, supported by digital systems that operate reliably.

ETH Zürich alumnus Raffael Buff, a former Master’s student from our department, now works as IT Service Owner at Rega. His work reflects a key insight from computer science: many real world challenges are not inherently complex but consist of multiple interconnected elements. Structured thinking and well designed algorithms help to address these systems in a reliable and scalable way.
Raffael developed this mindset during his studies at ETH Zurich. Today, he applies it to maintain and evolve digital infrastructure that directly supports life saving operations.

👉 Read the full story to learn what Raffael gained from his studies in Computer Science and how his career led him to Rega.
https://inf.ethz.ch/news-and-events/spotlights/infk-news-channel/2026/04/algorithmen-fuer-den-ernstfall.html