Lavinia Heisenberg and Daniela Rupp appointed professors
On the recommendation of ETH President Lino Guzzella, the ETH Board has appointed 12 new ETH professors, among them the two physicists Lavinia Heisenberg and Daniela Rupp. Notably in this round of appointments is the high proportion of women, more than 40 percent.
ETH is setting a strong example for top female talent in science: of the 12 professors appointed yesterday by the ETH Board on the recommendation of ETH President Lino Guzzella, five are women. That amounts to over 40 percent of the current round of appointments. The new female professors work in a wide range of fields, from plant and environmental sciences, structural physics and the development of materials through to theoretical cosmology.
“I am delighted and proud that ever more highly talented female scientists are succeeding at our extremely competitive process for appointing professors,” says Lino Guzzella. “This also shows that ETH Zurich’s long-term efforts to promote female talent are bearing fruit. Greater diversity brings different perspectives to every research field.” He is convinced that this will also have a positive effect on academic quality, “and ultimately on the success of ETH as a whole.”
Short portraits of Lavinia Heisenberg and Daniela Rupp:
Dr Lavinia Heisenberg (*1983), currently a post-doctoral student at ETH Zurich, is appointed Assistant Professor of Theoretical Cosmology. Lavinia Heisenberg is a promising researcher who is working on the mathematical formulation of new theories to describe gravitation; these modify Einstein’s theory of general relativity. In particular she is investigating the compatibility of these theories with the established laws of quantum physics, and studying such topics as the expansion rate of the universe. Lavinia Heisenberg has already won prestigious prizes and is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant. Her appointment will strengthen ETH Zurich’s international reputation in this field of research.
Dr Daniela Rupp (*1983), currently Research Group Leader at the Max Born Institute, Berlin, Germany, is appointed Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Nanostructures and Ultrafast X-Ray Science. Daniela Rupp conducts research into the structure and development of highly excited plasma states in clusters and nanocrystals. This requires a fundamental understanding of non-equilibrium dynamics, as produced through the interaction of intensive X-ray radiation with clusters. Daniela Rupp is an innovative researcher whose work has attracted attention because of her use of new approaches and methods. By appointing her, ETH Zurich is broadening the field of physics at short time scales and strengthening its links with the new SwissFEL X-ray laser at PSI.