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ETH and the Swiss network

The Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and the Swiss universities and institutes of applied science form a well established network. These research centers have outstanding expertise and extensive international experience.

Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH)
The six institutions of the ETH domain include two research centers operating in the fields of natural and man-made risk management: CENAT and KOVERS. Both centers rely in addition on Swiss universities and institutes of applied science. CENAT will coordinate contacts between the Swiss research community and DRM.

Natural risks: CENAT
The Natural Hazards Competence Center CENAT was founded by the ETH Board in 1996 to bring together existing potentials in natural science, engineering science and socio-economic science within the ETH domain and the Swiss universities and institutes of applied science. It is also associated with the Pôle Grenobloise d'Etudes et de Recherche pour la Prévention des Risques Naturels. The pooled resources of these institutes cover a wide field of hazard and risk management:

Hazard assessment, physical process studies, event triggering, hazard mapping, numerical simulation, event probability studies, GIS (Geographic Infor-mation Systems) techniques

  • Institute of Cartography, ETH Zurich
  • Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, SLF, Davos
  • Institute of Geography, University of Berne

Seismic behavior, earthquake-resistant construction, retrofitting, building codes (buildings, bridges, dams)

  • Institute of Structural Engineering, Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, ETH Zurich
  • Institute for Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete, ETH Lausanne
  • Institute of Geophysics, Swiss Earthquake Center, ETH Zurich
  • Centre d'Etude des Risques Géologiques (CERG- UNIGE), University of Geneva

Process studies for rockfall, glaciers and permafrost, snow, avalanches, slope movements, hydrology of unstable terrain, debris flow, floods, wind, hail, geological hazard, drought

  • Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, ETH Zurich
  • Laboratory of Hydraulics and Glaciology, ETH Zurich
  • Institute of Rocks, Foundation and Soil Mechanics, ETH Lausanne
  • Laboratory of Geology, ETH Lausanne
  • Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, WSL Birmensdorf
  • Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, SLF, Davos
  • Land and Water Use Laboratory, ETH Lausanne
  • Institute of Geography, ETH Zurich
  • Institute of Hydraulics and Energy, Hydraulic Constructions, ETH Lausanne
  • Institute of Geology, University of Fribourg
  • Centre d'Etude des Risques Géologiques (CERG-UNIGE), University of Geneva
  • University of Applied Sciences, Rapperswil

Bush and forest fires, ecological impact studies, sustainability, soil erosion, risk analysis and management, forest hydrology, climate and vegetation, forest as rockfall and avalanche protection

  • Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, WSL Birmensdorf
  • Department of Forest and Wood Science, ETH Zurich

Socio-economic studies, public perception, political strategies, risk management

  • Institute of Economic Research, University of Lugano
  • Institute for Economic Research, ETH Zurich

Climate change, modeling of variability and predictability of climate, satellite monitoring:

  • Laboratory for Atmospheric Physics, ETH Zurich
  • Institute of Geography, University of Berne
  • Institute of Geography, University of Fribourg

Technical risks
Modeling and software development for assessment, evaluation, management and representation of technical risks for process industries and storage, power generation technologies (including nuclear safety), transportation of hazardous materials, waste management, complex infrastructure systems; integration of the GIS (Geographical Infor-mation Systems) and GPS (Geographical Positioning Systems) technologies into Integrated Decision Support Systems (IDSS); life cycle analysis (LCA), sustainability, cost optimization, legal/regulations-related issues; research, training, university education, consulting engineering and design, security, financial and socio-economic risk management-related issues.

  • KOVERS (Competence Center for Technical Risks ETH) including Paul Scherrer Institute, ETH Zurich and EAWAG Dübendorf
  • Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich
  • Institute for Economic Research, ETH Zurich
  • Risk Lab, ETH Zurich
  • Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, SLF, Davos
  • University of Applied Sciences, Rapperswil

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