Einstein Days: Come study in Switzerland with the best and brightest!

By Libing Gu, Head of Academic Relations

The academic landscape in Switzerland consists of twelve public universities focusing on research-based teaching as well as fundamental research and eight public universities of applied sciences that award highly practice-relevant degrees. The country is an excellent hub for leading universities, with outstanding Swiss universities regularly ranking among the top universities globally.

On Oct 29, Swissnex in China curated a Swiss Pavilion at China Education Expo (CEE) in Shanghai to showcase the variety and the quality of the curricula as well as the excellence of Swiss higher education and research. The exhibition attracted 3,500 onsite and 1,300 online visitors.

China Education Expo in Shanghai

The onsite education expo was complemented by a virtual Einstein Day on November 14. The Zoom webinar brought high-level representatives from leading Swiss public universities to share first-hand information about study programs and university choices with top Chinese talents. The event attracted a total number of 440 audiences to register. The majority of them are current students, young researchers, and administrative staff at top-tier Chinese universities.

The webinar started with an introduction to the Education, Research, and Innovation (ERI) System of Switzerland by Philippe Roesle, CEO of Swissnex in China. Subsequently, Dr. Olivier Küttel (Head of International Affairs, EPFL), Mr. Anders Hagström (Head of International Affairs, ETH Zurich), Prof. Dr. Olivier Baudoin (Head of Chemistry Department, University of Basel), Ms. Noria Mezlef (Head of International Relations Office, University of Geneva) and Prof. Dr. Harald Gall (Dean of Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics, University of Zurich) gave a short overview of their respective institution, including aspects such as its history, research focus and programs for international students. In the following session, ETH Zurich alumna Ms. Yi Wan (PhD Student at Paul Scherrer Institute) and University of Geneva alumnus Dr. Tianwu Xie (Researcher at the Institute of Radiation Medicine, Fudan University) shared their experience and gave advice to the audience regarding school choices and applications. The webinar was concluded with a dynamic Q&A session, where speakers addressed some of the frequently asked questions by the audience.

If you are interested in learning more about higher education opportunities in Switzerland, you can read more here or email us for information at academia.china@swissnex.org. 

Please find a link to the webinar recording here.

Resilient Responses during 2022 Lockdown in Shanghai

In July 2022, a roundtable took place at HES-SO in Yverdon-les-Bains to learn about resilient responses during the Shanghai lockdown in 2022. It was supported by the HES-SO grant – Promdom 120096 awarded to Prof. Anna Lupina-Wegener and Dr. Güldem Karamustafa and co-organized with Dr. Philippe Roesle.

The purpose of the roundtable was to learn about resilient responses from the experiences of executives of Swiss and Chinese firms. Four executives shared their perspectives: Bruce Chen, VP International Division, Hengtong; David Wang, President of Asia Pacific, Bühler AG; Anthony Aho, CEO, PB&B SA; and Alain Graf, Senior Consultant Asia, Switzerland Global Enterprise.

The roundtable discussion, moderated by Dr. Philippe Roesle, sought to provide insights into the following questions: what are some of their resilient responses during the COVID-19 times? what were some of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic? what are some of the actions taken in moving forward?

 The executives shared experiences from different types of firms – International Chinese and international Swiss, young and mature firms, and of different industries and different company sizes. The roundtable uncovered different responses to challenges caused by the pandemic. According to Mr. David Wang, the key factor to address lockdown challenges is to get early prepared. Bühler distinguished three key principles that followed during the COVID-19 pandemic: keeping their employees safe with necessary PPE, sustaining their manufacturing and production along with the supply chain, and effective communication to improve the clarity, transparency, and alignment among the value chain. Mr. Anthony Aho highlighted the importance of preparing the budget carefully for start-ups and the role of planning during the period of clinical trials, such as in case of PB&B. If any unexpected cost occurred, such as a delay caused by a pandemic, the budget could absorb the costs and would let to relaunch the trial later. Mr. Bruce Chen mentioned that Hengtong rescheduled its production, diversified suppliers, and the intensive efforts in transportation and logistics to maintain the production and supply of goods. He highlighted the importance of communication with the local government, as they reach out to them when any difficulties occur and share the challenges they encounter. Mr. Alain Graf mentioned the solutions sought among Swiss firms during the travel restrictions. He indicated, for example that some firms rebuilt stocks and some others redesigned the machines. The need for localization in China was also underlined by Mr. Graf.

 During the pandemic, these international Chinese and Swiss companies learned valuable lessons. They became cautious about how to rationalize their supply chain, optimize their way of working with customers and build stronger local capabilities. Moreover, during the lockdown, they improved their lean management and highlight the centralized management mechanism as a good practice.

Future of Mobility: Building Intelligent Transportation

Following the evolvement of the digital era, the urban landscape has shifted to a new paradigm, which has been named intelligent cities in recent times. The construction of an intelligent city requires a complex urban environment, which integrates multiple facilities, human movements, technology, society systems, politics, and economics, and therefore the intelligent planning for the infrastructure, growth, transport, and safety. As one of the core pillars of Smart Cities, Smart Mobility encompasses new technologies and revolutionary solutions to provide a safer, greener, and more efficient future, reshaping and optimizing transportation.

On July 7, in the sixth edition of the nexFrontier webinar series, experts from the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research on Dependable, Ubiquitous Automation (NCCR Automation), ETH Zurich, EPFL, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, and Tongji University participated in a fruitful discussion on the latest research advancements in intelligent transportation systems.

The event was kicked-off by Dr. Philppe Roesle, CEO of Swissnex in China, with a short welcome, followed by Prof. Dr. John Lygeros, Director of the NCCR Automation and Head of the Automatic Control Laboratory at ETH Zurich, who introduced the goals, structure, and activities of the NCCR Automation.

Prof. Dr. Nikolas Geroliminis, the Principal Investigator at the NCCR Automation and the head of the Urban Transportation Systems Lab at EPFL, talked about the large-scale monitoring and control of large-scale congested transport networks. Human mobility in congested city centers is a complex and dynamic system with a high density of population, various transport modes competing for limited space, and different operators trying to manage various parts of the system efficiently. Prof. Geroliminis underlined that we need to take a holistic approach to tackle these challenges and presented to the audience how his research team studies the spatiotemporal relation of congested links in large networks, develops new advancements in the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram, observes congestion propagation, identifies the effect of multimodal interactions in network capacity and finally designs network-level control strategies to improve multimodal mobility.

Subsequently, Prof. Dr. Yibing Wang, Vice Director of the Institute of Intelligent Transportation Systems at Zhejiang University, presented a novel traffic control concept of the internal boundary control for bi-directional lane-free traffic of connected and automated vehicles on freeways. The investigation results show that the proposed integrated control scheme can maximize the utilization of road infrastructure and remove congestion at overloaded ramp-merging areas, which however, cannot be achieved using internal boundary control or ramp metering alone. Prof. Dr. Chi Xie, Professor at the College of Transportation Engineering and Urban Mobility Institute at Tongji University, introduced the Intelligent Vehicle-Platooning Transit (IVPT) system which integrates many conventional and emerging vehicular and traffic control technology. It is designed and tested to provide urban passengers with a comfortable, affordable, rapid, and station-to-station mobility service.

Following that, Prof. Li Li from the Department of Automation at Tsinghua University showed us his research on cooperative driving strategies at the road network level with a fundamental macroscopic diagram. He and his team investigated the performance of the passing orders derived from different collaborative driving strategies on the network traffic through a series of simulation experiments. Results show that the passing order plays a dominant role in improving the network traffic efficiency. Dr. Kenan Zhang, a Post-doc researcher at Automatic Control Laboratory at ETH Zurich, gave an overview of her research on the ride-hail service market, focusing on a physical matching model that captures the interactions between passengers and vehicles. She also showed how the different matching mechanisms lead to diverse market equilibrium and, in turn, affect the design of operational strategies and regulations.

Our last speaker, Dr. Xia Yang, Research Professor at the College of Transportation Engineering at Tongji University, gave a talk on the dynamic bus allocation and routing for multimodal emergency evacuations based on dynamic system optimization to improve evacuation efficiency. She presented an innovative multimodal evacuation model and discussed the solution methods. In the Q&A session, topics such as key challenges for future mobility and transport, the relationship between cooperative driving and automated driving were discussed. Researchers and experts from Switzerland and China look forward to engaging in further exchanges and discovering potential collaboration opportunities.

Professional Wellbeing and Lifelong Learning: Trends & Resources

By Libing Gu, Head of Academic Relations

The rise of automation and ground-breaking technologies, along with globalization and demographic change, has transformed the world of work, leading to a large-scale disruption of the jobs and skills landscape. Upskilling does not include only acquiring relevant knowledge for new types of jobs but also developing transferable skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and above all, a learning mindset to adapt to the changing world of work continually. On the other hand, several personal resources, including work-related attitudes and behaviours, promote proactive response to occupational demands and help maintain our professional wellbeing.

On February 24, in the fifth edition of nexFrontier series, we invited experts from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives (NCCR LIVES), University of Zurich, University of Lausanne, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and Chinese University of Hong Kong to introduce trends and resources in professional wellbeing and lifelong learning.

To start with, Prof. Alexandra M. Freund, Professor of Psychology, URPP Dynamics of Healthy Aging, University of Zurich, Project Co-Leader of IP7, NCCR LIVES, a set of studies investigating the role of subjective expectations for exhaustion and recovery at work and during leisure. Prof. Freund explained that young adults have more limited energy and older adults have more power based on lay theories of energy. This is also proved by one of her team’s experiments where people of different ages were engaged in a very exhausting workout. Results show that older adults are not more exhausted after strenuous exercise than younger adults, and their recovery is at least equally fast.

Her team then developed a process model of the effect of subjective expectations about exhaustion and recovery. A given activity at work and during leisure triggers expectation on whether it is exhaustion or recovery, which in turn triggers selective attention then determines how much energy people feel that they have already spent, which will lead them unconsciously to a subjective value of the activity. The degree to which people say something is work/leisure determines the degree of exhaustion/recovery and the subjective expectations guide, significantly how much we feel that something is exhausting and recovering.

In another study, Prof. Freund and her team asked 315 working adults how exhausting and recovering a set of activities are during work and leisure. An interesting result is that people expect leisure to be relaxing and work to be exhausting – even for the same activity. For example, if you exercise for work, it’s exhausting but more recovering when you do it for leisure.

Prof. Freund underlined that it is the goal of pursuit that makes the activities work or leisure-related. The following steps of her research will include investigating behavioural consequences (further engagement vs. disengagement from activities) and tracking people in their everyday activities at work and during leisure.

Secondly, Prof. Emily M. David, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), presented her study on help received while working in coworking spaces. Unlike traditional coworkers, coworking space members are not linked to each other and may even work in a different industry. Currently, there is little academic literature on how people interact in these novel spaces. Prof. David started this research in 2019 to understand whether people frequently help each other if being helped differ from small talk interactions in terms of outcome, what benefits of co-work-specific forms of help are and who will benefit from being helped the most.

Employing a daily-diary methodology and applying affective events theory (AET), her team confirmed the propositions that being helped (problem-solving, emotional support, feedback, and network introductions) is invigorating both at the moment and over the week. In addition, aligned with self-verification theory, high self-esteem individuals expect to be liked by others, leading them to interpret help as something they deserve and welcome. However, low self-esteem might view the help as a reflection that they are not competent enough.

The research found that help received positively impacted vigor, and the relationship is stronger in the longer term. Even though everyone benefitted from receiving help, people with high self-esteem had a much stronger positive relationship with vigor than people with low self-esteem. Prof. David suggested that to keep people from leaving; the co-working space owner should encourage people to help each other and create different bonds.

Subsequently, Prof. Koorosh Massoudi, Associate Professor in Life Long Vocational Psychology, University of Lausanne, Project Co-Leader of IP7, NCCR LIVES, focused on his recent research on trends, risks, and resources of contemporary career trajectories. He started the presentation by illustrating the Swiss context based on some contradictory observations: on the one hand, some performance indicators proved that Switzerland has a wealthy economy, resilient labour market with a low rate of unemployment, and a high-performing education system. On the other hand, studies showed that there was a trend towards the deterioration of working conditions (more workload, less opportunity to do quality job or perform meaningful tasks)), an increase of work-related ill-being such as burnouts, stress, or perceived job insecurity as well as a certain level of social inequalities.

For three decades we can observe a destandardization of career course. People can rely less on external landmarks and must strongly accent individual responsibilities and resources. The research project developed by Prof. Massoudi’s team aims to investigate the individual and contextual factors that contribute to career sustainability.

They followed a group of employed and unemployed adults in Switzerland through seven years and identified four different profiles of career progression. The first two are called sustainable careers (part-time and full-time). Women were overrepresented in sustainable part-time career profiles, meaning that they are at risk of underemployment and experience difficulties when trying to reconcile family obligations and tasks at work. The third group, called the “resilient group” is mainly composed of younger adults with a sufficient level of education. Their first steps into the labor market were delicate, but then they were able to get back on track. The last group, called the “vulnerable group” refers to people who have unfavourable career progression with long periods of unemployment. They are mainly older workers with lower education levels. Female was also overrepresented in this profile, with slight personality differences.

There are individual differences in the capacity to make sense of experience and events and the capacity to cope with difficulties and challenges proactively. However, these two resources are not stable traits and are affected by the environment. With a daily-dairy study, Prof. Massoudi’s team asks people through five consecutive workdays at random moments in their work what they are doing and which type of tasks they are performing. Results show that stimulating tasks lead to higher engagement at a daily level, especially for those with higher job autonomy, and that meaningful tasks bring about higher engagement at a daily level, especially for people with higher job variety.

In terms of future challenges, Prof. Massoudi underlined that one of their research focuses will be New Ways of Working (NWW) and how they affect people’s wellbeing and employability. He stressed that actions and measures need to be taken at individual, organizational and structural levels.

Our fourth speaker Prof. Xianmin Gong, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, presented his work in collaboration with Prof. Freund on changes in personal goals across adulthood and discussed the implications for lifelong learning. Prof. Gong underlined that there had been a lot of discussion about how to close the digital divide in the older population. Apart from encouraging and teaching them to use digital devices, increasing the accessibility of the digital services, and the comprehensibility of learning/teaching materials, goal (or motivation) is one of the most critical factors determining success in learning.

Prof. Gong explained that there are three types of personal goals: goals oriented towards gains/growth (e.g., acquisition of knowledge and skills), goals oriented towards maintenance (e.g., maintenance of functions and social networks), and goals oriented towards loss avoidance (e.g., prevention of diseases). Research findings show that younger adults have a stronger goal orientation towards gains and growth, whereas older adults have a stronger orientation towards maintenance and loss avoidance.

In order to investigate the reason why personal goals change from young to late adulthood, Prof Gong and Prof. Freund developed a cognitive evaluation model based on the loss hypothesis, gain hypothesis, and the role of sense of control. In this model, several key evaluation processes determine goal selection, and they can be influenced by factors such as accumulated resources, satisfaction, sense of control, past experiences of gains, and losses. Prof. Gong took the smartphone as an example and gave several general suggestions, including facilitating older adults’ feelings of the want/need for using a smartphone, enhancing the perceived possibility of mastering the new skill, and reducing the risks and threats of losses.

In the Q&A session, topics such as ways to change the narrative around work to make it feel less exhausting, management practices that will facilitate adjustment to new ways of working, and how the research findings could be integrated into the operation of co-working spaces were discussed.

Finally, a great appreciation to our speakers, Prof. Alexandra M. Freund, Prof. Emily M. David, Prof. Koorosh Massoudi, and Prof. Xianmin Gong, for their availability and great insights. We also would like to thank the audience who joined our fifth nexFrontier webinar and participated in the dynamic discussions. Looking forward to meeting you at our next events!

Swiss Education Ecosystem

By Ruiye Wang, Junior Project Manager - Digital Hospitality

Switzerland has been ranked as the most innovative country for 11 years successively with 27 Nobel prize laureates among 8.6 million population. Discussing the key features of the Swiss education ecosystem, diversity, cultural embracement, innovation, and excellence is inevitable to be mentioned.

Co-organized with École hôtelière de Lausanne, Swissnex in China presented a webinar session Swiss Education Ecosystem collaboration with Swiss Learning and EHL Advisory Services on January 14th, 2022. Swiss Education Ecosystem has included all the academic stages in Switzerland in the discussion, from the junior academy to higher education and applied sciences.

As a professional institution of junior academy and boarding schools in Switzerland, Shao Qing, Education Consultant from Swiss Learning China, showcased her insights during the webinar session. Swissnex in China as a connecting dot between Switzerland and China in the field of innovation, research, and education, Libing Gu, Head of Academic Relations in Swissnex in China, presented the excellence of Swiss public higher education. Hospitality education, as one of the essential elements in Swiss applied sciences education system, Jean-Baptiste, Consultant from EHL Advisory services, has shared his insights and life experience in terms of Swiss hospitality education.

Click here to watch the recording.

Exoplanets: Fascinating Worlds Beyond our Solar System

By Nils Feldmann, Project Coordinator - Science Outreach & Diplomacy

Having been captivated by the idea of distant worlds – and potentially even life – existing somewhere beyond our solar system for millennia, humankind currently finds itself in a very exciting time for exoplanet research. 

 

Since the discovery of the first planets beyond our Solar System, also known as “exoplanets”, in 1992 by Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail, as well as the seminal discovery of “51 Pegasi b” – the first confirmed exoplanet to be in orbit around a Sun-like star – by Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz in 1995, researchers have detected thousands of these extrasolar worlds, thereby not only confirming their existence beyond any doubt, but also revealing a plethora of fascinating insights regarding the properties of individual planets, their atmospheres, and the planetary systems in which they are located.

 

Driven by increasingly powerful ground- and space-based telescopes, as well as sophisticated observational techniques, the field has subsequently grown considerably over the past two decades, and is currently transitioning from an era of discovery to one of physical and chemical characterization. 

 

In this context, Swissnex in China had the pleasure of welcoming four distinguished experts from the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS, the Chinese Society of Space Research (CSSR), and Sun Yat-sen University during the fourth edition of its “nexFrontier” webinar series, which was held on 25 November 2021, to provide precious first-hand insight into a few of the latest developments of this fascinating, and rapidly evolving, area of research.

Space Instrumentation Development Within the PlanetS Domains

Professor Nicolas Thomas, Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Bern, Principal Investigator of the Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS), and member of the NCCR PlanetS, kicked off the webinar with a short overview of the development of space instrumentation within the exoplanet domain, and within planetary sciences in general. 

Beginning with the observation that the “combination of ground-based observation, numerical modelling, and space-borne investigations has completely changed our perception of planetary formation and evolution within the past quarter of a century,” Prof. Thomas contends that there are two factors, which were crucial to the discovery of the first exoplanet:

1. Having the foresight to appreciate that stars could be influenced by the planets moving around them; and,

2. Developing the instrumentation to observe the motion induced by these planets.

 

With the latter evidently continuing to constitute a vital element of exoplanetary research today, Prof. Thomas proceeded to provide a few examples that illustrate why Switzerland, via the NCCR PlanetS, continues to be at the forefront of this expanding field.

 

Instrumentation for Extra-Solar Objects:

CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite: “CHEOPS”

Launched in December 2019, CHEOPS is not only special because it constitutes the first Swiss-led mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), but it is also the first space mission dedicated to studying known exoplanets. This is significant because by knowing exactly when and where to point the satellite to catch an exoplanet as it transits – passes in front of – its host star, scientists can obtain extreme-precision brightness measurements to observe highly precise transit light curves, from which an exoplanet's radius can be deduced. These measurements can in turn be combined with mass determinations made from previous ground-based spectroscopic surveys to enable researchers to accurately calculate a given planet’s density, and, by extension, to constrain its composition.  

To learn more about CHEOPS, click here.

PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars: “PLATO”

Scheduled to launch in 2026, this DLR (German Aerospace Center)-led ESA mission in particular aims to detect and characterize Earth-like rocky extrasolar planets that orbit in what is known as the “habitable zone” (a zone where liquid water can exist on the surface of a celestial object) around sun-like stars. The University of Bern is in turn supporting this mission by producing the flight model hardware.

To learn more about PLATO, click here.

Instrumentation for Solar System Objects

In addition to the aforementioned extra-solar missions, Prof. Thomas explained that the NCCR PlanetS is also deeply involved in the development of instruments to study solar system objects, as illustrated by their involvement in the “BepiColombo” and “Comet Interceptor” missions.

 

BepiColombo

Launched in October 2018, this joint ESA-JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) mission aims to study Mercury, Mercury is a particularly interesting object of study, because as an end-member in our own solar system, it can, in some ways, help researchers test some of the models of exoplanet formation and evolution. This is also in part because Mercury possesses the best surface properties of any terrestrial planet in our Solar System, as well as has an unusual magnetic field and geophysics, and, in the process, attempts to test theories that were developed by the current leader of the NCCR PlanetS, Prof. Dr. Willy Benz. For this, the University of Bern is contributing two experiments to the mission, including the most complex one: “BELA”, the first European laser altimeter built for interplanetary flight.

 

Mercury in turn constitutes a particularly interesting object of study, because as an end-member in our own solar system, it can, in some ways, help researchers to test some of the models of exoplanet formation and evolution. This is also in part because Mercury possesses the best surface properties of any terrestrial planet in our solar system, as well as has an unusual magnetic field and geophysics.

To learn more about BepiColombo, click here.

Comet Interceptor

In a similar vein, comets are also considered to be valuable objects of study to better understand planetary formation processes, as they are thought to have an interrelated origin with planets, and are therefore often considered to be leftover planetesimals, which are known as the “building blocks of planets”. To help drive this area of research forward, Switzerland is leading the development of the spacecraft’s main imaging system: “CoCa”.

To learn more about the Comet Interceptor, click here.

What to Expect in the Next 25 Years

Finally, Prof. Thomas concluded by providing a brief glimpse of what to expect in the far future with the envisioned launch of the “Large Interferometer for Exoplanets” (Life) telescope, which, as part of ESA’s Voyage 2050 framework, will aim to “characterize terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres and search for life outside the solar system.”

 To learn more about the LIFE mission, click here.

Habitable Exoplanet Search by Astrometry

Following the opening speech by Prof. Thomas, Prof. Dr. Ji Wu, President of the Chinese Society of Space Research (CSSR) and Former Director-General of the National Space Science Center (NSSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) provided a brief introduction into the main methods used to look for exoplanets, with a particular emphasis on the search for habitable exoplanets. 

 

Beginning with a short definition of a few key concepts, Prof. Wu underlined that in order for a planet to be considered as “habitable”, three main criteria need to be fulfilled:

1.     It must be a terrestrial (i.e., not gaseous), “Earth-like” (in size) planet

▪       If it is too small, it will not be able to hold an atmosphere, due to the lack of gravity

▪       If it is too big, only small forms of life will be able to live on it, due to the strong gravitational forces

2.     It must be located in the “habitable zone”

▪       I.e., liquid water can exist on its surface

3.     It must be orbiting a Sun-type star

To find these Earth-like exoplanets, researchers have a variety of methods at their disposal. Nonetheless, as explained by Prof. Wu, most discoveries have been made with one of the following two approaches:

1.     Radial velocity method

▪       Aims to detect subtle changes in the radial (line-of-sight) velocity of a star, which are caused by the fact that a planet’s orbit offsets the planetary system’s center of gravity, thereby causing its host star to "wobble" back and forth.

▪       This method can also be used to determine a planet’s mass.

2.     Transit method

▪       Aims to detect the periodic dip in stellar light caused by a planet passing in front of – “transiting” –  the face of its host star.

▪       This method can also be used to determine a planet’s radius.

However, despite the fact that there are an estimated (according to the so-called “Drake Equation” ) 2 billion habitable Earth-like planets in our universe, and between 50 and 1,000 in our galaxy alone, researchers have, until now, only been able to find massive, Jupiter-like planets, or planets with extremely short periods (less than 100 days) – both of which would not be able to sustain humans (the gravitational forces on massive, Jupiter-like planet would be far too strong. Short periods on the other hand imply that a planet is orbiting extremely close to its host star, and is therefore too hot).

According to Prof. Wu, this can be explained by the fact that there is currently no suitable method for discovering Earth-like exoplanets, because although the transit or radial velocity methods excel at detecting so-called “edge-on” planets – i.e., planets whose elliptical plane is facing in the direction of the observer – they cannot be used to discover exoplanets orbiting in any other constellation, such as “face-on”.

 

To circumvent this limitation, Prof. Wu and his team are therefore turning to a different approach, known as “astrometry”. This method consists of trying to “measure tiny changes in the star's position as it wobbles around the center of mass of the planetary system,” thus making it possible to not only detect “edge-on” exoplanets but also “face-on” ones, as well as those with other inclination angles. However, until now, researchers have struggled to achieve the high level of precision needed for this method, and as a result, only one exoplanet has been discovered using this method so far.

According to Prof. Wu, this is bound to change in the near future however, thanks to the planned launch of the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) “Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey” (CHES) mission, which aims to discover Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars via high-precision astrometry.

 

Strange New Worlds: Planets Beyond the Solar System

Following this in-depth explanation of astrometry by Prof. Wu, Prof. Dr. Monika Lendl, Astrophysicist and Assistant Professor at the University of Geneva, as well as a member of the NCCR PlanetS, continued the webinar by providing additional information regarding the discovery and characterization of extra-solar planets, as well by presenting a few noteworthy results that they recently obtained from the CHEOPS mission.

 

Taking a step back, Prof. Lendl began by providing a helpful analogy to illustrate just how difficult it is to detect an exoplanet. Specifically, according to Prof. Lendl, when trying to detect a large, Jupiter-sized planet, one can imagine being located in Geneva and attempting to detect a candle, or a firefly, that is sitting next to a bright lighthouse on the other side of Switzerland, near the Bodensee (approximately 300 km away).

Despite the challenges associated with this task, astronomers have not only been able to detect over 4,000 exoplanets so far but, by combining various techniques, particularly the radial velocity- and transit methods, they are also able to significantly constrain their composition.

 

As previously mentioned, the characterization of these newly discovered worlds currently constitutes a key focus for exoplanet research. This in turn requires, the ability to measure precise radii, which is exactly what the CHEOPS space mission was designed for. To illustrate what this means in reality, Prof. Lendl subsequently presented the following research highlights:

 

ν² Lupi

While studying two small exoplanets –  “ν² Lupi b” and “ν² Lupi c” – orbiting the naked-eyed star “ν² Lupi”, the CHEOPS mission was not only able very precisely measure their radii, but thus enable researchers to subsequently characterize their composition, but it also unexpectedly spotted a third planet – dubbed “ν² Lupi b” – transiting ν² Lupi. Even more excitingly, this newly discovered exoplanet has a period of over 100 days, thereby making it the first long-period low-mass planet known to transit a naked-eye star.

To learn more about ν² Lupi, click here.

TOI-178

While studying a curious planetary system known as “TOI-178”, which, according to initial observations made by NASA’s “Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite” (TESS) mission, hosted three transiting planets, CHEOPS revealed that TOI-178 in fact harbors at least 6 exoplanets with extremely short periods. Not only that, but the period ratios of the outer 5 planets follow an 18:9:6:4:3 pattern, thereby forming a unique resonant chain of planetary orbits. Their sizes and masses do not follow such an orderly pattern, however, thereby challenging current planet formation theories.

To learn more about TOI-178, click here.

WASP-189b

Prof. Lendl subsequently introduced a slightly different type of science that they have been doing with CHEOPS, which relates to the characterization of the planetary atmosphere. Specifically, when studying WASP-189b, the team conducted their observations when the planet passed behind its host star, thereby enabling them to deduce the planet’s temperature, based on the amount of light emitted by the planet that was blocked during that time.

To learn more about WASP-189b, click here.

To conclude, Prof. Lendl provided a brief overview of what is to come in exoplanetary research, as scientists move from studying hot planets and gas giants to attempting to discover extrasolar terrestrial planets in the habitable zone around sun-like stars with ESA’s “PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars” (PLATO) mission, to study the atmospheres of small, cool planets with ESA’s “Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large” (Ariel) survey, and, finally, to study the atmospheres of terrestrial planets with the next generation of space telescopes.

A Brief History of Planetary Systems

To close the webinar, Prof. Dr. Shang-Fei Liu, Associate Professor at the School of Physics and Astronomy and Chinese Space Station Telescope Center for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area of Sun Yat-sen University, provided an insightful overview of the formation and evolution of planetary systems.

 

Beginning with a short historical perspective, Prof. Liu explained that the most widely accepted scenario that explains the formation and evolution of our solar system was initially proposed in the 18th century by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant and is known as the so-called “nebular hypothesis”. According to this theory, the solar system was formed from a spinning disk of dust and gas – also known as a “protoplanetary disk” – in which the tiny grains of dust gradually grew in size to eventually form the cores of planets, or, in the case of terrestrial planets, the planets themselves.

To test this model, researchers subsequently used powerful ground-based and space-based instruments to look for and observe planets around young stars, as well as sophisticated computer models to better understand the physics behind the planetary formation. Interestingly, these modern methods have largely confirmed Kant’s original proposition.

 

In this context, determining the interior composition of planets is a particularly important area of research, as this provides scientists with vital clues to the history of how these celestial bodies were formed. As such, there is a considerable emphasis on studying the planets within our solar system, because unlike with extrasolar planets, we can send spacecraft to orbit these planets, thereby enabling scientists to, for example, measure their gravitational field. This data is valuable, as it can subsequently be used to interpret their interior structure.

These measurements can in turn also lead to big changes in our understanding of planetary formation. One example of this was the discovery that, contrary to the standard theory, which assumed that Jupiter possessed a tiny, metallic core, gravity measurements gathered by NASA’s Juno mission suggested that it instead has a diluted, “fuzzy” core. To explain this unexpected discovery, Prof. Liu, together with colleagues from the NCCR PlanetS, proposed that Jupiter’s formation may have been disrupted by a head-on collision with an impactor 10 times the mass of Earth. This question however remains open to this day.

Finally, Prof. Liu concluded with a brief overview of the current efforts to better understand the formation of white dwarfs. This is an important topic because over 95% of the stars in our solar system will eventually turn into white dwarf at the end of their nuclear burning stage. In this context, researchers are particularly interested in the mechanism by which white dwarfs accrete planetary material from the surrounding planetary system, as well as in determining the composition of this material.

Helpful links

 

Webinar Recording: click here.

Information on exoplanet science provided by ESA:

·       A brief introduction to exoplanets

·       Exoplanet detection methods

·       A zoo of exoplanets

·       The future of exoplanet research

Einstein Days: Get the Elites!

By Libing Gu, Head of Academic Relations

The academic landscape in Switzerland comprises twelve public universities awarding doctorate degrees and eight universities of applied science that offer a more practice-focused approach to studying. According to the universitas21 ranking, Switzerland has the world’s second-best education system. The country is also an excellent hub for top universities, with outstanding Swiss universities regularly ranking among the top universities globally, especially for science and technology. In addition, Switzerland also hosts the headquarters of international organizations such as the United Nations and public research institutions such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

 

Swissnex in China curated a Swiss Education Pavilion at China Education Expo (CEE) in Beijing (Oct 23-24) and Shanghai (Oct 30) to represent all the Swiss public universities and answer visitors’ questions about studying and living in Switzerland. The China Education Expo is an exhibition tour of the China Education Association for International Exchange. It is a leading event for foreign schools to expand their presence in what is potentially the world’s largest recruitment market. More than 20 national pavilions were actively represented at China Education Expo, including Switzerland. The exhibition tour attracted 12,000 visitors in Beijing and over 5,000 in Shanghai.

CEE Beijing with on-site support from Embassy of Switzerland in China

CEE Shanghai

The onsite exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai were complemented with a virtual event on November 4. The Zoom webinar brought together high-level representatives and accomplished alumni of five top Swiss universities to share with Chinese top talents first-hand information about study programs and university choices. For EPFL, we invited the Vice President for Academic Affairs Prof. Jan Hesthaven and alumnus Prof. Jiandong Feng, Professor at Department of Chemistry at Zhejiang University. Vice Rector Prof. Jean-Marc Triscone represented University of Geneva, along with alumna Feng Lin, Protocol and Events Coordinator at Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai. For ETH Zurich, we had Anders Hagström, Head International Affairs as well as Xueying Mao, Chief Representative of rqmicro AG China Rep Office. For University of Basel there were Head of Research Group Nanobiology, Biozentrum, Prof. Roderick Lim and alumna Dr. Binlu Huang, Co-Founder & Tech Lead at CellX. Finally, Prof. Harald Gall, Dean of Faculty of Business, Economics and Information, represented University of Zurich, together with Sedef Biçer, International Scholars Advisor as well as alumna Caitlyn Li serving at Paypal as Enhanced Due Diligence Investigator.

The webinar started with an introduction to the Education, Research and Innovation (ERI) System of Switzerland by Mr. Danli Zhou, CEO ad interim of Swissnex in China. Then, each of the university representatives gave a short overview of their respective institution, including aspects such as its history, research focus and programs for international students. In the next session, the five alumni who have pursued a Master, PhD or Postdoctoral degree at these institutions shared their experience and gave advice to the audience regarding school choices and applications. The webinar was concluded with a dynamic Q&A session, where the university representatives addressed some of the frequently asked questions by the audience.

 

The webinar attracted a total number of 430 audience to register. Majority of them are current students, professors and administrative staff at top-tier Chinese universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of Sciences and Technology of China.

Group participation organized by Chinese university

Both events were very successful, showcasing the variety and the quality of the curricula as well as the excellence of Swiss higher education and research and attracting top Chinese talents to study and conduct research in Switzerland.

 

We want to express our appreciation for all the Swiss public universities for their engagement, and in particular the university representatives and alumni for their informative presentations and thoughtful answers during virtual event. If you are interested in learning more about higher education opportunities in Switzerland, you can read more here or email us for information at academia.china@swissnex.org. 

 

Please find a link to the webinar recording here.

Future of Elderly Care: Robotics for Healthy Ageing

By Libing Gu, Head of Academic Relations

It is estimated that by 2050 the world population aged over 65 will triple from 6.9% to 20%.  While longevity is an important achievement of modern day, it does present challenges in terms of caring for an increasingly frail older population. On September 13, 2021, in the third edition of the nexFrontier series, we invited experts from NCCR Robotics, EPFL, ETH Zurich and Shanghai Jiao Tong University to introduce a wide variety of emerging robotic technologies and products that are being developed to meet the challenges of ageing societies.

To start with, Professor Pierre Dillenbourg, Associate Vice-President for Education at EPFL, Core PI at NCCR Robotics presented to us the palm-size Cellulo, a robot initially designed for school and then used for the gamification of rehabilitation activities for stroke patients. Traditionally, the rehabilitation training for stroke patients includes monotonous activities like table-cleaning and as a result, only 30% of the patients are committed. Iteratively co-designed with neurologists, therapists and patients, Cellulo motivates stroke patients effectively in their rehabilitation.  A typical exam is a physical Pacman game: a player moves the robot to collect fruits in a maze while two other robots (ghosts) try to catch him. The complexity of the maze, the speed and number of ghosts and their strategies can be adapted to the level of the player.

The research results show that less impaired patients benefit more than those who are more impaired, paving the road for the project of “Silver Haptic”, which consists of the development of a variety of games for elderly at home, in elderly center of the community or nursing home to practice motor, cognitive and social skills. These games could be played either alone or with family or therapists in presence or at distance. Other key advantages include adaptivity empowered by real-time data collection as well as low cost compared to most of the medical technologies.  

Secondly, Professor Guang-Zhong Yang, Chair Professor, Dean of the Institute of Medical Robotics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Editor-in-Chief, Science Robotics, discussed the role of robotics for the ageing society and how surgical, assistive and rehabilitation robots will be used in future years. Under the global healthcare trends, there are many issues resulting from ageing population such as dementia, cardiovascular diseases and chronic diseases, to name a few. Robotic technologies are needed to develop their prevention (e.g. imaging), diagnosis (e.g. sensing), treatment (e.g. minimum invasive technique) and evaluation (e.g. rehabilitation devices). Besides, ageing body requires assistance for its brain and nervous system, respiratory system, musculoskeletal system as well as visual and sensory system. Wearable and implantable devices are widely used in clinical care to enhance the sensory feedback, motor function and the independence of these aged people. In terms of robotics, one of the areas that a large number of research have been dedicated to is robotic surgery. For octogenarians, the trauma one can experience due to surgery is very limited. Using minimum invasive means allows us to perform a surgery otherwise too challenging or too risky for the aged group. Many platforms have been thus developed for neuro/ENT, laparoscopic, orthopaedic and endoluminal surgery.

Prof. Yang gave an illustration of a joint replacement surgery. In this platform where his team was involved, the robotic system was integrated into the surgical workflow very well, reducing effectively the complication and increasing accuracy and consistency. There are more different techniques currently developed by research institutions and commercial organizations, such as upper and lower exoskeletons to enhance musculoskeletal functions. In terms of technological trend, more and more devices are moving towards soft exoskeleton system because of its safety and low cost. Another fast-growing area is EMG/EEG based human-robot interaction, which allows more active assistance that can be used in practice. Many commercial platforms are already on the market (Armeo, Ekso, Gypsy, Lokomat), including many systems developed by Swiss companies and research groups.

Prof. Yang stressed that robots are not just providing physical support, it is even more important to create a system that ensures seamless robot-human integration. In this respect, there are many new developments reported in Science Robotics for which Prof. Yang is the Founding Editor. For instance, the biomimetic sensory feedback through peripheral nerve stimulation improves dexterous use of bionic hand, allowing us to manipulate more complex, soft and delicate objects. This is the general direction the research community is driving towards, partially due to the advances in material science, the sensor integration as well as the ability in terms of modelling.

Prof. Guang-Zhong Yang draw the conclusion that the future development of robots for elderly care will be based on the principle of “4Cs (compliant, continuum, cooperative, cognitive)” and the research focus will be pushing the levels of autonomy of surgical robots towards level 2 and the one of assistive robots towards level 4 or 5.

Subsequently, Professor Robert Riener, Co-Director of NCCR Robotics, Full Professor at ETH Zurich and University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich presented in his talk new patient-cooperative and easy-to-use robotic devices that improve the rehabilitation of arm movements and gait. Prof. Riener underlined that robots can be very useful to restore movement abilities of upper and lower limbs. First, they can promote neuro-rehabilitation as training devices after neurological injuries such as spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury and stroke. Taking stroke for example, every year there are 16 million new cases worldwide and more than 90% of the time, these patients are lying in bed and the time which could be used for therapy is very limited. As higher intensity of training leads to better rehabilitation outcome, Prof. Riener’s lab developed an arm therapy robot called ARMin, which is the 1st exoskeleton applied to the therapy of stroke patients. To increase patient compliance, a path controller was implemented in ARMin III where the robot behaves assistive, corrective when needed, supports and does not restrict the patient. The same path controller was also adopted in Lokomat for gait training.

Evidences show that the combination of physical activity and cognitive activity will enhance the neuro-plastic effects, bringing a better quality of life for the patient.  This is the reason why game scenario, daily living tasks and collaborative/competitive activities are implemented in rehabilitation robots to make the training more interactive and motivating.

The second function of rehabilitation robot is providing support to patients or elders with gait impairments in daily life situations. Prof. Riener showed one of the products developed in his lab called MyoSwiss, a soft exoskeleton that helps people with muscle weakness regain their mobility and independence. The exosuit is already commercially available and the cost is affordable also for home use.

However, for assistive devices, there are still some technical challenges in terms of difficulties in the control of the device and energy supply. In order to promote the development of these technologies, Prof. Riener initiated Cybathlon in 2013, a new kind of Olympics-style championship, where people with physical disabilities compete against each other at tasks of daily life, with the aid of robotic technologies. The first two international competition took place in Zurich in 2016 and 2020. Since then, the Cybathlon platform has been continuously developing and the next one will take place in 2024.

Our fourth speaker Professor Le Xie, Vice Director of Rehabilitation Engineering Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University introduced to us the application of virtual reality technology in rehabilitation. A large number of studies show that patients can learn motor skills in a virtual environment, where repeated practice, performance feedback and motivation techniques are ensured by VR technologies. Prof. Xie showed us several VR training systems developed by his lab. The first example was a VR training system for robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation. The assistant robot with multi-joints was designed based on the seven degrees of freedom of human upper limb.  During the 3D modelling phase, 3Ds Max was used to increase the immersive experience.

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Another example was hand rehabilitation and assessment system with virtual games such as getting the balloon, playing the piano, moving the ball and picking the fruit.  The system trains effectively the hand flexion and extension of the patients and collects real-time data to monitor the rehabilitation progress.

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In the Q&A session, topics such as technical/commercial/ethical challenges, connection between rehabilitation robotics and video gaming industry, available robotic device to prevent frailty and possible use of robots in nursing home were discussed.

Finally, a great appreciation to our speakers Prof. Pierre Dillenbourg, Prof. Guang-Zhong Yang, Prof. Robert Riener, and Prof. Le Xie, for their availability and great insights. We also would like to thank the audience who joined our third nexFrontier webinar and participated in the dynamic discussions. Looking forward to meeting you at our next events!

Digital Fabrication: Shaping the Future of Architecture

By Lefei Chen, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

Architecture, as an interdisciplinary field, has always been both challenger and utilizer of cutting-edge technologies of its era. Moving towards the 4th Industrial Revolution, digital fabrication with its new advancements in computational manufacturing opens a new realm for a high-quality, future-oriented, large-scale architecture environment, blurring the lines between digital design and physical construction. In the first edition of our nexFrontier series on April 20th, high-profile speakers from Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication, ETH Zurich, Tongji University and Southeast University introduced us to this sci-fi-like world that makes architectural intelligence the reality.

Celebrating the debut of the new nexFrontier series, Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul & CEO of Swissnex in China gave a welcome speech introducing nexFrontier as the newly launched webinar series to spotlight cutting-edge research in Switzerland and China, with a particular focus on NCCRs and top-class research labs in China. We hope that this new series could introduce the most pioneering research advancements to an enthusiastic audience while promoting potential exchanges and collaborations.

Firstly, Prof. Dr. Philippe Block from the Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA) at ETH Zurich, Director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication (DFAB), introduced the NCCR DFAB. Its main research focus is to overcome the challenges to be brought by the huge increase of the world population by 2.1 billion by the year of 2050. Translated into the number of new constructions, this means an equivalent of one New York city every month for the next forty years, which will be accompanied by more emissions, construction wastes and energy consumptions. DFAB believes that architects need to change the way of design and building structures. Started in 2014, DFAB has engaged over 140 dedicated researchers from prestigious Swiss universities. Lots of researches have been scaled up into real construction applications. For example, as an experiment house, the roof of the DFAB is robotically assembled relying on a new digital timber construction method developed by researchers from ETH Zurich.

Architect lab, robotically assembled roof

Prof. Dr. Philippe Block  stressed that DFAB is committed not only to bringing new technologies and methods but also to offering these methods to the world and engage the manufacturing industry. In the third phase of its development, DFAB is planning to tackle four grand challenges: the first is digital timber, which will bring the digitized timber industry into the next level by augmenting true interaction with robot onsite; the second is digital concrete, which is going to explore how reinforcement and concrete go together; the third challenge is digital construction site, where DFAB will look at the balance between full automation onsite, capitalizing on large-scale robotic, and additive manufacturing to cooperate working robots, etc.;  the fourth challenge is digital collaboration, how we can learn from what we do, fully understanding the socio-economical impact of all the technologies that have been introduced.

Prof. Block also introduced one of his projects on rethinking and reducing the most wasteful structure elements - the floor. In medium-high buildings, 75% of its weight is in structure, and more than half of the weight is on the floor. Bringing back historical principles of compression and the advancement of digital fabrication in shaping this non-standard structural geometry, Prof. Block’s team significantly reduced the volume of concrete and steel needed and made the content 100% recyclable and carbon-free.

1.5 tons of ETH researchers sitting on a thin 2cm structure

Then, Prof. Dr. Philip Yuan, Associate Dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) at Tongji University, introduced Digital FUTURES, a global platform launched in 2011 by Prof. Dr. Philip Yuan and Prof. Neil Leach, focusing on research and education that addresses digitalization in architecture and design. Every year, DigitalFUTURE organizes conferences, webinars, and workshops according to its annual theme, and invites prominent educators from leading schools of Architecture and architecture associates to create diverse, inter-cultural, and meaningful dialogues. Last year, DigitalFUTURE got the Innovative Academic Program Award of Excellence by ACADIA.

Prominent Educators at Digital FUTURES

Prof. Yuan said that the workshops are mostly cross-disciplinary, covering fashion design material science, computational design, and digital fabrication. Last year, despite the pandemic, digitalFUTURE has received about 12295 applications from all over the world, reaching a new peak since its initiation.

Publications co-authored by Prof. Dr. Philip Yuan

In parallel with DigitalFUTURE events, Prof. Yuan has co-authored and published a series of books where young architects can learn and engage in computational design and robotic fabrication. In the end, Prof. Yuan shared different research projects from his team, progressing from Robotic 3D Printing (2017), Robotic Metal Printing (2018) to Multi-material Robotic Fabrication (2019).

DigitalFUTURES 2019: Multi-Material Robotic Fabricated Bridge

Subsequently, Prof. Dr. Benjamin Dillenburger, Professor at the Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA) at ETH Zurich, Principal Investigator at NCCR Digital Fabrication, introduced his research on additive construction. He stressed that we need to rethink the use of construction materials, prefabrication, building-elements for future construction. To illustrate this idea, Prof. Dillenburger took the construction of the highly automated elements from the car industry as an example and raised the question of whether we can manufacture buildings like cars. Large-scale additive manufacturing in collaboration with computational design is a promising technology to help achieve that. He showed us his work on both small-scale printers and large-scale (4m-2m-1m) printers that can work constantly for 48 hours and in high resolution that is 100 times more than the print we use currently.

Large-scale (4m-2m-1m) printers

He said that this technology allows architects to make highly bespoke and differentiated elements. Therefore, using manufacturing fabrication in robotic degree means complexity is not a challenge in architecture anymore where fabricating a simple rectangular box is not faster than fabricating a highly complicated and differentiated work as shown below.

Architecture presented in Exhibition in France

He also pointed out the potential of additive manufacturing in dematerialization. Instead of creating 200kg concrete building waste that is carbon-intensive, 3D printing could optimize the process by removing the redundant materials via computer to make the topology. Machine learning in this case was introduced to allow very direct design in the optimization routine.

Last but not least, Prof. Dr. Hao Hua, Associate Professor at Institute of Architectural Algorithms & Applications at Southeast University introduced his research focuses on generative art, which transforms codes into graphics and geometries by using Processing - a programming software nowadays widely used by scientists and artists and believed to have huge potential in generative arts. Processing can simulate dynamical systems which develop abstract line patterns that come from either human imagination or nature, and these beautiful and creative patterns could be applied to the design of clothes, bottles, and fans, etc.

T-shirt using generative art to mimic the image of nature

Prof. Hua underlined that this technology teaches a machine how to recognize a flower, where the designer should fit data with a family of polynomials to make a parametric model and then make the final composition.

Machine learning process to recognize a flower

Besides, he explained that generative arts can also help to collect, analyze and recombine previous cases by recognizing structure information of the architect through programming. After that, the computer could use this structure data to make new designs. Once providing the basic requirements, computers could provide thousands of solutions within a second. However, as Prof. Hua mentioned, in this case, it is interesting to rethink the relationship between designer and machine, because the machine could be very creative.

Multiple design solutions by computer

In the Q&A session, speakers answered questions about the challenges in digital fabrication. Prof. Yuan said we should engage this highly efficient, precise, and sustainable technology into the architecture industry globally as quickly as possible to reduce the heavy carbon emission and waste by the traditional construction method. Prof. Block stressed that in the initial stage of digital fabrication, it is for this newcomer to challenge a traditional construction system that has existed for hundreds of years. People are still doubting many aspects including the cost and safety of the new materials. However, what is more important for us to evaluate is the impact and value-added of this technology on sustainability and our future. Cooperative efforts from the government, builders, and customers are necessary to enable the wide application of this technology. Prof. Dillenburger added that in order to popularize digital fabrication, workers with new design and building knowledge are highly demanded. However, today, there is still a gap of knowledge, education, and labor in this area. This is a challenge, but also a big opportunity for the future of education. Prof. Hua said that students in architecture usually have a stereotype in their designing process where they usually presumed a specific shape in a conventional way instead of a wider range of possibilities and imaginations. Therefore, it is important for students to think about design in a computation way with infinite possibilities.

We would like to thank the 1000+ audience (via Zoom and livestream) who joined our first nexFrontier webinar and participated in the dynamic conversations. We appreciate all the speakers for their insightful and inspiring contributions. Swissnex in China will continue to bring about more exciting events, please stay tuned!

Novel Material Discovery: The Marvel of Computational Science

By Lefei Chen, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

Materials are at the core of key solutions to challenges we are facing today, from energies and environment to health and biomedical engineering, etc. When Steve Jobs published the first iPhone using a transparent conductor to remove the keyboard, people knew all smart changes were possible. Thanks to the advancement of computational science, the long and painstaking process of new material discovery has been largely automated with an additional sense of creativity. In order to know more about this promising area, on June 22, 2021, in the second edition of nexFrontier series, we invited experts from NCCR MARVEL (Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research on Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials), EPFL, Fudan University and Beihang University to introduce us into this wonderland.

First, Professor Nicola Marzari, director of NCCR MARVEL gave us a funny example of how computational science can help scientists to predict the properties of materials from the First Principle without actually doing the experiments. For example, in Swiss watch industry, the quantum mechanical simulation could help to predict the colors and shapes of metal Aurum into metallics in a fast and authentic way without actually making the object.

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Professor Marzari said that as the computational simulation gets increasingly faster with the development of information and communication technologies, a trillion-dollar market is prospected over the next decade. Seizing the trends of future development, Switzerland started the National Centre on Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials in 2014, engaging 41 experts from 12 swiss institutions with an idea that a number of principal investigators could work for 12 years around this ground-breaking area. With a generous budget around 50 million CHF, the centre could start ambitious initiatives including harvesting materials for energy collection, storage and conversion, materials for ICT, high tech and pharmaceuticals etc.

Professor Marzari then elaborated on a project in the computational exfoliation of all known inorganic materials. Since low-dimensional materials are very different from 3-dimensional materials regarding their physics and chemistry aspects, the exfoliation of inorganic materials into layered structures would greatly help to define their individual properties. Powered by a big database encompassing known inorganic mechanical materials with one million different structures, scientists could use the computer to figure out whether these materials are geometrically layered rather than 3 dimensional so that characterization using quantum mechanical simulations are possible. At the same time, a powerful calculation system can automatically calculate the various properties of around a million materials in the database without any human intervention.

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Secondly, Professor Xingao Gong from Key Laboratory of Computational Physics Science of Fudan University, elaborated on how to understand solar cells, the energy harvesting materials, from the perspective of computational studies. Based on the photoelectric effect, the solar cell has become very popular in striving toward carbon neutrality. In the next 50 years, it is expected that solar cell would provide over 30% of electricity in China.

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In order to get the most efficient solar cell in Photoelectric conversion, we need to find materials that have good properties in VBM and CBM to improve the process of light absorption, separation and transport of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, and collection of electric charge. In this aspect, computational science helped to design a system with multi ternary semiconductors for absorber with more elements and flexible properties. Currently, Cu2ZnSnS4 and Cu2ZnGeSe4, were figured out as the two best gap materials.

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Another example is the simulation of the solar cell’s interface consisting of CdS, the buffer and CdTe, the absorber to understand the function of this combined structure. However, the lattice mismatch between the two layers is too big for real-life simulation and the supercell has too many atoms for the application of First Principle. Professor Gong and his team solved this problem by using the Neural Network Potential using computational science, and then compared it with the real VASP potential. They are delighted to find that the difference between the two is very small.

Computational science not only can help design a new structure but also can test why a widely applied structure is the better one than many others, for example, by calculating the capture rate of Cu2ZnSnS4:Snzn and CH3NH3PbLPbi, that is, the defect in solar cell, we can know that the former one has a capture rate ten to the third power higher than that of the latter one, which means it can waste a lot of efficiency of the cell. Needless to say, computational science can contribute to the solar cell, absorber materials, interface properties defect and its related properties, which could play an important role in the application of solar energy.

In the area of chemistry, Professor Corminbeuf from EPFL, showed us computational chemistry in the age of big data with a focus on the theoretical framework in the concept of catalysis. It is surprising to know that instead of watch (10%), the largest share of export in Switzerland is chemical and pharmaceutical products, accounting for 44.8% of total Swiss export, and 90% of these chemical compounds are synthesized by the catalyst. Therefore, computational approaches do contribute significantly to this field. According to Sabatier’s principle, the active catalyst will balance the energy requirements for all steps, so it is very useful to build up maps that cover the different properties of catalysts and allow scientists to navigate upon in searching for the best catalyst.

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Relying on big data, different capabilities and regions of catalysts can be cast into very simple plugs - volcanic plugs which have only one descriptor that should be computable using the First Principle approach or accelerated using machine learning techniques. Then these different types of catalysts can be categorized into three types: too strong, too weak, and the ones that reach the Sabatier optimum. This smart technology has enabled interactive exploration of catalysts by screening, and 557 catalysts were identified in the small plateau region out of nearly 20000.

In the area of pharmaceuticals, Professor Wang from Beihang University presented to us how computational science could help in searching for the effective design of drug product. Usually, the drug particles we eat are wrapped in a wax capsule which can dissolve in our stomach; however, during the manufacturing process, the machine usually mixes the several substances together into a liquid form without control of the structure of the drugs. Traditional direct modelling usually requires a very sophisticated Multiphysics process and is multiscale in time and space. In this case, computational science can help to simplify the process through a surrogate model created between Local Geometry and the Global Property, the effective diffusion coefficient of the drugs, while using Minkowski functionals to present the geometric description of the porous network.

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This model could also provide sensitivity test to the manufacturer to understand which parameters have the most impact on the probability density function and help them to improve their drug design. Professor Wang stressed that thanks to computational science multidisciplinary collaborations between Physics, Mathematics, and pharmaceuticals are largely enabled and facilitate the exploration and discovery of new materials.

In the Q&A session, topics such as real-life simulation, collaboration with experimentalists, and advice for young talents were discussed.

Finally, great appreciation to our speakers Prof. Nicola Marzari, Prof. Xingao Gong, Prof. Clémence Corminboeuf, and Prof. Peng (Koby) Wang, for their availability and great insights. We also would like to thank the audience who joined our second nexFrontier webinar and participated in the dynamic conversations. Looking forward to meeting you at our next events!

Swiss Alumni China - Alumni Extravaganza at the Bund

By Lefei Chen, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

With last year’s memories still freshed in mind, on June 4th, 2021, Swissnex in China officially representing all Swiss Public Universities in China, hosted the annual grand SWISS ALUMNI CHINA soirée on the largest Merrystar Cruise Ship along Shanghai’s iconic Bund waterfront. With a network of about 3,000 Alumni from Swiss Public Universities, 375 Alumni from 25 Swiss Public Universities confirmed for this alumni extravaganza, traveling from all over China to Shanghai.

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This year’s gathering was graced by the presence of the Swiss Ambassador to China Bernardino Regazzoni and Consuls General in Chengdu and Shanghai.

Welcoming the soirée, Ambassador Regazzoni highlighted that this year’s event was the largest in scale since the first alumni event organized in Beijing in 2008. With two newly created chapters of Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) and University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) joining, this year’s gathering also has the record-high number of alumni chapters attending. He was glad to see the awareness as well as the number of attendants growing over the years.

He acknowledged that the Sino-Swiss exchange on research and academic has entered a new level since the Sino-Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation program established in 2003: about 3000 alumni of Swiss public universities in China, over 250 agreements between Chinese and Swiss public universities signed, more than 2000 Chinese students choose to study in Switzerland every year. Despite the current pandemic, Sino-Swiss cooperation on higher education does not stop. Notable new cooperation was created, including the Institute of Risk Analysis, Prediction and Management (Risks-​X), i.e. the first university-level collaborative research institute between ETH Zurich and Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China; the ground-breaking of the Shenzhen International School of Design, i.e. the first Sino-Swiss university in China; the creation of Swiss Innovation Centre by FHNW, BFH and Shenzhen Technology University; as well as other well-known cooperation projects such as the Geneva-Tsinghua-Initiative, which has gone through its third year and already cultivated hundreds of talents to tackle the SDG related problems.

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Concluding the speech, Ambassador Regazzoni underlined that the relationship between nations is not just about interactions between governments or leaders; rather, it is more about relationships between people, especially alumni who shared the same experiences studying and living in both Switzerland and China, and act as informal ambassadors upon their return. This event is a wonderful platform to exchange, foster the connection among the growing Swiss alumni communication and he wished the event a great success with an inspiring experience.

Following the Ambassador’s address, the floor was given to 9 active Alumni Chapters in Shanghai to share the latest news and present their activities. This year, Alumni from EHL (Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne) formed the biggest group, counting 58 of the registrants, closely followed by ETH Zurich and the University of St. Gallen’s 50 alumni. Alumni from other universities also witnessed great increases: 45 from University of Zurich, 37 from EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne), 32 from The Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID), 30 from University of Geneva, 17 from University of Lausanne, 12 from University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), 9 from University of Bern, 9 from University of Basel.

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The rest of the night was a networking reception complemented with a job fair activity, offering a high-in-demand platform for exchanging job perspectives. At the same time, it was a great opportunity for Alumni to stay connected and share ideas while enjoying an evening cruise along Shanghai's iconic Bund waterfront. The event highlights Switzerland’s excellence in education, research, and innovation, with the goal of fostering a strong community in China.

Swissnex in China Team would like to give a special thank to the chapters and our generous sponsors, Merrystar, Shanghai Mingxin Cruise, Lindt, Weleda, swissmooh, Nespresso, Appenzeller Bier, Kambly, bottlesXO! We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2022!

START Summit 2021: Seeding Future Innovations

By Lefei Chen, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

Swissnex in China is delighted to partner with  START Summit 2021 as streaming hub. On March 23rd and 26th, the program was successfully held onsite and live-streamed from Shanghai office along with other Swissnex global locations.

Kicking off the second day of the Summit, Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul & CEO, Swissnex in China and Sébastien Hug, CEO, Consul General, Swissnex in India introduced how Swissnex is fostering innovation worldwide, and sharing their respective experience in China and India regarding the entrepreneur atmosphere and styles.  Dr. Felix Moesner said that new innovations and IPs have been booming in China. Deep Tech, life science, Blockchain, Neobankings, and drones are among startups’ big list. China has a very competent startup ecosystem that could incubate ideas to user-friendly products with speed. On the same note, Swissnex in India CEO Sébastien Hug shared with us the rising of cost-effective innovations in India, and the recent focus on building up electric infrastructure for future digitalized systems such as fintech innovation system and digital health.

Dr. Felix Moesner and Sébastien Hug

Dr. Felix Moesner and Sébastien Hug

Then, Joleen Liang, Partner at unicorn Squirrel Ai Learning, delivered her keynote about how AI is empowering equity in education. She said that traditional education simply focused on the training of a child's knowledge acquisition and ignores the cultivation of Ability, Thinking, and Methods. AI-powered adaptive learning could quickly and precisely figure out students’ problems and provide personalized & high-quality tutoring at an affordable price. She said : “AI+education could effectively address the burning needs in our education today while providing equal distribution of educational opportunities for students in poor areas.”

Dennis Zhu, Joleen Liang, Dr. Felix Moesner

Dennis Zhu, Joleen Liang, Dr. Felix Moesner

Following that, Audrey Ma, Vice President, REFIRE Technology, Dirk Lehmann, eCap, Frédéric Veloso, GreenGT SA, and moderator Claudia Stahel, Correspondent in China, SRF - Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen kicked off a hybrid panel discussion on Hydrogen energy as an alternative to fossil fuels to meet the 2 ℃ scenario. Audrey Ma said that in China, hydrogen energy is mostly used in long-haul and heavy-loaded automobiles such as trucks, buses, and ships in an effort to clean the logistics, but hydrogen is much less used in small cars that consist of most of the private transport. Hydrogen fuel cell, an innovative energy format could bridge this gap by installing Hydrogen-powered batteries in FCVs. Panelists agreed that as both China and European countries have launched hydrogen strategy for decarbonization, a huge market is waiting for partnership and cooperation between Chinese and European companies in the near future.

Dennis Zhu, Claudia Stahel, Audrey Ma, Dr. Felix Moesner

Dennis Zhu, Claudia Stahel, Audrey Ma, Dr. Felix Moesner

On Friday (March 26th), a FiresideChat on Blockchain was launched with Vincent Y. Wang, Executive President, Wanxiang Blockchain and Chen Wu, Managing Director, The Economist Global Business Review. They inspiringly discussed blockchain technology for the masses, the industrial solutions using blockchain as well as advancements of industrial development and business adoption in this field. Vincent Y. Wang said that as an encrypted and traceable data monitoring technology, blockchain could create a new basis of trust for business transactions and thus lower the cost for trust-building between business partners and joint ventures. Beyond allocating capital, blockchain enables an incentive governance system using different evaluation standards based on the contributions and innovation efforts of respective partners with more shares going to companies that made more efforts. Besides, blockchain is also going to disrupt the financial sector. To explain blockchain-enabled tokenization i.e. the issuance of blockchain tokens that digitally represents real tradable assets, Vincent Y. Wang humorously illustrated that when any items such as pigs, cars, cows could be recorded in the blockchain system as assets, the financial industry could be more accessible, cheaper, faster, and easier, mobilizing more capitals. In the end, Chen Wu asked about the application of blockchain in building up smart cities, Vincent Y. Wang added that blockchain could also add value to the facial recognition system. “As facial recognition penetrates through corners, ‘recognize you without knowing who you are’ become more important to protect privacy.”

Chen Wu and Vincent Y. Wang

Chen Wu and Vincent Y. Wang

Today AI, Hydrogen energy, blockchain technology etc, are changing and refashioning the world. In addition to R&D, sharing and exchange with global startups is essential to prompt more brilliant innovations. As the streaming Hub of the 25th edition of START Summit 2021, Swissnex in China is honored to coordinate this hybrid event. We appreciate all the speakers and participants for their contribution and attention to this Summit, and we would like to thank the START Global team for organizing the event and making a difference. Future is here, more is to come!

Virtual Book Launch: The First Sino-Swiss Engineering Textbook

By Mianmian Fei, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

2020 marked the seventieth year of diplomatic relations between China and Switzerland. Over the past seven decades, there were numerous noteworthy cooperation between the two countries. In this webinar on January 14, 2021, we spotlighted the first Sino-Swiss engineering textbook titled Fundamentals of Machine Manufacturing Technology. The two authors, the university staff behind the book and a representative from Swiss manufacturing industry got together to present to our audience the whole picture of how this bilateral cooperation has come about with the hope to inspire Chinese and Swiss researchers for similar initiatives. 

I (top left) hosted the webinar with Prof. Dr. Wangyu Liu (top middle), Prof. Dr. Claudio R. Boër (top right), Mr. Bodong Stone Shi (bottom left), and Mr. Marco Boccadoro (bottom right).

I (top left) hosted the webinar with Prof. Dr. Wangyu Liu (top middle), Prof. Dr. Claudio R. Boër (top right), Mr. Bodong Stone Shi (bottom left), and Mr. Marco Boccadoro (bottom right).

One of the authors of the book, Prof. Dr. Wangyu Liu of the South China University of Technology (SCUT), kicked off the webinar with the reform history of the course of the same name, which she has been teaching for over 20 years, as a result of changes in the field and society. From a 360-hour Soviet model curriculum, “Fundamentals of Machine Manufacturing Technology” combines the content of six courses and shrinks the total teaching hour to 60. This new English-language textbook is based on three previous editions in Chinese and born out of a number of international resources and cooperation, and Prof. Dr.  Claudio Boër provided crucial assistance in this process by co-teaching the course with Prof. Dr. Liu starting from 2016. Besides some structure refinements and new content inputs, one highlight of the textbook is the development trend section after each chapter, which makes up for the lack of knowledge update in the previous editions. 

Structure of the book Fundamentals of Machine Manufacturing Technology. 

Structure of the book Fundamentals of Machine Manufacturing Technology. 

Prof. Dr. Liu’s presentation was followed by that of the other author of the textbook, Prof. Dr. Claudio R. Boër of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI). Prof. Dr. Boër first highlighted his personal involvement with Chinese academia and industry since the early 1990s. He then emphasized why cooperating with China in manufacturing engineering is important, as the country currently has the largest share of world’s manufacturing output. He concluded his presentation by saying that the process of structuring the textbook was a good compromise between the wishes for innovation and the reality to maintain consistency of the academic curriculum. He hopes soon to work on the next edition of the textbook with Prof. Dr. Liu to better integrate current engineering advances and transfer the knowledge to the future generation of engineers.

Next, Mr. Bodong Stone Shi gave his perspective on this cooperation as an alumnus of both universities. Stone got his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and Automation from SCUT and Master’s in Industrial Technology from SUPSI. After he graduated he has been working as the Chief Representative at the China Representative Office of SUPSI. Stone illustrated the potential benefits such an English-language textbook would bring with his experience pursuing higher education in Switzerland. Since the previous textbooks he used at SCUT were in Chinese, he initially found it difficult to transfer the knowledge he gained in China to his studies at SUPSI as he lacked the understanding of engineering jargons in English. He believes the textbook can help academia in both countries find the common “language” and foster more cooperation in the field. 

Fundamentals of Machine Manufacturing Technology co-authored by Prof. Dr. Wangyu Liu and Prof. Dr. Claudio R. Boër, is an English-language textbook published by the SCUT Press in Auguest 2020

Fundamentals of Machine Manufacturing Technology co-authored by Prof. Dr. Wangyu Liu and Prof. Dr. Claudio R. Boër, is an English-language textbook published by the SCUT Press in Auguest 2020

Lastly, Mr. Marco Boccadoro, an industry consultant working for Swiss company Georg Fischer Machining Solutions, briefly introduced to the audience the state-of-art of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM), a major electro-machining process, and its meaning in the context of the future industrial challenges. As mentioned by Prof. Dr. Liu and Prof. Dr. Boër, it is important to keep the knowledge updated in engineering education, and in the new edition of the textbook we are likely to see the contribution from Marco representing cutting-edge practices from Swiss manufacturing industry.

Indeed, a textbook is an incredible opportunity to bridge Switzerland and China not only in the field of manufacturing engineering but also in general cultural understanding. We want to express our great appreciation for Prof. Dr. Wangyu Liu, Prof. Dr. Claudio R. Boër, Mr. Bodong Stone Shi and Mr. Marco Boccadoro for their sharing of experience from such a meaningful cooperation. We are looking forward to more Sino-Swiss cooperation in both academia and industry in the near future. 

Please find a link to the slides and webinar recording below:

  • Recording: view and download here.

  • Slides: download here.

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Einstein Day: Come Study with the Best and Brightest in Switzerland!

By Mianmian Fei, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

The academic landscape in Switzerland comprises twelve public universities awarding doctorate degrees and eight universities of applied science which offer a more practice-focused approach to studying. According to universitas21 ranking, Switzerland has the world’s second best education system. The country is also an excellent hub for top universities, with outstanding Swiss universities regularly ranking among the top universities globally, especially for science and technology. In addition, Switzerland also hosts the headquarters of international organizations such as the United Nations and public research institutions such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Swiss universities.

Swiss universities.

On November 25, 2020, swissnex China held its second Einstein Day, which brought together vice presidents, provosts, deans and accomplished alumni of five top Swiss universities in a Zoom webinar to share with Chinese audience first-hand information about study programs and university choices. For EPFL, we invited the incoming Vice President for Academic Affairs Prof. Dr. Jan Hesthaven and alumnus Chuyao Peng, Founder and CEO of DeepMag. Vice President for Research and Corporate Relations Prof. Dr. Detlef Günther represented ETH Zurich, along with alumna Xueying Mao, Chief Representative of rqmicro AG China Rep Office. For University of Geneva, we had Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Stéphane Berthet as well as Yi Zheng, Head of Office at the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (TUSDG) who is pursuing a PhD degree at University of Geneva. For University of Basel there was Dean of Research Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hiller and alumnus Prof. Dr. Lichun He from the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Finally, Prof. Dr. Harald Gall, Dean of Faculty of Business, Economics and Information, represented University of Zurich, together with alumna Amy Weng working in Investment Sales Management at Credit Suisse.

The webinar started with an introduction to the Education, Research and Innovation (ERI) System of Switzerland by Dr. Felix Moesner, Science Consul and CEO of swissnex China. Then, each of the university representatives gave a short overview of their respective university, including aspects such as its history, host city, and focus in research. Afterwards, these five university representatives engaged in a panel discussion, in which they talked about questions regarding how their universities contribute to the innovation ecosystem in Switzerland and how they prepare their graduates for an ever-changing job market. In the next session, the five alumni who have pursued (or is currently pursuing) a Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD or Postdoctoral degree at these institutions shared their experience studying in Switzerland and gave advice to the audience regarding school choices and applications. The webinar was concluded with a Q&A session, where the university representatives addressed some of the frequently asked questions by the audience.

A view of all the speakers at the Einstein Day.

A view of all the speakers at the Einstein Day.

The webinar attracted a total number of 650 audience to register, with some additional audience watching through Bilibili livestreaming. Majority of them are current students, professors and administrative staff at top-tier Chinese universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University and University of Sciences and Technology of China. In total, our audience represent 34 universities in Mainland China and Hong Kong as well as 14 overseas universities in Switzerland, USA, UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Netherland, Malaysia and Nepal. In addition, we had industry representatives from world-renown companies such as Prudential, Roche, Schindler, and China Mobile.

We want to express our appreciation for university representatives and alumni for their informative presentations and thoughtful answers during the Q&A session. We hope the Einstein Day has provided our audience with useful information about studying in Switzerland. If you are interested in learning more about higher education opportunities in Switzerland, you can read more here or email us for information at academicrelations@swissnexchina.org.

Please find a link to the webinar recording here.

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Virtual Design, Testing and Operation in Aviation

By Mianmian Fei, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

 The digital world has changed how we design, test, and operate systems. A modern aircraft is an example of a complex system with different materials, propulsion, actuators, energy distribution, electronics and sensors. In the 6th edition of our Connected Series on October 21, 2020, Prof. Dr. Michel Guillaume from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and Dr. Xu Han from Beihang University introduced to us how intelligent design as well as virtual testing and operation in aviation are taking advantage of recent computer and simulation technology. While Prof. Dr. Guillaume’s presentation centered around the optimization of the aircraft’s life cycle, Dr. Han focused on actuation equipment, which is the elementary constituent of an aircraft. 

Libing Gu (middle), Head of Academic Relations at swissnex China, hosted the webinar with Prof. Dr. Guillaume (left) and Dr. Han (right).

Libing Gu (middle), Head of Academic Relations at swissnex China, hosted the webinar with Prof. Dr. Guillaume (left) and Dr. Han (right).

First, Prof. Dr. Guillaume, Head of the Centre of Aviation (ZAV) at ZHAW, gave us a presentation titled “Virtual Design and Operation for the Optimization of the Life Cycle.” He kicked off his presentation by giving an example of how complex a system a modern aircraft is – the Airbus A380 includes over 250,000 sensors. Today, the system interface of an aircraft is not only physical as it was the case of early days. Rather, it has become a digital database with increasing data sharing. 

As systems grow in performance and complexity, more and more design requirements are added for aircrafts. In the end, three factors are the core of design considerations: affordability, operability, and effectiveness. Beside these, we cannot ignore human factors – even if we talk about virtual design, there are still humans working on the algorithm of artificial intelligence. Instead, we should think more about the roles of humans in virtual design and operation. Who makes the key decisions? Can we trust autonomous systems in making key decisions? Where are the limits? 

Prof. Dr. Guillaume then introduced the life cycle of an aircraft. Today, it takes between 6 to 10 years to develop a certified aircraft from scratch. Then the aircraft will serve around 20 to 25 years. As aircrafts have become more and more digital today, the challenge is to accommodate changes of the data scene, supplier industry and domestic market during the two decades. He gave an example of the Airbus A320, which had a great market 20 years ago but went out of business now because there is no more demand in the market. 

The life cycle of an aircraft.

The life cycle of an aircraft.

One solution that all aerospace companies take now is CEASIOM, a framework developed 20 years ago that integrates discipline-specific tools like 3D Mesh Generator and flight control system to bring optimization to aircraft conceptual design. The key here, again, is the human. Even though we can optimize everything by computers, sometimes the solutions we get are not physically practical at all. As a result, we have to integrate in certain steps human experts to make the right decisions. 

Prof. Dr. Guillaume then showed us how the virtual airframe design works through each of the five levels of the design process. Today, the goal is to utilize more virtual testing and simulation to obtain fatigue certification and reduce development time. However, Prof. Dr. Guillaume emphasized that currently this strategy is good only for WindCube-designed aircraft. He believes we should go back to basic physics and get more familiar with the concepts for blend wind body design. Then we will be able to adjust our current tools and methodologies and eventually go into more simulation.

Today when we design an aircraft, we talk about its digital twin – a digital mockup of the aircraft. With the help of artificial intelligence and virtual reality, this technology enables us to take into account the operation of the aircraft in its design process. Indeed, the database of the digital twin is the base of digital design, which can help optimize operation and maintenance of the aircraft and achieve maintainability, reliability, and safety in the end. 

Digital twin of an aircraft.

Digital twin of an aircraft.

Data not only helps with virtual design, but also has great potential in virtual operation for the optimization of the life cycle. The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) developed in the 70s is an example of how data is used for virtual operation. In ACARS, sensor data is communicated between an aircraft in the air and a technology department on the ground so that maintenance can be prepared in advance before the aircraft lands. What we try to achieve nowadays is full virtual operation on the ground, in which future problems can be simulated through operational data from sensors of all airlines. With full simulation of operation, the whole life cycle of the aircraft can be optimized in an economical way. 

Prof. Dr. Guillaume concluded his presentation by going through some of the key challenges of virtual design operation. One is data availability from operators like airlines and maintenance organizations, since some of these operators may not want to share their data with manufacturers. Another is the high cost to maintain and update the digital database during an aircraft’s operation time. Regardless of these challenges, later in the Q&A session, Prof. Dr. Guillaume predicted that virtual design and testing will be state-of-the-art in the next 20 years, and it will shorten the life cycle of an aircraft to 12 to 15 years to achieve more sustainability.

Next, Dr. Xu Han presented to us the intelligent design and virtual testing for actuation equipment, the elementary part for machinery and vehicles including aircrafts. He started by showing us how actuators have evolved over the past 60 years, from mechanically controlled actuator in the 50s to analogically and digitally controlled ones in the late 60s, then to independent modules (EHA) nowadays. Beside advancing performance of the actuator itself, its developing method is also being improved over the past decades. 

While the traditional actuator development process is iterative and costly, the model-based design with the help of simulation and intelligent algorithms nowadays can elaborately evaluate the solution and thereby optimize the design, mitigate the risks and omit physical tests. The model-based design can be divided into several phrases, from conceptual design, to preliminary design, and then to detailed design. After the design is completed, virtual testing is introduced to help designers gain confidence to manufacture their design solutions.

V-model of the development process extended through simulation and intelligent techniques.

V-model of the development process extended through simulation and intelligent techniques.

Dr. Han’s group is currently working to involve control and thermal attributes in preliminary design in order to reduce the calculation cost. They are also developing virtual testing for electro-hydraulic actuators by combining the 1-D lumped parameter model with 3-D CFD model. Doing so will help achieve relatively high accuracy of temperature prediction and relatively low calculation cost at the same time.

Dr. Han concluded his presentation by giving some perspectives of future design methods. He believes machine learning will especially be helpful for the preliminary design phrase. Not only can it estimate model parameters and simulate actuators’ performance, a machine learning based model may also be able to design actuators directly in the future when it is fed with requirements of actuators. Although this is challenging, he believes it is also worth trying, starting by using machine learning to design components of actuators. With this regard, he emphasizes that experts working on actuators should always keep an eye on other communities, such as artificial intelligence and big data, because these new technologies have the potential to revolutionize actuators in the near future. 

In the Q&A session, when he was asked about the possible development and breakthroughs in intelligent design and virtual testing for actuation equipment in the next 20 years, Dr. Han predicted that actuators worth 70% of the market value will be developed totally by computers. With intelligent design based on machine learning and virtual testing, the cost and development time of actuators will be reduced, and their performance will be improved. 

We want to express our thanks and appreciation for Prof. Dr. Michel Guillaume and Dr. Xu Han for their interesting and in-depth presentations and thoughtful answers during the Q&A session. We are glad to hear that a collaboration agreement was established between ZHAW and Beihang University in terms of academic exchanges last year. We are looking forward to more specific projects between the two schools in the following years. 

Please find a link to the slides and webinar recording below:

·      Recording: view and download here. 

·      Slides: download here.

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Swiss Alumni China 2020 – A Memorable Night at the Bund

By Mianmian Fei, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

swissnex China, the Science Consulate of Switzerland in China, is the official representative of all Swiss Public Universities in China. Every year, swissnex China holds the Swiss Alumni China gathering in Shanghai, which is the annual biggest Swiss University Alumni event in China, for a network of over 3,000 Alumni from Swiss Public Universities. 

The Swiss Alumni China Soirée 2020 took place onboard a cruise ship along Shanghai’s iconic Bund waterfront on 16 October 2020. More than 200 Alumni from over 20 Swiss Public Universities attended the event, some traveling from Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei and beyond for this special occasion.  

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This year’s gathering was graced by the presence of the Swiss Ambassador to China Bernardino Regazzoni, who kicked off the event by giving a welcome address. He traced today’s gathering back to the very first Alumni event organized by the Embassy in Beijing in 2008 with only 20 people, and said he was glad to see the awareness as well as the number of attendants growing over the years. He then acknowledged the important roles of Swiss Alumni in China, whose shared experiences in Switzerland as students have not only created personal bonds but also strengthened the friendship between Switzerland and China.

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The Ambassador then emphasized that 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between Switzerland and China, and the close ties that the two countries have built over time are a result of countless endeavors and exchanges between the governments as well as between universities and individuals. By the end of last year, there are257 agreements between Swiss and Chinese universities. Over 2,000 Chinese students had chosen to study in Switzerland, while more than 800 Swiss students came to study in China.

This year, the Covid-19 has posed many challenges in maintaining academic exchanges. The Ambassador stressed that Switzerland keeps issuing visas to Chinese students all through 2020 even under the pandemic situation, and he expectsSwiss students to be able to continue their studies in China as they used to do soon. He concluded his address by wishing international mobility to return quickly and people and ideas to circulate unhindered again. 

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Following the Ambassador’s address, the floor was given to active Alumni Chapters in Shanghai to share the latest news and present their activities. This year, Alumni from the University of St. Gallen formed the biggest group, counting 33 of the attendants. EHL also had 32 Alumni coming, followed by 30 from ETH Zurich, 24 from the University of Zurich, 20 from EPFL, 18 from the University of Geneva, and 11 from IHEID. This was also a chance for the Alumni from the other universities to gather, thus paving the way for new chapters to be created.

The rest of the night was a networking reception complemented with a job fair activity, offering a high-in-demand platform for exchanging job perspectives. At the same time, it was a great opportunity for Alumni to stay connected and share ideas while enjoying an evening cruise along Shanghai's iconic Bund waterfront. The event highlights Switzerland’s excellence in education, research and innovation, with the goal of fostering a strong community in China.

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The swissnex China Team would like to give a special thank to the chapters and to our generous sponsors, Shanghai Mingxin Cruise Co.,Ltd, Hero, Lindt, Movenpick, Ricola, and swissmooh! We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2021!

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What the Alumni had to say: 

“(The event) is cool! I like it! I was quite surprised that there are so many people. Coming here is quite a privilege to me. I took the chance to fly this morning from Shenzhen. I met interesting people tonight, both Swiss people and people across China. I am looking forward to the next event!”

“(The event) is great! You can see the Huangpu River all around. It is beautiful especially at night. On the other hand, you can get to know students who also have experience studying at Swiss Universities.” 

“You see so many friends from Switzerland and from China. I would like to thank swissnex China for the great organization of the event.” 

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Click here for more pictures. 

How 3D Printing is Revolutionizing Biomedicine

By Mianmian Fei, Junior Project Manager - Academic Relations

3D printing isn’t a new technology. Rather, it has been used for decades. However, its application was very narrow until recent advances made 3D printing a viable industrial-production technology with a myriad of applications. In its current iteration, 3D printing has the ability to create complex 3D geometries with precise microstructures. Taking advantage of sophisticated medical imaging techniques, it might soon be possible to design customized drug formulations and a variety of biomedical devices. In the 5th edition of our Connected Series on September 22nd, 2020, Dr. Yinyin Bao and his student Ms. Nevena Paunović, both from ETH Zürich, introduced to us some cutting-edge 3D printing techniques and their application in biomedicine.

Libing Gu (left), Head of Academic Relations at swissnex China, hosted the webinar with Dr. Bao (middle) and Ms. Paunović (right).

Libing Gu (left), Head of Academic Relations at swissnex China, hosted the webinar with Dr. Bao (middle) and Ms. Paunović (right).

First, Dr. Bao, Senior Scientist at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at ETH Zürich, gave us a presentation titled “3D Printing with Light”. He kicked off his presentation by giving us examples on the applications of 3D printing to the fight against Covid-19, such as 3D-printed Charlotte valves and respirators. Indeed, 3D printing has great potential in personalized drugs and medical devices, but what exactly is 3D printing? Dr. Bao explained 3D printing as an additive manufacturing method. Different from the traditional subtractive manufacturing method which wastes a lot of materials, and the formative methods where extensive molds must be produced first, additive manufacturing method is straight-forward and neat. It can be divided into three steps as illustrated in the picture below. 

Traditional subtractive and formative manufacturing vs. additive manufacturing (3D printing).

Traditional subtractive and formative manufacturing vs. additive manufacturing (3D printing).

In this presentation, Dr. Bao specifically focused on light-based 3D printing, or photopolymerization 3D printing, which is characterized by high resolution and surface quality compared to its extrusion-based counterpart. 

Recently, a number of new techniques have been developed, and Dr. Bao introduced a few promising ones to our audience. The most typical technique is stereolithography (SLA, or 立体光刻), which laid the groundwork for commercial additive manufacturing. SLA has been widely used in biomedical research. For example, it is used to produce hydrogel-based tablets and polybills with different geometries and drug components.

While SLA is the most typical light-based 3D printing method, the most widely used one in both industry and scientific research is the second generation of SLA called digital light processing (DLP, or 数字光处理). DLP has an additional digital mirror device (DMD) which converts laser beams into light with different shapes. DLP is used to produce multivascular networks and functional intravascular topologies, an advanced step towards 3D printed organs. 

Another technique is continuous liquid interface production (CLIP, or 连续液体界面制造) with an oxygen permeable window which creates a “dead zone” in the printing process. This technique saves time and enables better resolution. One application is the anticancer drug absorber, which is implanted beside a tumor to absorb toxic from anticancer drugs and reduce side effects of patients.

The most recent technique is volumetric 3D printing (容积3D打印), which completely abandons the layer-by-layer method and uses a tomographic reconstruction method. Therefore, the printing time is reduced to less than one minute and can achieve the same resolution as the previous methods. Volumetric 3D printing can be especially useful for bioprinting, since cells growing inside living tissue constructs can maintain very high viability as a result of the short light irradiation. 

The last technique Dr. Bao introduced is two-photon micro-SLA (双光子打印), which uses femtosecond laser as the light source. One of its applications is the production of cell-instructive 3D microenvironment, a research led by his colleagues Dr. Xiao-Hua Qin in the Institute for Biomechanics, and it has great potential in future tissue engineering research. However, two-photon micro-SLA requires bulky and expensive instruments as well as long printing time, so its application in biomedical research is still relatively limited. 

Dr. Bao concluded his presentation by saying that he believes light-based 3D printing has great potential in clinical applications. However, this is not an easy task and requires scientists from different areas to collaborate. That’s why his collaboration with Ms. Nevena Paunović, PhD student in the Drug Formulation and Delivery group and a licensed pharmacist, is interesting. Together they try to tackle the problem of limited biocompatible and biodegradable materials for the use of light-based 3D printing.

In her presentation, Ms. Paunović gave a brief overview on what they are currently working on as a team. She began by presenting to us the case of the first 3D-printed personalized bioresorbable tracheal splint, which was used on a pediatric patient in the U.S. in 2013. The patient suffered from a disorder called tracheobronchomalacia, which causes a weakness in the system connecting the throat and lungs. While most children grow out of it by age 2-3, 10% of patients’ respiratory tracts collapse and they stop breathing completely. This 3D-printed splint is elastic and flexible and allows tissue to grow around. Most importantly, it will degrade after three years when the patient is able to breath on his own.

Personalized bioresorbable tracheal splints produced by 3D printing was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and used on a pediatric patient for the first time in 2013.

Personalized bioresorbable tracheal splints produced by 3D printing was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and used on a pediatric patient for the first time in 2013.

Seeing the potential of 3D printing for bioresorbable medical devices, the team is working on personalized bioresorbable airway stents by 3D printing to help patients suffering from obstruction in the upper part of their airways. There are two types of stents available in the market. Silicon stents is biocompatible but has a limited number of sizes and shapes, and metallic stent is considered permanent as it is difficult to extract after the implantation. The ideal stent, therefore, is personalized, biocompatible, biodegradable, thin, flexible, and can be quickly produced.  

Currently, fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing is used to produce customized airway stents, but the resolution is not so high and metallic properties are not ideal. Plus, it is not biodegradable. Additionally, there are FDM printed molds which can be used to produce personalized silicone stents through injection molding, but this procedure is not convenient in a hospital setting and can take two weeks.

To solve these problems, Dr. Bao and Ms. Paunović’s team is trying to implement digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing as it can produce stents with high resolution and surface quality in a short amount of time, and the small equipment needed is suitable for any hospital setting. However, challenges include low viscosity of resins and lack of biocompatible and biodegradable materials to achieve such high resolution and surface quality. Even when all requirements are satisfied, 3D printed objects are either elastic but weak, or stiff but brittle.

How digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing works.

How digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing works.

Ms. Paunović concluded her presentation by saying that the biggest opportunity for 3D printing is personalized medicine, and compared to personalized drugs, personalized medical devices can benefit even more as the technology enables their production with high complexity at low price. She resonated with Dr. Bao that professionals in different areas need to work together to tackle challenges such as the lack of suitable materials as well as difficulty in achieving massive production and regulatory approval, so that patients can benefit from the amazing technology of 3D printing.

The webinar ended by a lively Q&A session in which a number of audiences asked questions regarding the information presented. One interesting question was whether there is a trigger for degradation of biodegradable materials. Ms. Paunović answered by saying that most of the biodegradable material they work on starts degrading immediately, but there are different ways to slow it down. Dr. Bao added that there are also ways to accelerate the degradation, such as adding different PHs or enzymes.

We want to express our thanks and appreciation for Dr. Yinyin Bao and Ms. Nevena Paunović for their interesting and in-depth presentations and thoughtful answers during the Q&A session.

Please find a link to the slides and webinar recording below:

  • Recording: view and download here. 

  • Slides: download here.

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On the verge of a new renaissance: how algorithms are shaking up architecture

By Tobias Bolli, Junior Project Manager Academic Relations

Architecture has always been a discipline keen on stretching its boundaries, seamlessly molding together art with cutting-edge technologies. With the arrival of the Information Age, attempts have been made to use Big Data and AI to empower architecture. In our webinar on July 14, 2020 our panelists discussed how these digital technologies open up fundamentally new approaches to architecture.

Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt, Professor of architecture and CAAD at the Institute for Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich, used Google Books Ngram Viewer (a search engine which charts the frequency of words in texts accessible by google) to highlight an interesting trend. The keyword “machine intelligence” appeared especially frequently in google text corpora around 1980. The keyword “smart building” more or less mirrors this curve. Importantly, “Big Data” dwarves the frequency of both of these terms and started to almost break the chart around 2008. Not surprisingly then, Big Data has been impacting architecture in a major way and continues to be a central theme in Prof. Dr. Hovestadt´s research.

A quick search on google reveals: Big Data is a topic people really care about. Turns out it is of major importance for architecture as well.

A quick search on google reveals: Big Data is a topic people really care about. Turns out it is of major importance for architecture as well.

Lead by the question what digital technologies mean for architecture, he conducted his research in three phases. Starting out, Prof. Dr. Hovestadt and his team tried to get a grasp of what is going on in computing and develop practical applications for architects - numerous successful spin-offs were the result of that effort. A second phase, which lasted from 2010 to 2018, was dedicated to reflection and theory and to writing publications about the gathered knowledge. In a third and still ongoing phase, Prof. Dr. Hovestadt tries to establish a fresh kind of architectural thinking by taking inspiration from various big data adjacent fields - linguistics and machine learning being just two among them.

According to Prof. Dr. Hovestadt, there is one very uncomfortable truth for architects: algorithms are already powerful enough to design buildings themselves and it turns out they are rather good at it! The more data about a customer´s preference is being fed to them, the better and less machine-like their design will be. Moreover, the algorithms (being derived from mathematics developed between 1880 and 1920) are surprisingly short and straightforward and can cover all sorts of cultural preferences and domains.

A visualization of some of the projects Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt and his team have been working on. The pattern on the top left resembles the “Bird´s Nest” National Stadium in Beijing.

A visualization of some of the projects Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt and his team have been working on. The pattern on the top left resembles the “Bird´s Nest” National Stadium in Beijing.

The question then arises: what remains of architecture given the ubiquitous availability of these algorithms and the means to feed them? Prof. Dr. Hovestadt´s answer is remarkable. He thinks we have entered a new renaissance in architecture and that it is imperative for architecture students to become digitally literate: to know how to program and to understand the underlying mathematics. He argues that, now more than ever, we have to understand who we are by drawing on our cultural heritage. This can be done best by contrasting our own culture with other cultures and thus recognizing what makes it unique.

Next, Prof. Dr. Biao Li, Director at the Institute of Architectural Algorithms and Applications at Southeast University, told the audience about his journey to Switzerland where he participated in an academic exchange program in 2004. At ETH Zurich he met Prof. Dr. Bruno Keller who at that time was in charge of the program. Prof. Dr. Keller, he remembers, didn’t approve of his focus on architectural design. “If you can only design then you can do nothing”, was his rather blunt remark. Prof. Dr. Li, far from being discouraged by it, took it as motivation to branch out and join the team of Prof. Dr. Hovestadt.

The panelists from top left to bottom right: Prof. Dr. Biao Li, Prof. Dr. Peng Tang, Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt as well as Libing Gu from swissnex China.

The panelists from top left to bottom right: Prof. Dr. Biao Li, Prof. Dr. Peng Tang, Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt as well as Libing Gu from swissnex China.

There he learned programing algorithms which come up with surprisingly sophisticated architectural designs. For instance, Prof. Dr. Li used generative design to program a residential house in the traditional Chinese Hui Style. Importantly the program doesn't come up with only one design, it can generate all sorts of modifications, different street characteristics, varied courtyard spaces and so on. With all of them being viable designs, the architect can pick one of them without having to do too much design work him or herself.

Prof. Dr. Li said that architecture can be viewed as consisting of two parts: thinking and design (e.g. structure and construction) as well as description and drawing (e.g. layout and physical models). In the past software merely helped with the second part, namely in describing and drawing buildings. However, today’s software is also capable of doing some of the thinking and design. No longer is software merely a tool among others, it does some of the “mental heavy lifting” too and should thus almost be viewed as a coworker.

Whereas programs in the past have been about assisting architects with description and drawing (tasks which don’t require much intelligence or creativity), today’s programs are powerful enough to do what seemed to be a uniquely human activity: desig…

Whereas programs in the past have been about assisting architects with description and drawing (tasks which don’t require much intelligence or creativity), today’s programs are powerful enough to do what seemed to be a uniquely human activity: designing architecture.

During the Q&A session Prof. Dr. Hovestadt repeated how important it is to take AI and Big Data seriously. Provided we manage to implement it in the right way, he is optimistic that digital architectonics - far from being something soulless and generic - will help to preserve our cultural heritage. According to Prof. Dr. Hovestadt we are still very much in the early phase of this paradigm shift and have just started out on an exciting path the reinvent architecture.

Given the powerful nature of these algorithms, their human-like ability to come up with architecture on their own, it is natural to ask how they will impact the jobs of architects in the future. Prof. Dr. Li acknowledged that digital technologies will alter traditional job roles. He stressed, however, that architects won’t lose their jobs because of that; rather it will free them up to pursue more interesting tasks.

We want to thank both Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt and Prof. Dr. Biao Li for their time and for introducing us to their forward-looking research. Last but not least, we thank Prof. Dr. Peng Tang for the professional moderation of the event.

Please find a link to the slides and webinar recording below:

  • Recording: view and download here.

  • Slides: download here.

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How AI and computer simulations are about to revolutionize medicine

By Tobias Bolli, Junior Project Manager Academic Relations

Medicine has come a long way. Prior to the 19th century, all illnesses in the West were ascribed to an imbalance in bodily fluids, which were assumed to determine people’s health and even their character. Even though in the 21th century we have a clearer picture of how the body works, the boundaries of medicine are still being pushed. In the 3rd edition of our Connected Series on July 9, 2020 we took a closer look at Sino-Swiss collaborations in this field.

Our first speaker, Prof. Dr. Mauricio Reyes, Associate professor at the Artorg Center for Biomedical Engineering Research at the University of Bern, started off by introducing his collaboration with Malong Technologies, an up-and-coming AI start-up in Shenzhen pushing the boundaries of computer vision. Prof. Reyes detailed the mission of this joint-research effort, namely to create a robust and accurate AI system for MRI imaging. He stressed that far and above the most important aspect of such a system is patient safety.

Visualization of the human brain. Due to their data-rich structure it is very time-consuming to analyze MRI images manually.

Visualization of the human brain. Due to their data-rich structure it is very time-consuming to analyze MRI images manually.

Analysis of MRI images, when done by humans, is a very cumbersome task. So much so that radiologists often resort to simplified 2D images which still are very time-consuming to analyze. In order to free radiologists from this mundane and rather uninteresting work, Prof. Reyes is developing machine-learning algorithms to detect and quantify patterns that indicate the presence of a pathology, in particular strokes and brain tumors.

The algorithms are fed with the knowledge of human experts who know exactly what to look for when it comes to detecting pathologies. Algorithms then use this knowledge to process not only one particular image, but all sorts of MRI images. Besides being able to quickly process data and pin-point anomalies, the AI system is also capable of describing pathologies in terms of their size, volume, extent, etc. The idea behind the technology isn’t to replace radiologists, but instead to free up their time and empower them to do more interesting tasks according to Prof. Reyes.

Detecting early signs of what could later cause a stroke is particularly important in China, a country in which strokes are most prevalent and the most frequent cause of death. To conclude his presentation, Prof. Reyes explained the concept of “interpretability” and why it is so essential for AI technology. Data algorithms are often very powerful but are hard to understand due to their inherent complexity. Interpretability is about being able to understand what is going on inside this black box and thus avoid the potential pitfalls that come with this technology.

A world map depicting the frequency of stroke incidents. China is among the most affected countries and thus stands to benefit greatly from Prof. Reyes´ research.

A world map depicting the frequency of stroke incidents. China is among the most affected countries and thus stands to benefit greatly from Prof. Reyes´ research.

Next, Prof. Tianwu Xie, researcher at the Institute of Radiation Medicine at Fudan University, talked about computer models he develops in collaboration with a team at the University Hospital of Geneva. It is a well known fact that new drugs have to be tested in preclinical trials first before they are approved for wide-spread use. Animals and humans are normally used as test subjects to get to that final stage. Prof. Xie pointed out that this established testing procedure comes with significant drawbacks, it is costly, time-consuming, and poses a risk to the humans and animals involved. Thus it makes sense to look for alternatives and computer simulations of the relevant biological systems are exactly that.

The end goal is to have complex simulations taking into account differences between individuals such as height, age, body mass, sex, etc.

The end goal is to have complex simulations taking into account differences between individuals such as height, age, body mass, sex, etc.

Prof. Xie presented computer models he developed together with University of Geneva - the Sino-Swiss team was very prolific and came up with an entire library of computer models. Among them were of course models of mice, the most frequently used specimen in animal testing. Prof. Xie also introduced models of trouts, crabs and even flatfish which are sometimes used to evaluate radiation levels in rivers. Last but not least, Prof. Xie presented a myriad of human models ranging from fetuses to elderly humans of both sexes. The idea is to go beyond a mere default or average model and simulate individual humans with individual characteristics.

Some of the models have already been tested in preclinical trials, for example a virtual rat which was used to evaluate the health consequences of various radiation doses (which can lead to leukemia). Moreover, there were virtual trials studying drugs to combat liver cancer and Prof. Xie even came up with a simulation of a pregnant patient to study the effects of radiation.

Prof. Xie already put some simulations to the test, for instance a simulated rat for evaluating a new cancer therapy.

Prof. Xie already put some simulations to the test, for instance a simulated rat for evaluating a new cancer therapy.

Q&A session

During the lengthy Q&A session our two speakers addressed a host of different questions. Prof. Reyes acknowledged skepticism about AI-assisted MRI image processing only five to seven years ago. Professionals feared that they would lose their jobs as a consequence of this technology. However, today’s radiologists and doctors are mainly seeing the advantages of this technology.

Prof. Reyes pointed out that there has been a 1000% (!) rise in diagnostic demand over the last decade, meaning doctors have less and less time to look after patients. Automated MRI images processing could help reverse that trend and free doctors up to spend more time together with their patients. Due to more accurate diagnosis, the technology would also improve treatment and thus create concrete health benefits.

Asked about the potential of AI for medical applications, Prof. Reyes cautioned that we have to keep in mind the limitations of current technologies. Even though they deliver powerful results, algorithms aren’t capable yet of understanding cause and effect. Once AI grasp this all-important concept, Prof. Reyes predicts big breakthroughs in his field.

The webinar panelist from top left to bottom middle: Prof. Tianwu Xie, our moderator Gu Libing, Head of Academic Relations at swissnex China as well as Prof. Mauricio Reyes.

The webinar panelist from top left to bottom middle: Prof. Tianwu Xie, our moderator Gu Libing, Head of Academic Relations at swissnex China as well as Prof. Mauricio Reyes.

Prof. Xie highlighted that there are numerous challenges for computer models, namely the fact that it is still very time-consuming to program them. He hopes that in the future neural networks will be able to construct such models themselves and thus speed up the process.

Asked about when we will be able to perfectly simulate biological systems, Prof. Xie stressed that there is still a long way to go - not only in terms of developing better algorithms, but also in terms of understanding the underlying biological processes. Both professors expressed optimism that AI will enable us one day to fight diseases which cannot yet be cured. A key in unlocking a solution is to mine more and better health data according to Prof. Reyes.

At this point, we want to express our thanks and appreciation for Prof. Reyes and Prof. Xie for their interesting and in-depth presentations and thoughtful answers during the Q&A session.

 Please find a link to the slides and webinar recording below:

  • Recording: view and download here.

  • Slides: download here.

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