Welcome to PSI, the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences in Switzerland.
Recent highlights from our research
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Swiss X-ray laser reveals the hidden dance of electrons
New X-ray technique at SwissFEL shows how electrons act together – with the potential to show why quantum information slips so easily away.
Electric vehicles could catch on in Africa sooner than expected
Electric vehicles could become economically competitive in many African countries before 2040.
X-raying auditory ossicles – a new technique reveals structures in record time
Using a bone, PSI researchers have demonstrated how the structures of biological materials can be determined on scales from nanometres to millimetres in a very short time.
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Current upgrade projects and research initiatives
Together with industry to innovation
Swiss PIC technology transfer centre is inaugurated
Jointly founded by scientific and industrial partners with PSI researchers: the Swiss Photonics Integration Center celebrated its inauguration on 24 November 2025.
Advancing nuclear technologies
NUKEM and Paul Scherrer Institute Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Advance Nuclear Research and Collaboration.
Zinc detected in clogged syringes
With the help of researchers at PSI, ANAXAM has been investigating, on behalf of the pharmaceutical company MSD, whether zinc may contribute to clogging of pre-filled syringes.
The people at PSI
Engineering skill and perseverance
Credit for the on-time completion of the major SLS 2.0 upgrade project is due in part to a team of dedicated electrical engineers.
PSI’s cement whisperer
John Provis has dedicated his research career to a building material that is far more exciting than you might think.
Creating circuit diagrams of the brain
Adrian Wanner aims to map the brain’s architecture. Doing this will allow us to better understand neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
PSI on social media
🎉 Ein besonderer Meilenstein für unsere zukünftigen Lernenden und Praktikant:innen: Am Dienstag, 22. Januar 2026, unterzeichneten sie gemeinsam mit ihren Eltern auf dem PSI-Campus feierlich ihre Lehr…
💥 At CERN near Geneva, colossal detectors measure particle decays. One 15-metre giant is the CMS detector. The PSI research group led by Lea Caminada contributes to its continuous development.
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🎉 A consortium led by PSI Paul Scherrer Institute and the University of Zurich has been awarded funding: President Parmelin has approved the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR)…
🔬 With the upgrade project IMPACT, PSI is massively expanding perspectives in research with muons. For many years, the muon facility of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI has been delivering the world’s…
🔧 Success through perseverence: Lorenz Moser and the SLS 2.0 upgrade
How do you bring a large research facility into the 21st century? Electrical engineer Lorenz Moser made a crucial measuring…
🌫️ Why the air in Sarajevo is so bad in winter? Researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI investigated air pollution in Sarajevo using their mobile laboratory. The measurement campaign reveals…
Longer battery life. Faster, thinner laptops. More efficient data centres. These everyday benefits are powered by semiconductor microchips and by the scientists who work on them like PSI researcher…
🎤 PhD Thesis Presentation Slam
Congratulations to Lisa Stefanie Fankhauser, winner of the first PhD Thesis Presentation Slam at PSI, for her engaging presentation on her work at the Center for…
Congratulations to Corinna Burri on receiving the 🏆 PSI Thesis Medal 2026.
The award recognises her outstanding PhD research at PSI on novel materials for faster and more energy-efficient…
#Hazel catkins are growing and will soon release #pollen. High humidity, like fog, can make pollen grains burst and release the substances that cause allergies.
#Climatechange, heat waves and…
The year at PSI starts with our New Year’s Information Event — a moment to reflect on the past year, share updates on key initiatives, and look ahead.
This year, PSI Director Christian Rüegg…
New X-ray breakthrough at SwissFEL, published in Nature! Scientists at SwissFEL have realised a long-pursued experimental goal in physics: to show how electrons interact using a technique known as X…
Gemeinsam die Berufsbildung stärken.🌱 An der Berufsbildungstagung im ETH-Bereich stand der Austausch zwischen den Institutionen im Zentrum – mit dem Ziel, die Berufsbildung gemeinsam…
🔬 E-mobility in Africa: economically viable sooner than expected
Electric vehicles could catch on in many African countries much sooner than previously assumed. A new study by researchers at ETH…
🔬 Exciting Opportunity for Future Scientists! 🌟
The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, Switzerland's largest research institute for natural and engi-neering sciences, is offering a Summer Student…
📸High-resolution images of the inside of biological materials in record time!
Biological materials are masterpieces of nature. Inside, they consist of different structures across very different…
Make way for the next generation of batteries
🔋⚡1,500 charge cycles – 75% capacity remaining. PSI researchers Mario El Kazzi and Jinsong Zhang have developed a production process that improves…
Researchers at PSI have now demonstrated a new approach to synchronise ultrashort X-ray pulses at SwissFEL. This improved control supports experiments that probe the fastest processes in atoms,…
Understanding the brain in 3D at the nanoscale is one of the great challenges of modern science. At the Swiss Light Source SLS, the recent upgrade to a fourth-generation synchrotron is now unlocking…
#YearInReview (part 2): 2025 was a year full of exciting research at PSI Paul Scherrer Institute: From boosting battery performance and simulating quantum systems, to mapping brain architecture and…
#YearInReview (part 1): 2025 was a year full of exciting research at PSI Paul Scherrer Institute: From boosting battery performance and simulating quantum systems, to mapping brain architecture and…
Zero Kelvin or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius: nothing can get colder than that. Research at PSI uses cold in a wide variety of areas and sometimes comes very close to this limit. Cold is used, for…
Swiss quantum researchers need stable EU cooperation, says PSI researcher Kirsten Moselund.
✨ As the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025 draws to an end, Moselund gives an…
Happy holiday season from PSI! 🎄✨
❄️ Needle-thin crystals, quantum insights
The needle-shaped single crystals in the photo are made of a metal-organic material, in which Cu²⁺ ions carry magnetic…
Season’s greetings from PSI! 🎄✨
❄️ A window into ultracold neutrons
Shown here is the support grid for a very special “window”: together with an ultra-thin aluminium foil, it forms the window…
PSI in numbers
2300
Employees at PSI are working on the world of tomorrow.
5
PSI operates five particle accelerator-based large research facilities.
64
In a total of 64 centres, labs and groups, we conduct research into pressing societal issues.
3000
Every year, around 3000 researchers from all over the world carry out experiments at our facilities.