Fascinating research, or what are they actually doing there?

In these pages, we would like to present the Paul Scherrer Institute to an interested public in a generally comprehensible way. Here you can learn more about the research topics we are working on and the unique large-scale facilities we are using to find answers to a variety of scientific questions.

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Research at the Paul Scherrer Institute

The Paul Scherrer Institute is Switzerland's largest research centre for the natural and engineering sciences. Approximately 400 scientists at the Institute are investigating a large variety of scientific questions that can be grouped into three main fields: Structure of Matter, Human Health, and Energy and Environment. Most of these scientists use the Institute's unique large-scale research facilities in their work.

The scientific results gained at PSI help us understand the world around us by shedding light on the processes behind various physical and biological phenomena. At the same time, they constitute the basis for novel developments in technology and medicine.

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Large-Scale Facilities at the Paul Scherrer Institute

PSI operates several scientific large-scale facilities that allow experiments to be performed that are impossible in smaller laboratories. In many cases, it is these experiments that contribute decisive clues for solving a particular scientific problem. The facilities are unique in Switzerland, and some of them are the only ones of their type or scale in the world.

In order to allow as many scientists as possible to benefit from the opportunities offered by PSI, the Institute provides access to the facilities within the framework of a User Service to researchers from universities, other research centres and industrial companies. Each year, about 2300 researchers in these categories perform experiments at the facilities.

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SwissFEL – PSI's project of the future

Staying still usually has the same effect as taking a step backwards in today's fast-moving times – and this is particularly true for the sciences. As a result, scientists must have access to research infrastructure that will allow them to continue their top-level research at the international level into the future. PSI is currently designing infrastructure of this type under the name SwissFEL. The aim of SwissFEL is to serve the needs of university and industrial research groups.