News

Research data management, programming languages, radiation protection – the PSI Education Center offers a wide range of courses.

The colours of the spectrum are not just beautiful – they also play essential roles in PSI’s research.

How do you store several litres of CO₂ in a few grams of “MOF” – and how could that help in the fight against climate change? In an interview, Thomas J. Schmidt explains how his team in the PSI Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences is developing revolutionary designer materials.

Philipp Schütz is head of the University Medical Clinic at the Aarau Cantonal Hospital. In an interview, he talks about joint projects with PSI that contribute to research on healthy ageing.

Some cells and structures in our bodies undergo particularly marked changes with advancing age: bone fractures become more frequent, and the brain usually doesn’t perform as well as it used to. Fundamental research at PSI provides insights at the nanoscale, yielding information that could help improve quality of life.

Together, for a strong Switzerland. At PSI, global expertise comes together to drive innovation and develop solutions for society.

Between physics and software: Stefan Ritt and his work at the limits of measurement. A portrait in data, experiments, and “forbidden” decays.

A blood sample and artificial intelligence. PSI researchers are developing a method for cancer diagnosis using chromatin-based pattern recognition.

X-ray and neutron experiments give valuable clues.

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and ETH Zurich have drawn up the first Europe-wide map of landscape quality and highlighted where wind energy and landscape protection overlap.

Over a lifetime, our brain ages – in particular its volume decreases. However, the brains of some people display a greater resistance to age-related change and to the protein deposits associated with dementia.

Radiopharmaceuticals allow some types of cancer to be targeted with tailor-made therapies. The current state of the art was preceded by decades of intensive research – and the future promises even better treatment options.

Researchers at PSI are developing new technologies and drugs to eliminate tumours more effectively: with greater precision and personalised approaches

If you look closely, PSI resembles a small city. We present a selection of 11 facilities and services located on the institute’s 342,000-square-metre campus. They are available to PSI’s 2,300 employees – and in some cases well beyond.

Some see brewing as an art, others as a science – Luc Van Loon combines both these virtues at his brewery. With the nose of a sommelier and the precision of a chemist, the former PSI researcher creates world-class beers.

Researchers show how quantum operations can be carried out while actively correcting errors – a key step toward reliable quantum computers.

At CERN near Geneva, tiny particles with extremely high energies are blasted at each other to answer big questions about the universe. The detectors that observe the collisions of these particles require regular upgrades. Lea Caminada and her High Energy Particle Physics research group at PSI play an important role in this quest.

PSI is increasing the intensity of its muon beams a hundredfold. This opens up entirely new possibilities for physics and materials research.

Electric vehicles could become economically competitive in many African countries before 2040.

Twelve PSI research highlights in 2025

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 researcher Kirsten Moselund talks about quantum technologies – about their importance and the current situation in Switzerland. And about her own research in the field of nanophotonics.

Zurab Guguchia puts pressure on matter – and in doing so, creates exciting quantum effects such as superconductivity at more easily achievable temperatures.

In future, flexibly operated heat pumps and electric cars could reduce both electricity imports and electricity prices. That is according to a new study by a Swiss research consortium led by ETH Zurich.

To create more stable qubits, PSI researchers make terbium ions perform in pairs. Elsewhere, they are using optical tweezers to position atoms with high precision.

A new study provides data from 43 sites across Europe, showing the respective oxidative stress on the lungs.

Cornelius Hempel uses quanta to perform calculations on quantum phenomena. While this sounds logical, it’s actually highly complex. His latest coup: a quantum simulator that slows down time.

John Provis has dedicated his research career to a building material that is far more exciting than you might think.

PSI imaging helps to uncover the hunting strategy of a prehistoric predator.

Researchers at PSI have uncovered how genetic defects damage human cilia in different ways – a step towards improving the diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia, a disease that has until now been poorly understood.

Former PSI doctoral candidate Stephanie Smit now works as a patent attorney for a company that is among the most important in the world. That’s because this company builds machines that are worth a fortune and are highly sought after.

Making energy research something visitors can experience: The Swiss Museum of Transport is creating a platform for political and social dialogue on energy issues. 

Hans Priem and Cees Maris of VDL ETG explain what advanced manufacturing means in industry and talk about their collaboration with PSI.

Searching for radiation from the sky. How a sensitive detector and a clever algorithm are making ionising radiation visible.

Advanced manufacturing means using state-of-the-art production methods. Researchers at PSI are helping to make techniques such as 3D printing more reliable and to advance the miniaturisation of high-performance chips.

PSI researchers have for the first time determined the exact position of the aluminium atoms in zeolites, which make these materials such good catalysts.

PSI’s David Mannes has used neutrons to unravel the mystery of a fascinating archaeological artefact.

The pH value determines how easily hydrogen can be produced from water when cobalt is used as a catalyst. PSI researchers have now found out why.

A new calculation model from PSI illustrates the complex interdependencies between technology, demand for critical raw materials, and environmental impacts on the road to climate neutrality.

Adrian Wanner aims to map the brain’s architecture. Doing this will allow us to better understand neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

A newly published book describes how life-saving proton therapy was developed at PSI. Damien Weber explains why the full potential of the method has not yet been exploited.

Physicist Dominik Sidler is developing fundamental theories for previously inexplicable phenomena.

The electrons are back: after its upgrade, the Swiss Light Source SLS is starting up again, step by step. 

Concrete, chemical catalysis and the search for new physics – three PSI researchers have each received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation for these areas of research.

In an interview with ETH News, Russell McKenna, an expert in energy system analysis, explains where he sees the greatest need for action in order to further develop wind energy.