Welcome to PSI, the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences in Switzerland.
Recent highlights from our research
Show filters
New standards in nuclear physics
With unprecedented precision: PSI researchers measure the nuclear radius of muonic helium-3 and put the theories of atomic physics to the test.
With pad, pencil, and algorithms
Physicist Dominik Sidler is developing fundamental theories for previously inexplicable phenomena.
Prestigious funding for three research projects at PSI
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.
Topic cloud
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
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.
Soldering on a big stage
Whoever makes it onto the podium here is one of the world's best professional talents: PSI electronics engineer Melvin Deubelbeiss won the silver medal at WorldSkills 2024.
PSI on social media
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…
Large scale facilities like the Swiss Light Source SLS and the Swiss X-ray Free Electron Laser SwissFEL at PSI Paul Scherrer Institute are essential for uncovering how next-generation quantum…
Der Weihnachtszauber ist in der Kita Nanolino ausgebrochen!✨
Unsere Nanolino-Kinder haben die Innenräume mit viel Kreativität und einem weihnachtlichen Glanz geschmückt. 🎄⭐️
In den liebevoll…
🧲 Laser writes magnetic structures – with potential for data storage, AI, and more. What happens when you use a high-tech laser system for something entirely different than originally intended? That…
Microtubules: More than just support – they actively control cellular processes! Microtubules are the central protein strands of the cytoskeleton.
This not only supports every cell but also…
What happens to materials like metals and ceramics on a microscopic level when they are exposed to extremely harsh radiation conditions? 🤔
This is the question that the STIP programme sought to…
Ring tour #three!
Third stop around the SLS ring to check who else has got the light in this first phase of the SLS return, following the major SLS 2.0 upgrade of the Swiss Light Source to a…
Zurab Guguchia applies pressure to create new material properties. The PSI researcher is exploring quantum materials that conduct electricity without losses ⚡ or exhibit magnetic and electronic…
Scientists at the #SwissLightSource #SLS have succeeded in mapping a piece of brain tissue 🧠 in 3D at unprecedented resolution using X-rays – non-destructively. The breakthrough overcomes a long…
Did you know? 🧐 Tiny impurities in biogas can cause big problems! Researchers Ayush Agarwal and Christian Ludwig at PSI Paul Scherrer Institute have now developed an analytical method that can for…
For our German speakers: ✨Berufswahl mal anders!
Damit auch künftige Generationen entdecken können, wie vielseitig und spannend eine Ausbildung am PSI ist, haben wir ein neues Format entwickelt: den…
The cheese-noodle method in the fight against Alzheimer's. When proteins in the brain accumulate and form thread-like deposits, they trigger diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. How can the body…
Weltkindertag am Paul Scherrer Institut PSI! 😊🌟
Heute feiern wir den Weltkindertag, der uns daran erinnert, wie wichtig es ist, Kindern Raum für Entfaltung, Neugier und Mitbestimmung zu geben.
…
For our German-speaking followers: Am #NationalZukunftstag öffnete das PSI Paul Scherrer Institut seine Tore für interessierte Kinder!
An abwechslungsreichen Posten erhielten die Jungen und Mädchen…
⚛️ Qubits are sensitive. 🫠 The fundamental units of quantum computers react to even the smallest disturbances. PSI researchers are developing new ways to make them more stable and longer-lasting.
💎…
How do quantum materials really respond to light? 🤔 The answer is complex – and a new study from SwissFEL reveals it’s even more so than previously thought. 💡
Researchers from Aarhus University used…
Materials Science, Data and Software vs Radiation Protection and Safety
Draw your PhD, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.
We paired researchers from totally different fields, swapped their…
How do we foster a team culture where everyone feels safe to openly share their ideas? Prof. Dr. Heidi Möller explored this question in her webinar about psychological safety held on October 28th…
Computational Fluid Dynamics vs Proton Therapy
Draw your PhD, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.
We paired researchers from totally different fields, swapped their doodles, and let the guessing…
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.