Affiliated research groups
COPL brings together more than 40 research groups from seven different departments at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute.
Barral Group
The group investigates how eukaryotic cells – using yeast as a model – regulate fundamental processes like asymmetric cell division and mating to drive cellular diversity, aging, adaptation, and speciation.
Pilhofer Lab
We investigate macromolecular machines mediating bacterial cell-cell interactions.
COPL Research Project: Investigations into the diversity of cell-cell associations and non-standard life using metagenomics and cryogenic electron microscopy
Our laboratory focuses on the understanding and engineering of microbiomes, one-carbon metabolism and endosymbioses.
Origins Federation PhD Prize 2025: Dr. Gabriel Giger
Bacterial Natural Products
Our group focuses on the discovery and biosynthesis of chemically distinct, bioactive natural products from symbiotic bacteria.
We study the structure and function of microbial communities across a range of ecosystems, including the open ocean, coral reefs and aerosols.
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Taylor Priest, 2024
The group develops phylogenetic tools to understand evolutionary, ecological, epidemiological and developmental processes on different scales.
COPL Research Project: Revisiting the hypothesis of a universal ancestor of all (known) life
From the picoliter to the pilot scale for designing, evolving and applying novel molecules and catalysts for fine chemistry and pharma.
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. David Schnettler, 2024
Biochemical Engineering Laboratory
Our lab combines principles of chemical engineering and biophysical methods to investigate problems of biomolecular self-assembly associated with the discovery, manufacturing and delivery of proteins for healthcare applications.
The group is using nature’s chemical rhetoric to enable new ways of thinking about the molecular complexity of living systems.
Bioinspired Molecules and Materials
The group focuses on the design and characterisation of catalysts inspired by natural systems for the transformation of small molecules (N2, CO2, H2O...) into useful synthetic building blocks and fuels using renewable sources of energy.
Biological Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Using NMR as a major tool, the objective of the research in our group is to understand the conformational switches of proteins associated with amyloid diseases and trans-membrane signaling.
Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Our laboratory develops organic synthetic methods to tackle questions in chemical biology and materials research.
external page Cell Biology of Virus Infection
From the atom to the animal, our group utilizes a comprehensive, bottom-up approach to unravel the molecular handshake between influenza virus and its host, specifically detailing the mechanisms that enable viral entry and infection.
Prof. Dr. Jeroen Anton van Bokhoven
We investigate the structure-performance relationships of heterogeneous catalysts. The purpose is the design and construction of more active, selective, and stable catalysts.
external page Thin Films and Interfaces
Prof. Dr. Thomas Lippert
We study thin films to understand and tune material properties at the nanoscale, using advanced deposition methods and large-scale facilities like synchrotrons and neutron sources at PSI.
Our research focuses on theory in chemistry with a special emphasis on so-called first-principles methods, which are deeply rooted in quantum mechanics.
We use light for the detection, manipulation, and characterization of ultrafine aerosol particles and nanoparticles in order to learn more about their physical-chemical properties.
Ultrafast Spectroscopy and Attosecond Science
Our group develops experimental methods for measuring and controlling electronic dynamics of molecules on the attosecond time scale, during chemical reactions and in the liquid phase.
Magmatic Petrology and Volcanology
The group focuses on the characterization of various aspects of volcanic processes and eruptive dynamics, in order to better predict volcanic activity.
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Thomas Drant, 2025
Noble gas cosmo- and geochemistry
A major aim of our group’s research is to contribute to a better understanding of where, how and when the volatile reservoirs of the solar system formed.
The Surface Earth Evolution group studies how geologic, climatic, and biologic factors regulate the chemical composition of the oceans and atmosphere throughout Earth’s history.
Exploration and Environmental Geophysics
The group is investigating all areas of applied geophysics from acquisition to processing, modelling and inversion for exploration and environmental problems.
The group is dedicated to study deep Earth processes experimentally by exposing sample material to relevant pressure, temperature and redox conditions.
The group seeks to understand how planets form and evolve, both in our Solar System and beyond.
COPL Research Project: Experimental constraints on photochemical pathways to life-essential precursors in the atmospheres of rocky planets
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Thomas Drant, 2025
The unifying goal of the group’s research is to understand the formation, evolution, and present-day dynamics of the mantle and lithosphere of Earth and other terrestrial bodies.
external page Structural Geology and Tectonics
external page Prof. Dr. Whitney Behr
The group focuses on the rapidly deforming zones that define Earth’s tectonic plate boundaries and generate many of the planet’s geohazards.
The group investigates how microbial life responds to environmental change. We study the co-evolution of life and Earth using methods inspired by systems biology, phylogenetics, and data science.
COPL Research Project: Investigations into the diversity of cell-cell associations and non-standard life using metagenomics and cryogenic electron microscopy
Geothermal Energy and Geofluids Group
The group investigates reactive fluid (water, CO2, CxHy, N2) and (geothermal) energy (heat, pressure) transfer in the Earth’s crust employing computer simulations, laboratory experiments and field analyses to gain fundamental insights and to address a wide range of societal goals and concerns.
COPL Research Project: Mechanochemical cycling of silica radicals as a pathway to prebiotic energy and early bioenergetics
Isotope Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry
Prof. Dr. Derek Vance
We investigate the formation and evolution of the Earth and the Solar System using the chemical and isotopic information held in rocks, meteorites, the oceans and their sediments.
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Craig Walton, 2023
The main research interests of the group led by Prof. involve climate change on various timescales. The group explores the interactions between the climate, global biogeochemical cycles and the evolution of life in shaping the Earth's geological history.
Our group investigates how climatic and erosional processes affect the structure, evolution, and sediment transport in mountain belts.
external page X-ray Tomography
The group focuses on the development of tools, both instrumentation and algorithms, for tomographic X-ray imaging, exploiting synchrotron and laboratory sources.
Our mission is to perform particle physics experiments at colliders with the highest energies and luminosities. We perform detector research and development, always considering possible spin-offs.
The group develops quantum devices that harness the infrared and terahertz spectrum through advanced heterostructure and optical engineering.
As a leading group in the global exoplanet research community, our mission is to enable the direct detection and characterization of extrasolar planetary systems with the long-term goal to investigate the existence of extraterrestrial life.
COPL Research Project: Quantifying the prospects for characterizing habitable and inhabited terrestrial exoplanets with future observations
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Sean Jordan, 2024
The group focuses on the science of cosmic dust nearby and inside the Solar System and is based on the European Research Council Starting Grant “ASTRODUST: The Heliosphere and the Dust: Characterization of the Solar and Interstellar Neighbourhood”.
We study extrasolar planets, with a particular focus on understanding their interiors and atmospheres.
COPL Research Project: Evolution and Diversity of Super-Earth Atmospheres
Precision Physics at Low Energy
We perform precision particle physics experiments at low energies, studying fundamental symmetries and interactions with neutrons and muons.
Our goal is to expand the knowledge about the formation and evolution of planetary systems, using innovative instruments and techniques to potentially discover Earth-like planets.
We perform particle physics at the high-energy frontier and tackle outstanding questions of Particle Physics, such as the elucidation of the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking and the particle origin of dark matter.
external page Atmospheric Chemistry
external page Prof. Dr. Claudia Mohr
The laboratory studies gases and aerosols in the atmosphere, affected by energy systems and impacting air quality, weather, climate change and human health.
We study the diversity and physiology of anaerobic archaea and bacteria to uncover the processes that regulate methane and CO₂ cycling across natural and engineered environments.
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Taylor Priest, 2024
Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution
The objective of our research group is to understand the link between landscape dynamics and biodiversity. We investigate the legacy of historical changes on current biodiversity and model future trajectories under climate and land-use changes.
COPL Research Project: Investigating the co-evolution of planets and life
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Antonin Affholder, 2025
We explore fundamental and applied questions at the interface between plant ecology, genetics and evolution and study the biodiversity and systematics of plants and fungi.