Affiliated research groups
COPL brings together more than 40 research groups from seven different departments at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute.
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
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
The group is using nature’s chemical rhetoric to enable new ways of thinking about the molecular complexity of living systems.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Geomitigation of Greenhouse Gases
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.
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 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
We study extrasolar planets, with a particular focus on understanding their interiors and atmospheres.
COPL Research Project 2023: Evolution and Diversity of Super-Earth Atmospheres
COPL Research Project 2025: Carbon and Sulfur cycles on ocean worlds
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
NOMIS–ETH Fellow: Dr. Emilie Skoog, 2026
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