News

Using water molecules to unlock neurons' secrets

Published:11.12.18 — EPFL researchers have developed a method to observe the electrical activity of neurons by analyzing the behavior of surrounding water molecules. This simple and non-invasive method, which could eliminate the need for electrodes and fluorophores, can be used to monitor the activity within a single neuron or potentially on an entire region of the brain.

Reserve your driving time to reduce traffic congestion

Published:10.12.18 — For his thesis, EPFL PhD student Raphaël Lamotte studied rush-hour traffic congestion. He suggests implementing a system whereby commuters reserve time on a special traffic lane – like booking a seat on a flight – to help cities accommodate a growing number of car-sharing programs and, eventually, self-driving cars.

EPFL's founder passes away in his 101st year

Published:07.12.18 — Maurice Cosandey, EPFL’s founder and its president from 1963 to 1978, died on Tuesday in his 101st year. When he became the director of the École polytechnique de l’université de Lausanne (EPUL) in 1963, Maurice began realizing his vision of turning EPUL into a federal institute – now known as EPFL. He leaves us just as our school gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

“Data protection policies that seem clear are often ambiguous"

Published:07.12.18 — A new EU regulation that went into effect in May has prompted consumers to pay more attention to how websites use the personal data they collect. With Polisis, an AI-based program developed at EPFL, consumers can get quick, easy-to-read summaries of websites’ data protection policies. And the program is becoming highly popular – EPFL’s Technology Transfer Office has received numerous license requests. Hamza Harkous, one of the software developers, is pleasantly surprised at its success and has just entered into a license agreement with US-based search engine DuckDuckGo. We spoke with Harkous about his one-of-a-kind program.