EMPA

The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa, German acronym for Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt) is an interdisciplinary Swiss research institute for applied materials sciences and technology. As part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain, it is an institution of the Swiss federation. For most of the period since its foundation in 1880, it concentrated on classical materials testing. Since the late 1980s it has developed into a modern research and development institute.

According to its vision – Materials and technologies for a sustainable future – Empa aims at developing solutions for current problems facing industry and society in areas such as energy, the environment, mobility, health and safety. Research is concentrated in five Research Focus Areas: "Nanostructured Materials," "Sustainable Built Environment," "Health and Performance," "Natural Resources and Pollutants," and "Energy".

Empa's annual budget in 2015 amounted to 107 million Swiss francs of Federal funding and 61 million Swiss francs of third party means, of which 45 million Swiss francs came from research grants and 11 million Swiss francs from services.

The strategy shift from a materials testing to a research institute has been increasingly apparent since 2001: the number of scientific publications increased from 67 in 2001 close to 630 in 2015. The number of projects financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) increased from 5 in 2001 to 120 in the same period. External funding has also grown from 33.8 million Swiss francs in 2000 to around 61 million Swiss francs (2015). Empa is currently involved in more than 60 projects funded under the EU framework programs.

Applied research and development in the institute often unfold in close collaboration with partners from industry. This is also reflected by the Empa slogan: "Empa - The Place where Innovation starts". Empa embraces a multidisciplinary approach – scientists and engineers from a wide range of disciplines work side by side on most projects.

The Empa also provides support to both of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne, supports teaching in universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS) and is active in organizing scientific conferences and advanced training courses through the Empa-Akademie. Conferences, lecture series, seminars and courses are aimed at scientists, professionals from industry and the private-sector, and also the general public, for example, through the "Science Aperitifs" events.

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