Recap: Visit to the new D-BSSE building and Basel city tour
On 6 December 2024, eight doctoral students and postdocs followed an invitation by the Competence Center for Materials and Processes (MaP) Doctoral School Small track on an excursion to Basel. They were curious about the new ETH D-BSSE building and the research of two of the MaP research groups located there.
Exploring the Basel biosciences research cluster…
Sara Svanberg, a doctoral student from the Bioanalytics group, welcomed the attendees with coffee and a seasonal Grättimaa, the Basel regional word for the man-shaped seasonal brioche. After a round of introductions, Professor Petra Dittrich gave an overview on the new building’s development history and how it is part of a biosciences research cluster, which includes ETH Zurich, Basel University, and Basel University Hospital.
Together with other Bioanalytics group members, Sara Svanberg then led the participants on a lab visit. The research of the Bioanalytics group revolves around lab-on-chip and microfluidics technologies for bioanalytical applications. Thanks to the small group size everyone got a good look into every lab corner and could ask questions till all curiosity was satified.
After a lunch break, during which the attendees and host group members got to know each other more informally, the scientific programme continued. Prof. Andreas Hierlemann provided a concise overview of the Bioengineering Group's work, where researchers investigate the intersection of physics, engineering, and biology. To complement this theoretical introduction, he guided participants through the common cleanroom and the group's laboratories.
…and the historic town of Basel
The end of the visit was dedicated to exploring the historic city of Basel. The tour, starting at Schifflände and ending at Münsterplatz, provided a snapshot of Basel’s cultural and architectural highlights. The guide shared interesting facts about the city, showed pictures of how it used to look like, and highlighted some fun facts around old traditions like Fasnacht. A few participants stayed afterward to enjoy the charming Christmas market.
Networking to be continued
A huge thanks to Prof. Petra Dittrich, Prof. Andreas Hierlemann, Sara Svanberg, and everyone involved in making this day both educational and memorable! MaP Doctoral School hopes to welcome the Basel-based groups soon to Zurich to deepen the ties initiated on St. Nicholas Day!