On the occasion of its 100-year anniversary, the speciality chemical company Sika AG, has endowed a new Chair for Materials Science in Sustainable Construction at the ETH Zurich. The chair is part of a sponsorship of CHF 7 million (€5.24 million) to the ETH Zurich Foundation.
The new professorship will support ETH Zurich’s "Sustainable Building" programme. It strengthens existing skills, with new chairs in the fields of architecture, civil engineering and materials science and an expansion of interdisciplinary research.
Almost half of Switzerland's energy consumption is used in the construction and running of buildings. The new professorship will conduct basic research on the ageing processes of construction materials, to prolong their service life. The research will focus on new buildings and the preservation of architectural heritage.
Sika is committed to the principles of sustainable development required in the construction sector, to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce water consumption in the production of concrete. “The demand for environmentally-friendly materials can be built not only on existing experience, but also requires new solutions. It is therefore important that Sika promotes scientific expertise to provide ideas for sustainable innovation,” says Walter Grüebler, Chairman of Sika AG.
“The partnership with Sika allows the pooling of experience, expertise and research skills,” emphasises ETH President Ralph Eichler.
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