Wenn sich am Europäischen Tag des Denkmals (7. und 8. September 2002) alles um die Konservierung, Restaurierung, Forschung und Vermittlung dreht, erfahren Interessierte auch mehr über die Arbeit der Empa.

On 10 September, the Swiss National Council Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (CESPE) was welcomed by EMPA representatives at the institute's Dübendorf site. The politicians' visit focused on environmental and energy issues. A key recommendation tabled by EMPA was for the promotion of gas-fuelled vehicles as a means of achieving significant long-term cuts in transport-related CO2 emissions.

Empa (Swiss Federal Materials Testing and Research Laboratories) now has a new structure, planned and introduced over the period 2001–2002. The five new scientific-technical departments, together with a logistics department, underscore its position in the Swiss research scene.

Dr Klaus Richter replaces retiring head of Empas "Wood" laboratory, Prof. Jürgen Sell, as of 1 January 2003.

René Rossi, born 1967, appointed head of the "Protection and Physiology" section  at Empa St. Gallen as of 1 January 2003.

The conference staged by the EMPA Academy and Swiss Solar Energy Society (SSES) on 15 November 2002 focused on a wide range of issues surrounding renewable energies and the current overexploitation of fossil fuels. Armed with a wealth of ideas on research and practice to meet present and future demands, experts gathered at the EMPA Academy to engage in an active exchange.

EMPA organized an evening presentation in Thun in conjunction with the regional business development agency InnoBE.

Sustainable development is a difficult ideal to achieve in practice, as shown once again at the World Summit in Johannesburg. The Empa Academy Science Forum discussed the extent to which information technology is able to satisfy human needs while using considerably fewer material resources.

The longest cable-stayed bridge in the world (2'252 m) is on the way to be realised in Greece. The Rion-Antirion bridge, connecting the Peloponnes to the mainland, is due to be opened to traffic in 2004.

Am 8. August verstarb kurz vor seinem 81. Geburtstag Prof. Dr. sc. techn. Theodor H. Erismann, langjähriger Direktionspräsident der Eidg. Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt (Empa). Das zentrale Forschungsgebiet des Verstorbenen waren innovative Instrumente für die moderne Materialforschung. Er hat darüber verschiedene wegweisende Arbeiten veröffentlicht. Lebenslang hat er sich für die Förderung der Sicherheit für Mensch und Umwelt eingesetzt.

WissenschaftlerInnen aller Fachrichtungen, die auch in Zukunft ohne grosse Einschränkungen forschen wollen, müssen zunehmend stärker eigenständig Forschungsmittel akquirieren und Ergebnisse ihrer Forschung für eine breite Öffentlichkeit nutzbar und zugänglich machen.

Ein Stück Eisenbahngeschichte erscheint in neuem Glanz: Die im Jahr 1871 in Ostermundigen in Betrieb genommene Dampflok Gnom wurde während der letzten drei Jahre im Verkehrshaus der Schweiz in Luzern restauriert.

Non-functioning products containing electronic components are often thrown away and end up on the rubbish tip instead of being repaired. Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, has developed tools to support the semiconductor industry in the recycling and reuse of electronic components. This project, entitled «Care Electronics Materials and Ageing», was honored on June 27, 2002 in Thessaloniki, Greece, by Eureka with this year's Lillehammer Award.

Until recently the two FIB (Focused Ion Beam) systems at Empa were only used for fault analysis and the modification of modern microchips and semiconductor devices. Now, however, they are also being successfully applied to solve problems in material science, surface and joining technology, and biology.

Prof. Urs Meier from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) has won the SAMPE Europe Award 2002 for his work on the application of carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers to structural engineering.