Welcome
 
Welcome
 

The Collegium Helveticum is the joint Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) of ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, and the Zurich University of the Arts. We aim to provide a meeting place and forum for dialogue between the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, engineering, medical science and the arts.

 
 
Fellows
 
Fellows
 

Starting in September 2023, nine early-career fellows will pursue their projects at the Collegium Helveticum along with a varying number of senior and associate fellows.

Yael Borofsky

Early-Career Fellow
Development economics

Noé Brasier

Early-Career Fellow
Translational medicine

Georgia Drew

Early-Career Fellow
Evolutionary ecologist

Emma Mavodza

Early-Career Fellow
Development studies

Bruno Moreschi

Early-Career Fellow
Visual arts

Celestin Mutuyimana

Early-Career Fellow
Psychology

Ari Ray

Early-Career Fellow
Political science

Madeline Woker

Early-Career Fellow
History

Paulo Wirz

Early-Career Fellow
Fine arts

Veronica Akle

Senior Fellow
Neuroscience
University of Los Andes

Tuncay Alan

Senior Fellow
Mechanical engineering
Monash University

N. Asokan

Senior Fellow
Computer science
University of Waterloo

Maneesha Deckha

Senior Fellow
Law
University of Victoria

Somayeh Dodge

Senior Fellow
Geographic information science
University of California Santa Barbara

Niels van Doorn

Senior Fellow
New Media Studies
University of Amsterdam

Katherine Elvira

Senior Fellow
Analytical Chemistry
University of Victoria

Huib Ernste

Senior Fellow
Geography
Radboud University Nijmegen

Kenneth Gillingham

Senior Fellow
Environmental economics
Yale University

Christopher Hasson

Senior Fellow
Sensorimotor Control and Learning
Northeastern University

Makiko Hashinaga

Senior Fellow
Pedagogy
Sapporo Gakuin University

Inge Hinterwaldner

Senior Fellow
Art history
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Ulrike Klinger

Senior Fellow
Communication Science
European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Urte Krass

Senior Fellow
Art history
University of Bern

Marielle Macé

Senior Fellow
Ecocriticism
EHESS

Kettly Mars

Senior Fellow
Fiction Writing

Galen McKinley

Senior Fellow
Climate and oceans
Columbia University

Francesca Melandri

Senior Fellow
Literature

Bernhard Mikeska

Senior Fellow
Art
RAUM+ZEIT

Maryna Nehrey

Senior Fellow
Agriculture economics
National University of Life and Environment Science of Ukraine

Vadym Rakochi

Senior Fellow
Musicology
Zurich University of the Arts

Kriss Ravetto

Guest of the director
Film, Digital Media, and STS
University of California, Los Angeles

Lyudmyla Romanyuk

Senior Fellow
Developmental psychology
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Lorenzo Romito

Senior Fellow
Space and Design Strategies
University of Arts Linz

Walid Sadok

Senior Fellow
Crop science
University of Minnesota

Thomas Schroepfer

Senior Fellow
Architecture and sustainable design
Singapore University of Technology and Design

Margaret-Anne Storey

Senior Fellow
Software engineering
University of Victoria

Tim Shaw

Senior Fellow
Sound and media art
Newcastle University

Anke te Heesen

Senior Fellow
History of science
Humboldt University

Nikolaos Zagklas

Senior Fellow
Byzantine studies
University of Vienna

 
 
Fellowship program
 
Fellowship program
 

Located in the historic Semper Observatory, the Collegium Helveticum offers academics and artists a highly international, interdisciplinary environment where they can work on their research projects.

 
 
Event calendar
 
Event calendar
 

June 09, 2023   –  June 24, 2023

Data Alchemy

Observing Patterns from Galileo to Artificial Intelligence

Opening hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 14:00–18:00

Based on the history of the Semper Observatory, this exhibition explores the human fascination with the creation of meaning from patterns such as the constellations of stars and planets and, today, from all kinds of extracted data. Today’s methods that help in recognizing patterns include a diverse range of artificial intelligence algorithms and applications, often used for predictions and prognostics. The exhibition brings together scientists, academics, and artists who react to, reflect on, and work with these methods.

When we look back in time, one could say that the move to predictions and prognostics from the earlier practice of prophecies is really
just a matter of dimension and scale. Because, even if the religious beliefs faced by Copernicus and Galileo in the 15th to 17th Centuries seem to stand in harsh contrast to the scientific research being done today, these fields can be understood as two positions on a continuum, ranging from reading prophecies in the sky and mystical approaches to making predictions using computational power.
In fact, this past is still present today. Not only do parascientists and esoterics use early religious mystical texts in which astronomical
and mathematical patterns are embedded, but scientific researchers
also examine these texts as early forms of computational writing,
i.e. as codes and algorithms. What is more, when we move to the specialized field of computer science research into machine learning which relies on human intelligence and the brain as a reference for creating what we now call artificial intelligence—both scientists and engineers sometimes understand only the input and the output of these deep learning artificial neural networks. That is why this area of research is often considered a black box and—harking back to the older practices again—referred to as “Data Alchemy.”

The openness of today’s scientists and engineers towards different ways of understanding the world, seems to be closing the gap between science and art, mysticism, and other systems. Connecting code to cosmology and scaling from predictions and prognosis to prophecies links us to more holistic and plural modes of knowledge creation. And it may ultimately lead us to a terrestrial understanding of humans as a part of the biosphere on this planet.

The exhibition and the accompanying events are part of the Zurich Art Weekend 2023 program. During three days, from June 8 to June 11, the Zurich Art Weekend aims to facilitate access to culture and shed new light on the art scene of Zurich.

Venue
Zurich Art Weekend

→ Interested in booking a tour during the opening hours? Please contact our event office.
→ Groups of ten or more visitors are asked to register here.

Vernissage

June 8, 18:00–21:00
AI + Art Conversation with Liat Segal and Jennifer Wadsworth
Shadow Walkers with Rohini Devasher 

On June 8, we will celebrate the opening of the exhibition. The program starts with an AI + Art Conversation between Liat Segal & Jennifer Wadsworth at 18:00, followed by an Apéro. During Shadow Walkers at 21:00, Rohini Devasher will take you on a collective experience of rest or sleep (bring your own smartphone and headphones, and a mat to lie on!).

Talk with us! Take a drink and a walk with us! We look forward to celebrating the opening with you.

Accompanying events

Shadow Walkers – Rohini Devasher – June 8, 11, and 21

AI+Art Conversations – June 8 and 11

List of works

In alphabetical order

Blue Transmutations – Liat Grayver, Robert Nissler, and Marcus Nebe

Degrees of Life – Co-corporeality

Glasshouse Deep – Rohini Devasher

Impossible Object – Liat Segal & Yasmine Meroz

Making of Earths – Geocinema

Possible Worlds… – Oliver Sahli & Chris Salter

Prognostications – Hannes Bajohr

Shadow Walkers – Rohini Devasher

APMS UDF (20335w22) – Christian Waldvogel

Synthetic Strokes – Liat Grayver

The Torah Is My Dataset and Machines Are My Prophets – Daniel Berio & Liat Grayver

This project has been made possible thanks to the support of the Anniversary Foundation of La Mobilière Cooperative.


 
 
About us
 
About us
 

The Collegium Helveticum is the joint Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) of ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, and the Zurich University of the Arts. We aim to provide a meeting place and forum for dialogue between the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, engineering, medical science and the arts.

 
 
 

Contact/Newsletter

 
Our Location

Collegium Helveticum
Semper-Sternwarte (ETH/STW)
Schmelzbergstrasse 25
CH-8006 Zurich
Switzerland

Postal adress

Collegium Helveticum
ETH Zurich/STW
Schmelzbergstrasse 25
CH-8092 Zurich
Schweiz

info(a)collegium.ethz.ch
+41 (0)44 632 69 06

 

Arrival by public transport from Zurich main station

Tram 10 from Zürich Bahnhofplatz (direction Zürich Flughafen) or Tram 6 from Bahnhofstrasse/HB (direction Zoo), three stops to ETH/Universitätsspital. Go left from University Hospital Zurich and follow Schmelzbergstrasse to Schmelzbergstrasse 25. Climb the stairs by the green fountain and you have arrived at the Collegium Helveticum. Welcome!