Honorary councillors and honorary doctorates

Honorary councillors

The title of Honorary Councillor is awarded to individuals who foster key scientific activities or fields of work at ETH, or who support the university as a whole.

ETH appointed the following honorary councillors in 2022:

Portait of Dr Irene Kaufmann

Dr Irene Kaufmann
in recognition of her extraordinary personal commitment in the areas of education and nurturing young talent, as well as her many years spent building bridges between academia, industry and society.

Portrait of Professor Giatgen A. Spinas

Professor Giatgen A. Spinas
in recognition of his long-​standing commitment and boundless expertise in providing such tremendous support for teaching and research at ETH Zurich, particularly in the field of medicine.

Honorary councillors of the last 20 years:

DownloadDownload table (German) (PDF, 45 KB)

For information on honours until 2004

For information on honours before 2004:

Honorary doctorates

By awarding honorary doctorates, ETH Zurich honours individuals for their outstanding scientific work and recognises their important contribution to science, education and practical applications, or to the synthesis of research and practical work.

ETH awarded the following honorary doctorates in 2022:

Portrait of Professor Theodor Hänsch

Professor Theodor Hänsch
in recognition of his outstanding scientific work that has had such a huge impact on the entire field of modern atomic and molecular physics, especially laser cooling of atoms, and laser-​based precision spectroscopy.

Portrait of Dr Thomas H. Zurbuchen

Dr Thomas H. Zurbuchen
in recognition of his role as an outstanding champion of the scientific exploration of space and, in particular, for his scientific contributions and leadership in past and future space missions.

Honorary doctorates of the last 10 years:

DownloadDownload table (German) (PDF, 74 KB)  

For promotions of older date please contact:

For information on honours prior to 2004, please contact the ETH Zurich archive:

ETH Day

By tradition, it is on the ETH Day, a day of academic celebration, that ETH Zurich honours those individuals who have helped it to become one of the world’s leading universities.

More information

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