Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, at Zürich, founded 1855 as the Federal Polytechnic Institute, given its current name 1911. It is a science and technology research university with a solid reputation in chemistry, physics, and mathematics among its faculty and graduates are numerous Nobel Prize winners. Its sister school in Lausanne, the École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne, was founded as a private school in 1853 and became part of what was later reorganized into the Univ. of Lausanne in 1869. In 1969 the school separated from the university and became a federal institute. Its programs of study are organized around institutes dedicated to engineering, basic sciences, computer and information sciences, life sciences, civil engineering, architecture, and the environment.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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