Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Students can find on this page a general overview on preparing a Master's Thesis in the Chairs of Urban Water Management at ETH Zurich: information about the formal requirements, the duration, the assessment procedures and the criteria by which the practical work, the report, the final presentation and the poster will be evaluated and graded. They can also find a list of currently offered topics.
Supervisors can find on this page information on the requirements the students have to fulfil to complete a Master's Thesis in the Chairs of Urban Water Management at ETH Zurich, organizational and didactical information and the templates for the proposal of new Master's Thesis topics.
Information for Students
Are you interested in starting a thesis with the Chairs of Urban Water Management? Please refer to the Checklist for Students and Guidance document provided below. Communicate your intention to the responsible teaching coordinator and contact them for additional information.
Information for Supervisors
Would you like to supervise a thesis for the Chairs of Urban Water Management? Please refer to the Checklist for Supervisors and Guidance document provided below. Use the Thesis project call template to submit a topic to the responsible teaching coordinator. A professor will have to approve the topic before it is uploaded on this page.
Additionally, you are welcome to send us a short slide deck about your proposed topic(s). Our professors can then publicize your thesis topic during their lectures.
Contact
For inquiries or to submit a proposal, please check the Teaching Coordinators webpage and contact the coordinator responsible for Master's Theses.
Currently offered topics
Below you can see the topics currently offered by EAWAG researchers and private partners. If you are interested in one of the offered topics, contact the person indicated. Once you agree you will do your Master's Thesis with them, contact the responsible teaching coordinator to obtain the documentation form.
You can also independently find a supervisor to develop your own topic. In this case, inform from the beginning the responsible teaching coordinator and a potential supervising professor of your intention. Also, pay attention, the professor must agree to a certain topic being the subject of a Master's Thesis. Not all projects are suitable to become Master's Theses. The topics selected below have already received the approval of a professor.
The thesis focuses on evaluating the cooling effects of trees under varying soil moisture conditions. Specifically, it seeks to determine if trees provide different thermal comfort outcomes when planted in soils with different moisture levels, as well as to assess the accuracy of the ENVI-met model in simulating tree cooling and energy dynamics. The research will involve modeling the Blue-Green Campus area, collecting meteorological data (e.g., temperature, humidity, and soil moisture), and validating the model with real-world data. The study will also examine the limitations of the ENVI-met model, the sensors used, and the impact of water-sensitive design on soil moisture content and tree cooling. Ultimately, the thesis aims to answer key research questions regarding the relationship between soil moisture, tree cooling, and thermal comfort. Download Read More (PDF, 401 KB)
Contact: João P. Leitão ()
The master thesis aims to validate the SIMBA model, a digital twin of the Worblental wastewater network, using radar precipitation forecasts and comparing them with real-time operating data. The background highlights the integration of stormwater tanks and overflows into the WWTP Worblental's process control system. The thesis objectives include analyzing radar precipitation forecast data, comparing it with measured precipitation, and identifying systematic errors. It also involves assessing the model's accuracy by comparing its outputs with real data, particularly during single events and over long time series. Download Read More (PDF, 365 KB)
Contact: Max Maurer ()
The master thesis aims to assess climate impacts on for water, sanitation, and solid waste management in small towns near Kampala. The background highlights the challenges faced by these services due to rapid population growth and climate change. The thesis objectives include exploring climate vulnerabilities and adaptation capacities of these services, understanding the potential spillover effects, and synergistic adaptation potential. The research involves 1. analyzing existing data from case study sites, 2. potentially collecting additional data through fieldwork in Uganda, and 3. employing innovative methods to assess the impacts of climate change on water, sanitation, and solid waste management. Download Read More (PDF, 513 KB)
Contact: Abishek S Narayan ()
The master thesis aims to evaluate the usability, accuracy, and robustness of a camera-based, non-contact ammonia measurement system compared to ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) at Swiss wastewater treatment plants. The background emphasizes the importance of ammonia monitoring for optimizing treatment and meeting regulations. Traditional ISEs require frequent maintenance, while camera-based systems offer advantages like reduced maintenance and real-time data. The thesis involves reviewing existing literature, understanding the camera-based sensing approach, collaborating with project partners for system installation and data collection, developing calibration techniques, and performing comparative analyses. The research aims to innovate wastewater quality monitoring and improve treatment efficiency. Download Read More (PDF, 257 KB)
Contact: Nicolas Neuenhofer ()
The master thesis aims to explore the settling behaviors of Densified Activated Sludge (DAS) and identify ideal compositions for enhanced sedimentation. Many municipal wastewater treatment plants are facing challenges due to population growth, stringent nutrient removal requirements, and the need for energy neutrality. DAS, a hybrid system of flocs and dense granules, offers potential advantages over conventional methods. The thesis objectives include investigating the settling regimes and properties of DAS, understanding the impact of DAS compositions on settling behaviors, and exploring the stratification of DAS during settling and feeding phases. The research will involve collecting DAS samples from various WWTPs in Switzerland and employing experimental methods to characterize their settling properties. Download Read More (PDF, 605 KB)
Contact: Mengqi Zhu ()
Microplastic (MP) contents in surface waters are mostly determined based on sampling campaigns using mantra nets with a mesh size of 330 µm. Thus, only MPs > 330 µm are collected. However, an increasing number of MPs with decreasing particle size is expected and MPs in the lower size ranges are more likely taken up by biota. Thus, alternative sampling approaches, which allow collecting smaller MPs are urgently needed. Grab sampling and pressure filtration, two alternative sampling approaches, only allow processing limited water volumes and thus, results from such studies may lack representativeness. The drum sieve technology allows processing large water volumes and thereby offers an interesting alternative for collecting MPs from surface waters. In this study, the performance of a drum sieve, which was designed at Eawag, will be assessed. In a first step, ... Download Read More (PDF, 254 KB)
Contact: Guillaume Crosset-Perrotin ()
Urban drainage models require high-resolution rainfall time series, traditionally sourced from local weather stations. However, climate change introduces shifts in rainfall patterns, such as extreme rainfall events and prolonged dry spells, rendering observed data inadequate for future urban drainage planning. While climate model outputs provide insight into these trends, their spatial and temporal scales, as well as biases, make them unsuitable for direct use. Recent advancements in convection-permitting models now offer high-resolution outputs that can better represent extreme rainfall events, but these outputs need further testing for practical applications.
This thesis aims to generate high-resolution rainfall time series using convection-permitting model outputs and validate their use in urban drainage modeling. Two approaches will be explored: applying a stochastic weather generator to create synthetic rainfall and using empirical quantile mapping for bias correction and downscaling. By testing and potentially combining these methods, the thesis seeks to identify the most effective approach for urban drainage applications. Download Read More (PDF, 363 KB)
Contact: Lauren Cook ()
In recent years, wastewater structures in urban drainage systems have been increasingly equipped with sensors with automatic transmission of the measurements to the operators. As a result, an increasing amount of data is now available that provides information about the processes in the drainage system. However, for data analysis and for deriving correct conclusions, the data must be plausible. Since often long periods of time of many different urban drainage structures are used for evaluation, a high number of measurements must be checked for plausibility.
The thesis aims to develop a method using artificial intelligence to automatically check the plausibility of wastewater measurements, minimizing the need for manual visual checks. It will investigate various sensors in different wastewater structures, conducting both measurement-oriented and process-oriented plausibility checks. This ensures accurate evaluation of parameters like combined sewer overflow statistics and dry weather discharge. Download Read More (PDF, 242 KB)
Contact: Juan Pablo Carbajal ()
The objective of this MSc thesis is to assess the impact of flocs SRT control on the distribution of nitrifying populations and activities among the flocs and different sized granules in AGS and ultimately the impact on nitrification performance. To address this objective, a full-scale study at WWTP Kloten-Opfikon will be conducted. Reactors at different operating conditions will be monitored by characterizing the size distribution of AGS, conducting settling and activity tests and finally, by determining the distribution of nitrifying populations with DNA analysis. Download Read More (PDF, 240 KB)
Contact: Livia Britschgi ()
In aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems operated as sequencing batch reactors (SBR), a main strategy to enhance granulation is to selectively remove the slow settling biomass. This wastage affects sludge composition, i.e., distribution of flocs and different sized granules, and in turn the microbial performance of the system. The main goal of this master’s thesis is to develop a stratification model and a wastage strategy to control the sludge composition in AGS. The thesis will consist of the following phases:
(A) Short-term stratification experiment
(B) Developing settling model
(C) Simulation of sludge stratification and testing of various wastage strategies aiming for control of sludge composition
Download Read More. (PDF, 330 KB)
Contact: Livia Britschgi ()
Wastewater treatment needs to become net-zero by 2050. The potent GHG and ozone depleting substance N2O (265 kgCO2-eq) dominates GHG emissions of wastewater treatment and accounts for around 20% of N2O emissions in Switzerland. To effectively reduce N2O emissions, we need to understand the mechanisms behind its formation which is related to microbial pathways, controlling parameters, process engineering and plant operation. Unfortunately, there is currently no N2O mechanistic model which is able to come up with those cross-plant reduction measures. On the other hand, multi-year N2O monitoring campaigns across different full-scale plants are available, yet their potential to reveal hidden relationships and mechanisms remains unexplored. This thesis aims to use insights from explainable machine learning (XAI) to build a mechanistic model which is able to reduce N2O emissions across different wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland and beyond. Download Read More (PDF, 208 KB)
Contact: Laurence Strubbe ()