Prof. emer. Ann Hirt

Curriculum Vitae

Professor Ann M. Hirt-Tasillo held a research position at the ETH Zurich in the Institute of Geophysics starting in 1986. She received her habilitation (Venia Legendi) in the field of geophysics in 1996 and was awarded the title Professor of Geophysics in 2008. She was head of the Laboratory of Natural Magnetism from 2004 until her retirement in 2019.

She was born in Pittsburgh, USA, and received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees, both in Geology, from Waynesburg College, USA, and the University of Toronto, Canada, in 1977 and 1980, respectively. In 1986 she completed her PhD studies in the area of magnetic anisotropy and paleomagnetism at the Institute for Geophysics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where she subsequently assumed a research position.

Her research interests focused on the application of magnetic properties to various problems arising in the earth and environmental sciences, as well as in the material sciences and life sciences. Throughout her academic career, she investigated magnetic anisotropy, ranging from the fundamental properties of minerals to their relationship to rock deformation. Together with researchers from the University Hospital Zürich, she investigated the magnetic mineralogy of brain and tumor tissue to gain a better understanding of their role in neurological diseases. She had numerous international collaborations with researchers in material sciences, involving the characterization of magnetic nanoparticles. Professor Hirt has authored or co-authored over 160 scientific articles.