University Of Geneva News

Around 6 billion tons of marine sand is being dug up each year in a growing practice that a U.N. agency said is unsustainable and can wipe out local marine life irreversibly.Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water but its extraction for use in industries like construction is only loosely governed, prompting the U.N.

Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry has been appointed president to head the World Maritime University (WMU), as announced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and university. Dr. Doumbia-Henry will be the seventh WMU president and will be the first female in the role. Dr. Doumbia-Henry, who has dual Dominican and Swiss nationality, is currently director of the International Labor Standards Department, of the International Labor Office of the International Labor Organization (ILO). She is expected to assume office as WMU President, in Malmö, Sweden, in July.

After several days of waiting for favorable weather, the MS Tûranor Planet Solar, the largest solar boat in the world, left the city of Boston, carrying three scientific team members from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), and a researcher from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the largest center of its kind in the world, with whom UNIGE is collaborating for this expedition. This important stopover in the capital of Massachusetts was crucial in the planning of the “DeepWater” expedition’s itinerary…

swissnex Boston welcomes "PlanetSolar DeepWater Expedition," June 22-26, 2013. In support of its mission to build stronger relationships between scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators in Massachusetts and Switzerland, swissnex Boston is welcoming the world's largest solar-powered boat to Boston's Fan Pier for its inaugural visit. Together with PlanetSolar and the University of Geneva, swissnex Boston is hosting a series of educational, business and media events about solar technology and climate change…

The solar-powered vessel has recently sailed the 2,867 miles from Las Palmas to St. Martin, French WI, at an average 5.3 knots to break the earlier record. During the trip around the world (2010-2012), the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar sailed for 26 days from one side of the Atlantic to the other, thereby claiming the world record speed for a solar-powered transatlantic crossing and her first entry in the Guinness World Records™. It hasn’t been broken since. It was not until 2013 that the largest solar boat in the world repeated the trip to realize a new global accomplishment: 22 days…

After completing the world’s first solar-powered journey around the world, 'PlanetSolar' has a marine science mission. The unique ocean-going catamaran has found a new occupation for the New Year. PlanetSolar is intended to be the mode of transport for the Deepwater Project, a scientific mission led by the University of Geneva to collect data on the Gulf Stream’s behavior, the ocean current responsible for maintaining much of Europe’s temperate  climate. The advantage of using PlanetSolar for such an expedition is that it’s emissions-free…