The Marcel Benoist Prize, offered by the Marcel Benoist Foundation, is a monetary prize that has been offered annually since 1920 to a scientist of Swiss nationality or residency who has made the most useful scientific discovery. Emphasis is placed on those discoveries affecting human life. Since 1997, candidates in the humanities have also been eligible for the prize.
The Marcel Benoist Foundation was established by the will of the French lawyer Marcel Benoist, a wartime resident of Lausanne, who died in 1918. It is managed by a group of trustees comprising the Swiss interior minister and heads of the main Swiss universities.
The first award was given to immunologist Maurice Arthus (1862-1945) at the University of Lausanne. Other winners have included computer scientist Niklaus Wirth and astronomer Michel Mayor. As of 2003, nine Marcel Benoist winners have also won the Nobel Prize.
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