Top Swiss science prizes awarded to biologist and mathematician
Optimal organisation: Maryna Viazovska (not pictured) won the award for her work on the packing of spheres.
Keystone / Marton Monus
Rewarded for their work are a biologist working on cell proteins and a mathematician who solved a centuries-old problem about the optimal arrangement of spheres in a defined space.
The Marcel Benoist prize, celebrating its hundredth edition, and the National Latsis prize for researchers under the age of 40, will be awarded at a joint ceremony in November in Bern.
The former prize, the “Swiss Nobel”, will be awarded to Rudolf Aebersold, a systems biology professor at the University of Zurich and the Federal Technology Institute ETH Zurich.
Aebersold is one of the founding fathers of “proteomics”, a discipline that examines the entire set of proteins present in a cell, according to a press release by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), which chose both winners.
Using mass spectrometry, Aebersold “revolutionised” how these proteins are observed and measured, the SNSF said. Helping to observe how cells react to changes in their environment, the results can for example be used in the early detection of cancer.
24 dimensions
The National Latsis prize will meanwhile be awarded to 36-year-old Ukrainian Maryna Viazovska, a professor of mathematics at the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).
Viazovska solved a problem dating back to the 16th century, when British explorer Walter Raleigh wanted to know how to stack cannonballs most efficiently in a ship’s hold.
Although the problem was solved in the three-dimensional space in 1998 – thanks to massive computer calculations – Viazovska’s “original and amazingly simple” calculation has now solved it in more complex 8- and 24-dimensional space.
Practical applications of her work are for the analysis of crystal structures, or in solving problems in mobile signal transmissions and internet connections.
The awards come with prize money of CHF250,000 ($275,000) and CHF100,000 respectively.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day
This content was published on
On July 14, the Swiss Air Force will take part in the traditional air parade in Paris to mark the French bank holidays with an F/A-18 fighter jet. This is a first for Switzerland.
Swiss launch competition for memorial to Nazi victims
This content was published on
The victims of Nazi Germany are to be commemorated on the Casinoterrasse in Bern. A competition will be held to determine what the site will look like.
This content was published on
The cantonal police of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland have arrested and convicted five cocaine dealers in Chur within a week.
This content was published on
The Swiss business umbrella organisation Economiesuisse and the employers' association broadly support the package of agreements negotiated with the European Union.
Top Swiss politician experiences drone attack in Ukraine
This content was published on
Maja Riniker, president of the Swiss House of Representatives, said she had to spend two hours in a bunker during her trip to Ukraine because of Russian drone attacks.
This content was published on
A rockfall caused an interruption of several hours on the Albula line of the Rhaetian Railway between Thusis and Tiefencastel on Thursday.
This content was published on
A 600kg bull that escaped in the Montalchez region of canton Neuchâtel has been found in a pen surrounded by several cows.
Bern chatbot wins UN artificial intelligence award
This content was published on
The Bern-based chatbot "Sophia" has won the United Nations' "AI for Good Impact Award 2025". The chatbot is designed to help victims of domestic violence.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
British researcher wins top Swiss science award
This content was published on
Materials theory specialist Nicola Spaldin has been awarded this year’s Marcel Benoist prize for her groundbreaking research on multiferroics.
This content was published on
Dominik Hangartner of ETH Zurich has been awarded the 2019 Latsis Prize for recognition of his work on migration policies and how to improve them.
This content was published on
The prestigious award, worth SFr100,000 ($97,000), is presented each year by the National Science Foundation (SNF) to a research scientist under the age of 40 working in Switzerland. Using methods from the field of cultural studies, 38-year-old Sommer – who studied both biology and English literature and linguistics at Zurich University – examines how the…
This content was published on
Lars-Erik Cederman has won this year’s Benoist prize for his work showing how fairly distributed power and resources help reduce ethnic conflicts.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.