Award ceremony for 2025 Swiss science prizes

On 6 November 2025, Switzerland awarded its two most prestigious prizes for scientific research: the Marcel Benoist and Latsis Swiss science prizes. For the second year in a row, the joint award ceremony was held in the solemn and symbolic setting of the National Council chamber of the Federal Palace. 

This joint event is intended to celebrate and encourage cutting-edge research in Switzerland and showcase its diversity. The Marcel Benoist and Latsis Foundations have been working together successfully for six years now. The evening once again brought together prominent politicians, scholars and business leaders as well as representatives of research and higher education institutions.

Science and policy mutually inspiring

The ceremony opened with a welcome address by National Council President Maja Riniker, who began her speech with a cultural touch, referring to a fresco visible in the salle des pas perdus of the Federal Palace: a work by Antonio Barzaghi-Cattaneo from Ticino depicting an allegorical figure of Wisdom. The figure holds a voltmeter in her hand and is surrounded by tools and a map. With this image, Ms Riniker reminded the audience that policy and science have always coexisted under this roof, and that dialogue between these two domains, which is essential to Swiss democracy, dates back to the founding of the Confederation 177 years ago. 

This was followed by a speech by Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, who highlighted the quality and diversity of research conducted in Switzerland, where ‘all disciplines, from the humanities and social sciences to the natural sciences, law and medicine, have a fundamental role to play.’ He also pointed out that the value of research cannot be measured solely in terms of its practical applications, but that its primary purpose is to expand knowledge and provide freedom to explore. He emphasised that science also thrives on uncertain experiments: ‘And I would like to stress one point: it has the right to fail. ‘Failure’ is a big word, because everyone knows that in science, there is never really failure.’ 

Rethinking animal rights and the boundaries of fundamental rights

The 2025 Latsis Swiss Science Prize was awarded to Saskia Stucki, a Swiss legal scholar who gained international standing while working at law schools in Basel, Harvard and Heidelberg. She is now Director of the Center for Animal Rights and the Environment (CARE) at ZHAW. Combining legal, philosophical and ethical aspects, her research explores the possibility of extending fundamental rights to non-human living beings. As Markus Wild stated in his laudatory speech, this reflection is consistent with the ‘One Health’ principle, which posits that human, animal and environmental health are inextricably linked: Saskia Stucki proposes a parallel approach, which she calls ‘One Rights’, which calls for reconsideration of the legal relationship between humans and other living beings.

The laudator humorously recounted the following anecdote: after dedicating his book Tierphilosophie to his two cats, Professor Wild heard that the researcher loved the idea and wanted to do the same one day. ‘It took a while,’ he explained, ‘but in 2023, she finally dedicated her book One Rights to her dog Banjo and an anonymous cat.’ Behind this personal touch lies the consistency of her approach: a desire to place animals at the heart of legal deliberation and to recognise, as she herself says, that ‘leaving animals out of the picture is a luxury that humanity can no longer afford.’

Quantum optomechanics and optical frequency combs

The 2025 Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize was awarded to Tobias J. Kippenberg, Full Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). His outstanding scientific achievements in quantum optomechanics and the generation of optical frequency combs have opened up new prospects for quantum metrology and extremely precise measurements of time. For communications, these breakthroughs enable very high-speed transmission of data. 

In his laudatory speech, François Bussy, professor of petrology, highlighted the prizewinner’s ingenuity and scientific curiosity, which were already evident during his years as a student: ‘The first thing that one notices about Tobias Kippenberg is his precociousness. While still in secondary school, he designed an original device to detect black ice, which won two awards.‘ This early success already foreshadowed a career marked by creativity and innovation: ‘At only 29 years of age, he was the first in the world to observe quantum phenomena of light on a macroscopic scale, a remarkable scientific feat.’ Upon returning to Europe, he made another breakthrough: using microscopic glass rings that he had developed in California he was able to generate optical frequency combs. This opened up a vast field of applications. ‘When we consider the exponential growth in energy needs associated with artificial intelligence, we can appreciate the potential impact of these advances.’ Since arriving at EPFL in 2008, Tobias Kippenberg has had a decisive influence in his field: ‘In less than twenty years, he has drawn some of the brightest researchers and students to the university. He has secured numerous grants, founded a start-up and built a remarkable bridge between fundamental research and industrial innovation.‘ Today, his influence can be felt far beyond academia: his former students now hold leading positions in photonics research and industry, both in Switzerland and abroad.

Two very different fields sharing a common thread

As Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin pointed out, ‘these two fields illustrate the diversity that is so characteristic of Swiss research.’ He noted that the fact that ‘one of the prizes goes to a quantum physicist who is re-examining the interactions between light and matter, and the other to a lawyer who is re-examining the interactions between humans, animals and nature, speaks to the dynamism and variety of the Swiss scientific landscape. […] It shows how all scientific disciplines benefit from the publicly funded research support system.‘

When asked by the moderator of the ceremony, Olivier Dessibourg, about possible parallels between their respective fields of research, the two laureates spoke of their shared desire to expand the established boundaries of knowledge. Saskia Stucki stressed the importance of ‘broadening horizons’ and challenging the limits of scientific disciplines. 

The next generation of researchers in position

In addition, on the eve of the ceremony, a workshop for Bachelor’s students and baccalaureate school pupils provided an opportunity for direct contact with the prizewinners. Tobias Kippenberg and Saskia Stucki said they were impressed by the curiosity, maturity and enthusiasm shown by the young participants. They were delighted to have taken part and expressed their admiration for the commitment and passion shown by this new generation. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin also took the opportunity to speak to them, encouraging them to ‘continue on your path, even if it is winding, and remain passionate, curious and determined, qualities that do you credit and are far more valuable than a CV showing a flawless career trajectory.’

The ceremony was accompanied by musical interludes performed by the group NIMBUS, a saxophone quartet. Their performance added a lively and relaxed touch to the evening and wooed the audience.

The evening continued in a warm atmosphere with a cocktail reception held at the Galerie des Alpes. Researchers, politicians, university officials, workshop participants and guests all had the opportunity to chat freely with the prizewinners.

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