Tobias J. Kippenberg, Marcel Benoist Prize laureate

With an endowment of CHF 250,000, the Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize is regarded as the ‘Swiss Nobel Prize’. This year's laureate, Tobias J. Kippenberg, full professor of physics and head of the joint School of Engineering / School of Basic Sciences Laboratory of Photonic Integrated Circuits and Quantum Measurements at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), is being honoured for his outstanding scientific achievements in quantum optomechanics and the generation of optical frequency combs using optical microresonators. Professor Kippenberg and his team are conducting research at the interface between quantum and non-linear optics. His findings in quantum optomechanics have made it possible to observe quantum phenomena even in macroscopic (visible to the naked eye) mechanical systems, while his research into chip-based frequency combs laid the foundations for future technologies such as optical telecommunications.

Tobias J. Kippenberg was born in 1976. Following his studies at RWTH Aachen University and his doctorate at the California Institute of Technology (2004), he conducted research at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics before accepting an appointment as assistant professor in Lausanne in 2008. He is an international member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a member of the Leopoldina, winner of the ZEISS Research Award, the Fresnel Prize of the European Physical Society (2009) and the Helmholtz Prize for Metrology (2009). Since 2014, he has been one of the 1% most cited authors in physics, as recognised by Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researcher list. He is the author of more than 30 publications in Nature and Science. In 2014, he was awarded the National Latsis Prize.

Professor Kippenberg’s work lays the foundations for ultra-precise time measurement, quantum sensor technology and high-speed communication. His research combines fundamental quantum physics with application-orientated technology development.

Animal law expert also honoured

What are rights? Who has rights? Should animals also have rights? Legal scholar Saskia Stucki deals with just such questions. Through her pioneering work, she is further developing the still young field of research into animal law and investigating its interfaces with human rights, climate and environmental law. Dr Stucki teaches and conducts research at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW, where she heads the Centre for Animal Rights and the Environment (CARE), which she founded. She also conducts research at the University of Zurich and is writing her habilitation thesis at the University of Basel. Saskia Stucki has been awarded this year’s Latsis Swiss Science Prize, which is awarded to young researchers with an academic age of up to ten years and is endowed with CHF 100,000.

Joint award ceremony in the Parliament Building

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) was responsible for the scientific selection of the award winners on behalf of the Marcel Benoist Foundation and Fondation Latsis. The Swiss science prizes will be awarded at the Parliament Building in Bern on 6 November. The chairs of the respective foundations will present the prizes in the presence of Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and National Council president Maja Riniker.