The Grand Prix of the City of Nice was awarded by the Dean Jean Lépine Committee to the two 2014 recipients, Alessandro Morbidelli and Marc Barani, for their efforts to promote the intellectual, scientific, and cultural influence of Nice.
Alessandro Morbidelli, an Italian astronomer and planetologist working at the Côte d’Azur Observatory. A specialist in the dynamics of the solar system and the structure of the asteroid belt. An asteroid even bears his name. He is also the creator of the Nice Model, which earned the Côte d’Azur Observatory its international reputation.
Marc Barani, a renowned architect from Menton. He has been recognized multiple times for his work, notably receiving the Silver Trowel in 2008 for the construction of the “Pont Michel” multimodal hub in Nice. On June 25, 2013, his entire body of work was honored with the National Grand Prize for Architecture. Awarded every 2 years, this is the highest national distinction.
Created in 1974, the Dean Jean Lépine Committee brings together, once a year, 17 personalities from the world of knowledge who evaluate applications presented by the university following a call for projects in order to grant them financial support.
It also rewards personalities from the scientific and artistic world whose careers and work have helped to make the City of Nice shine on an international scale.
A tribute was paid to Olivier Chesneau, Deputy Astronomer at the Nice Observatory. A brilliant astronomer of international renown, his research qualities led him to carry out pioneering work using long-baseline visible and infrared interferometry. He was a member of the international team that identified last March a star 1,300 times larger than the sun. The largest yellow star ever identified.
