Émile Argand

Émile Argand was a Swiss geologist. He founded the Geological Institute of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Argand is known for his study of the Alps, and was an early proponent of Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift. Argand published a tectonic map of Asia, for which he was awarded the Spendiarov Prize. He also won the Marcel Benoist Prize. A road, a region on the moon and a series of conferences in Europe are named after him, and the International Union of Geological Sciences' highest award is named the Emile Argand Medal.