Mélanie Marcel to Receive the 2018 Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize

Grinnell College, the highly rated liberal arts college in Iowa, has announced the winner of the 2018 Innovator for Social Justice Prize. The $100,000 prize, established in 2011, is the largest award given by a U.S. college in recognition of efforts to enhance social justice.

“The Grinnell Prize exemplifies our mission and demonstrates our values and longstanding commitment to social responsibility and action,” said Grinnell College President Raynard S. Kington. “We strive to empower all of our students to apply their values and educational experiences to become just and purpose-driven change agents throughout the world.”

This year’s winner is Mélanie Marcel, the founder and CEO of SoScience, an organization based in France that brings together scientists and social entrepreneurs to solve global problems. The group has worked with more than 800 researchers and has held five “Future of” conferences. Last year’s conference was the Future of Soils.

Marcel is a graduate of ESPCI Paris Tech. She earned a master’s degree in bioengineering and neuroscience from ESPCI Paris Tech and Paris Descartes University.

Marcel will be honored at Grinnell College on October 2.