Elie Bou-Zeid has been awarded the 2009 Latsis Prize "for fundamental contributions to the understanding of atmospheric turbulence and the representation of temperature and humidity in numerical simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer". This prize is awarded by the EPFL in Lausanne to recognize scientific work of particular excellence from all EPFL research areas.

Professor Bou-Zeid earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He then joined the Johns Hopkins University in 2000 where he got his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in 2005. He then spent three years at the Laboratory of Environmental Fluid Dynamics and Hydrology at EPFL before joining Princeton University.

The Latsis Prize is awarded annually on behalf of the Geneva-based Latsis Foundation by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and honours the outstanding scientific achievements of a research scientist under the age 40 working in Switzerland.