The Descartes-Huygens Prize is an yearly scientific prize created in 1995 by the French and the Dutch governments, and attributed to two scientists of international level, a French one chosen by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen and a Dutch one chosen by the Académie des sciences, to reward their work and their contributions to the French-Dutch cooperation. The prize is named in memory of French scientist René Descartes (1596-1650) and Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), who spent several years working in each other's country.