botanist Albrecht von Haller. In 1760, Saussure offered a reward to the first man to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. Inspired by his uncle, Charles Bonnet, the young Saussure researched the physiology of plants which he published as Observations sur l'écorce des feuilles et des pétales in 1762.

The same year, at 22, he was elected professor of philosophy at the "Academy of Geneva", where he lectured on physics