In 1896 Girault built a crypt at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, to receive the ashes of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur. He modelled it on the 5th-century Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna and adorned it with marble and mosaics. The Institut Pasteur was founded in 1887 by Louis Pasteur, the French scientist whose early experiments with fermentation led to pioneering research in bacteriology. A giant in science, Pasteur discovered the principle of sterilization which came to be known as "pasteurization." His discoveries led to the universal practice of surgical antisepsis. He also developed techniques of vaccination to control bacterial infection, as well as a successful vaccine to treat rabies.