# Franklin Institute Awards

The Franklin Institute Awards (or Benjamin Franklin Medal) is an American science and engineering award presented by the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia. The Franklin Institute awards comprises the Benjamin Franklin Medals in seven areas of science and engineering, the Bower Awards and Prize for Achievement in Science, and the Bower Award for Business Leadership. Since 1824, the institute has recognized "world-changing scientists, engineers, inventors, and industrialists—all of whom reflect Benjamin Franklin's spirit of curiosity, ingenuity, and innovation". Some of the noted past laureates include Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Marie Curie, Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking. Some of the 21st century laureates of the institute awards are Bill Gates, James P. Allison, Indra Nooyi, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Blackburn, George Church, Robert S. Langer, and Alex Gorsky.

## Benjamin Franklin Medals

In 1998, the Benjamin Franklin Medals were created by reorganizing all of the endowed medals presented by The Franklin Institute at that time into a group of medals recognizing seven areas of study: Chemistry, Computer and Cognitive Science, Earth and Environmental Science, Electrical Engineering, Life Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Physics. The first Benjamin Franklin Medals were presented in 1998.
Medalists are selected by a Committee on Science and the Arts (CS&A), composed of local academics and professionals from the Philadelphia area.

## Bower Awards

The Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science and the Bower Award for Business Leadership are the newest awards, established by a $7.5 million bequest from Henry Bower in 1988. The annual Bower Prizes are US$250,000 each.

## Former awards

* Elliott Cresson Medal
* Frank P. Brown Medal
* Franklin Medal
* George R. Henderson Medal
* Howard N. Potts Medal
* John Price Wetherill Medal
* John Scott Medal
* Stuart Ballantine Medal

## List of laureates

The following table lists laureates of the Benjamin Franklin Medal (including the Bower Prizewinners), from 1998 onwards.
| Year | Name | Field |
| 1998 | John Diebel | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 1998 | Emmanuel Desurvire | Engineering |
| 1998 | Robert B. Laughlin | Physics |
| 1998 | David N. Payne | Engineering |
| 1998 | Stanley B. Prusiner | Life Science |
| 1998 | Martin J. Rees | Physics, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 1998 | Horst L. Stormer | Physics |
| 1998 | Daniel C. Tsui | Physics |
| 1998 | Ahmed H. Zewail | Chemistry |
| 1999 | Ralph J. Cicerone | Earth Science, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 1999 | Noam Chomsky | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 1999 | Douglas C. Engelbart | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 1999 | Walter Kaminsky | Chemistry |
| 1999 | Barry J. Marshall | Life Science |
| 1999 | John C. Mather | Physics |
| 1999 | Richard W. Shorthill | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 1999 | Akira Tonomura | Physics |
| 1999 | P. Roy Vagelos | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 1999 | Victor Vali | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2000 | John Cocke | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2000 | Eric Cornell | Physics |
| 2000 | Gordon Danby | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2000 | Eville Gorham | Earth Science |
| 2000 | Robert H. Grubbs | Chemistry |
| 2000 | Wolfgang Ketterle | Physics |
| 2000 | Antoine Labeyrie | Electrical Engineering |
| 2000 | James R. Powell | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2000 | Alexander Rich | Life Science, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2000 | William J. Rutter | Life Science, Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2000 | Carl Wieman | Physics |
| 2001 | Paul Baran | Electrical Engineering, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2001 | Judah Folkman | Life Science |
| 2001 | Alan H. Guth | Physics |
| 2001 | Irwin Mark Jacobs | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2001 | Marvin Minsky | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2001 | K. Barry Sharpless | Chemistry |
| 2001 | Rob Van der Voo | Earth Science |
| 2001 | Bernard Widrow | Electrical Engineering |
| 2002 | Norman L. Allinger | Chemistry |
| 2002 | John W. Cahn | Materials Science, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2002 | Mary-Dell Chilton | Life Science |
| 2002 | Sumio Iijima | Physics |
| 2002 | Gordon E. Moore | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2002 | Shuji Nakamura | Engineering |
| 2002 | Alexandra Navrotsky | Earth Science |
| 2002 | Lucy Suchman | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2003 | Bishnu S. Atal | Electrical Engineering |
| 2003 | John N. Bahcall | Physics |
| 2003 | Raymond Davis Jr. | Physics |
| 2003 | Jane Goodall | Life Science |
| 2003 | Robin M. Hochstrasser | Chemistry |
| 2003 | Masatoshi Koshiba | Physics |
| 2003 | Paul B. MacCready | Engineering, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2003 | John McCarthy | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2003 | Norman A. Phillips | Earth Science |
| 2003 | Joseph Smagorinsky | Earth Science |
| 2003 | Charles H. Thornton | Engineering |
| 2004 | Roger Bacon | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2004 | Seymour Benzer | Life Science, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2004 | Raymond V. Damadian | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2004 | Harry B. Gray | Chemistry |
| 2004 | Richard M. Karp | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2004 | Robert B. Meyer | Physics |
| 2004 | Robert E. Newnham | Electrical Engineering |
| 2005 | Elizabeth Helen Blackburn | Life Science |
| 2005 | Aravind K. Joshi | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2005 | Henri B. Kagan | Chemistry, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2005 | Yoichiro Nambu | Physics |
| 2005 | Peter R. Vail | Earth Science |
| 2005 | Andrew J. Viterbi | Electrical Engineering |
| 2005 | Alejandro Zaffaroni | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2006 | Ray W. Clough | Engineering |
| 2006 | Samuel J. Danishefsky | Chemistry |
| 2006 | Narain G. Hingorani | Electrical Engineering, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2006 | Luna B. Leopold | Earth Science |
| 2006 | Donald Norman | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2006 | Fernando Nottebohm | Life Science |
| 2006 | Giacinto Scoles | Physics |
| 2006 | J. Peter Toennies | Physics |
| 2006 | R.E. Turner | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2006 | M. Gordon Wolman | Earth Science |
| 2007 | Norman R. Augustine | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2007 | Klaus Biemann | Chemistry |
| 2007 | Stuart K. Card | Computer and Cognitive Science, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2007 | Robert H. Dennard | Electrical Engineering |
| 2007 | Merton C. Flemings | Materials Science |
| 2007 | Arthur B. McDonald | Physics |
| 2007 | Steven W. Squyres | Earth Science |
| 2007 | Yoji Totsuka | Physics |
| 2007 | Nancy Wexler | Life Science |
| 2008 | Victor Ambros | Life Science |
| 2008 | David Baulcombe | Life Science |
| 2008 | Wallace Broecker | Earth Science |
| 2008 | Albert Eschenmoser | Chemistry |
| 2008 | Deborah Jin | Physics |
| 2008 | Takeo Kanade | Computer and Cognitive Science, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2008 | Judea Pearl | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2008 | Arun Phadke | Electrical Engineering |
| 2008 | Gary Ruvkun | Life Science |
| 2008 | Frederick Smith | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2008 | James Thorp | Electrical Engineering |
| 2009 | Ruzena Bajcsy | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2009 | Stephen J. Benkovic | Life Science |
| 2009 | Sandra M. Faber | Physics, Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science |
| 2009 | J. Frederick Grassle | Earth Science |
| 2009 | T. Boone Pickens | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2009 | Richard J. Robbins | Engineering |
| 2009 | George M. Whitesides | Chemistry |
| 2009 | Lotfi A. Zadeh | Electrical Engineering |
| 2010 | J. Ignacio Cirac | Physics |
| 2010 | Shafrira Goldwasser | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2010 | Peter C. Nowell | Life Science |
| 2010 | Gerhard M. Sessler | Electrical Engineering |
| 2010 | D. Brian Spalding | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2010 | JoAnne Stubbe | Chemistry |
| 2010 | James West | Electrical Engineering |
| 2010 | David J. Wineland | Physics |
| 2010 | Peter Zoller | Physics |
| 2010 | W. Richard Peltier | Earth and Environmental Science, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2010 | William H. Gates | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2011 | John Robert Anderson | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2011 | Jillian F. Banfield | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2011 | Nicola Cabibbo | Physics |
| 2011 | Ingrid Daubechies | Electrical Engineering |
| 2011 | Dean Kamen | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2011 | K.C. Nicolaou | Chemistry |
| 2011 | George Church | Life Science, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2011 | Fred Kavli | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2012 | Vladimir Vapnik | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2012 | Lonnie Thompson | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2012 | Ellen Stone Mosley-Thompson | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2012 | Sean B. Carroll | Life Science |
| 2012 | Jerry Nelson | Electrical Engineering |
| 2012 | Rashid Sunyaev | Physics |
| 2012 | Zvi Hashin | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2012 | Louis E. Brus | Chemistry, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2012 | John Chambers | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2013 | Jerrold Meinwald | Chemistry |
| 2013 | William Labov | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2013 | Robert A. Berner | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2013 | Rudolf Jaenisch | Life Science |
| 2013 | Subra Suresh | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2013 | Alexander Dalgarno | Physics |
| 2013 | Michael S. Dell | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2013 | Kenichi Iga | Electrical Engineering, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2014 | Daniel Kleppner | Physics |
| 2014 | Christopher T. Walsh | Chemistry |
| 2014 | Lisa Tauxe | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2014 | Shunichi Iwasaki | Electrical Engineering |
| 2014 | Mark H. Kryder | Electrical Engineering |
| 2014 | Joachim Frank | Life Science |
| 2014 | Ali H. Nayfeh | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2014 | Edmund M. Clarke | Computer and Cognitive Science, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2014 | William W. George | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2015 | Stephen Lippard | Chemistry |
| 2015 | Elissa Newport | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2015 | Syukuro Manabe | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2015 | Roger F. Harrington | Electrical Engineering |
| 2015 | Cornelia Bargmann | Life Science |
| 2015 | Charles L. Kane | Physics |
| 2015 | Eugene Mele | Physics |
| 2015 | Shoucheng Zhang | Physics |
| 2015 | Jon Huntsman, Sr. | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2015 | Jean-Pierre Kruth | Mechanical Engineering, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2016 | Nadrian C. Seeman | Chemistry |
| 2016 | Yale N. Patt | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2016 | Brian F. Atwater | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2016 | Solomon W. Golomb | Electrical Engineering |
| 2016 | Robert S. Langer | Life Science |
| 2016 | Shu Chien | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2016 | Patrick Soon-Shiong | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2016 | William J. Borucki | Physics, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2017 | Krzysztof Matyjaszewski | Chemistry |
| 2017 | Mitsuo Sawamoto | Chemistry |
| 2017 | Michael I. Posner | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2017 | Nick Holonyak, Jr. | Electrical Engineering |
| 2017 | Douglas C. Wallace | Life Science |
| 2017 | Mildred S. Dresselhaus | Materials Science and Engineering |
| 2017 | Marvin L. Cohen | Physics |
| 2017 | Claude Lorius | Earth and Environmental Science, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2017 | Alan Mulally | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2018 | Susan Trumbore | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2018 | Manijeh Razeghi | Electrical Engineering |
| 2018 | Adrian Bejan | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2018 | Helen Rhoda Quinn | Physics |
| 2018 | John B. Goodenough | Chemistry |
| 2018 | Vinton Gray Cerf | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2018 | Robert E. Kahn | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2018 | Philippe Horvath | Life Science, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2018 | Anne M. Mulcahy | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2019 | John J. Hopfield | Physics |
| 2019 | John A. Rogers | Materials Engineering |
| 2019 | James P. Allison | Life Science |
| 2019 | Eli Yablonovitch | Electrical Engineering |
| 2019 | Gene E. Likens | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2019 | Marcia K. Johnson | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2019 | Frances H. Arnold | Chemistry, Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2019 | Indra K. Nooyi | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2021 | Roberto Car | Chemistry |
| 2021 | Michele Parrinello | Chemistry |
| 2021 | Henry C. Kapteyn | Physics |
| 2021 | Margaret Murnane | Physics |
| 2021 | Jeremy Nathans | Life Science |
| 2021 | C. Daniel Mote | Mechanical Engineering |
| 2021 | Monica Turner | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2021 | Barbara Partee | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2021 | Kunihiko Fukushima | Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2021 | Arthur D. Levinson | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2022 | Sallie W. Chisholm | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2022 | Sheldon Weinbaum | Biomedical Engineering |
| 2022 | Carol V. Robinson | Chemistry |
| 2022 | Russell D. Dupuis | Electrical Engineering |
| 2022 | P. Daniel Dapkus | Electrical Engineering |
| 2022 | Katalin Karikó | Life Science |
| 2022 | Drew Weissman | Life Science |
| 2022 | Edward C. Stone | Physics |
| 2023 | R. Lawrence Edwards | Earth and Environmental Science |
| 2023 | Nader Engheta | Electrical Engineering |
| 2023 | Kenneth C. Frazier | Bower Award for Business Leadership |
| 2023 | Elaine Fuchs | Life Science |
| 2023 | Philip Kim | Physics |
| 2023 | Barbara H. Liskov | Computer and Cognitive Science |
| 2023 | Deb Niemeier | Civil and Mechanical Engineering and Bower Award for Achievement in Science |
| 2023 | Monika Schleier-Smith | Physics |
| 2023 | Richard Zare | Chemistry |