Franklin Institute Awards 2021 | The Franklin Institute | Virtual

The Bower Award for Business Leadership is presented annually to a leader in American business or industry who, in their life and work, personifies outstanding qualities and attainments in leadership, the advancement of sound economic practices, and adherence to the highest ethical standards.

Since its inception in 1824, The Franklin Institute has honored trailblazing achievements in science, engineering, and industry through The Franklin Institute Awards. The Franklin Institute Awards Program identifies individuals whose extraordinary discoveries and innovations have transformed our world, benefited humanity, advanced science, and deepened our understanding of the universe. As the oldest comprehensive science and technology awards program in the United States, The Franklin Institute Awards has honored more than 2,000 of the most brilliant and pioneering scientists, engineers, inventors, and innovators from across the globe. Its history documents the course of human discovery and advancement through the past two centuries—from the diesel engine to the Mars rover, from the typewriter to the cell phone, and from x-ray technology to genome editing. Previous laureates include Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Pierre and Marie Curie, Max Planck, Orville Wright, Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ruth Patrick, Jacques Cousteau, Stephen Hawking, Douglas Engelbart, Martin Rees, John Mather, Gordon Moore, Paul Baran, Shuji Nakamura, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Blackburn, Bill Gates, Jim West and Gerhard Sessler, Subra Suresh, Cornelia Bargmann, John Goodenough, Jim Allison, and Frances Arnold. Explore our roster of past laureates.