Science Museum Institutes Franklin Prize To Honor Humanitarian Researchers

If the Franklin Institute Science Museum has its way, the prestige of its new Bower Award for Achievement in Science will someday rival that of the coveted Nobel Prize. The award, which carries with it an unrestricted minimum grant of $250,000, commemorates Benjamin Franklin, who viewed science and technology as a means to solve almost any societal problem. The grant accompanying the award is funded by the late Henry Bower (1896-1988), a Philadelphia chemical manufacturer and philanthropist who bequeathed $7.4 million to the Philadelphia science museum to establish a fund in his name. In his will, Bower stipulated that the money was to be used to endow both the science award and a second prize for business leadership. To perpetuate Franklin's ideals, the Bower Award seeks to honor a scientist who best emulates its namesake. The idea of science and technology for the betterment of humanity rests at the heart of the award. According to Larry Tise, executive director of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, the award is designed as a "global search for humanitarian genius," a researcher from anywhere in the world whose accomplishments in science reflect the philanthropic and humanitarian nature of Benjamin Franklin. "It seems to me that there are hundreds and hundreds of medals," says Tise, but very few that honor a scientist for achievements that clearly benefit humanity. "I think there's a need for the prize we're talking about - connecting scientific and humanitarian goals." In fact, one such prize, the $200,000 World Food Prize, the most prestigious award in food research, may be discontinued for lack of sponsorship (The Scientist, Feb. 19, 1990, page 25). Perhaps just as remarkable as the would-be laureate is the award itself. Each year, the winner will receive a 2 1/2-inch medal of solid gold and a cash award of at least $250,000 - an amount that can grow as the endowment does. The expected amount of the cash prize for 1990 is $290,000. And the money, Tise emphasizes, is "totally unrestricted." Any individual or institution can nominate a person whose research has contributed to major advances in his or her field. According to Tise, special emphasis will be given to those whose work has had "an immediate impact on humanity." Tise says the eligible fields of study are those areas recognized by the National Science Foundation for its Presidential Medals: physics, astronomy, mathematics, materials science, chemistry, industrial science and technology, geoscience, earth science, ocean science, polar science, engineering, biological systems, behavioral and neural sciences, cellular bioscience, molecular bioscience, and scientific instrumentation. The nomination form, according to Tise, is fairly simple. It can be completed in either English or French and must include brief biographical information, a short narrative about the nominee's qualifications, a list of pertinent publications, and the names of four people familiar with the would-be laureate's field of work. All nominations must be postmarked by April 17, 1990 - the 200th anniversary of Franklin's death. A special panel from the Franklin Institute's Committee on Science and the Arts will screen all of the nominations and compile a list of 10 or 12 candidates. This list will then be handed over to a five-person international committee of science leaders, as stipulated in Bower's will. This group, which will be announced in April, will then select the award winner. Tise says committee members will likely come from the Bower Award's board of advisers, a group of 60 noted scientists from more than 30 countries. The board of advisers includes such science community luminaries as Ivan Berend (president, Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Zhou Guangzhao (president, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Frank Press (president, National Academy of Sciences), Muhammad Abdus Salam (International Center for Theoretical Physics), Erich Bloch (director, National Science Foundation), and Carl Sagan (Cornell University). The first winner of the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science will be announced in the first week of September, to correspond with the anniversary of Franklin's election to the Royal Society of Arts in London. The winners of both the science and business awards will then attend a three-day convocation at the Franklin Institute in their honor. According to Bower's will, the awardees must be present at the convocation to receive their medals. The three days of ceremonies, lectures, and public programs are scheduled for the second week of November, in honor of another pivotal event in Franklin's life, Nov. 7, 1749 - the date upon which Franklin noted the similarity between lightning and electricity. The Bower Awards are part of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial's renewed efforts to honor Franklin and to promote science by honoring modern-day scientists who best follow in his footsteps. By recognizing "humanitarian scientists," Tise hopes more researchers will be inspired to apply their knowledge to solving the problems faced by society today. "We need more people thinking about the condition and future of humanity and the condition and future of this planet." Tise is confident that one day the name "Henry Bower" will be recognized as readily as that of Alfred Nobel: "I think it will take two years" for the recognition to come, he says, adding, "Once we finish dramatizing what this [award] is all about, people will be eager to make nominations." For more information about the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science, contact: Larry Tise, executive director, the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, the Franklin Institute, 20th St. and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; (215) 448-1329.

Science Museum Institutes Franklin Prize To Honor Humanitarian Researchers

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