The Franklin Institute Awards

2025 Franklin Institute Awards Week: April 28 to May 2
2025 Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony and Dinner: May 1

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2025 Awards Laureates
The Franklin Institute congratulates The Franklin Institute Awards Class of 2025! Please join us in celebrating our newest laureates for their remarkable achievements during The Franklin Institute Awards Week—April 28–May 2, 2025.

Katharine N. Suding, Ph.D., 2025 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science
Jamie Dimon, 2025 Bower Award for Business Leadership 
Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell, Ph.D., 2025 Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award 
Naomi J. Halas, Ph.D., 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry 
William James Dally, Ph.D., 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science
Kurt Edward Petersen, Ph.D., 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering 
Steven M. Block, Ph.D., 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science 
John W. Hutchinson, Ph.D., 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Mechanical Engineering 
John P. Perdew, Ph.D., 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics

For two centuries, The Franklin Institute Awards has paid tribute to our namesake and America’s first citizen scientist, Benjamin Franklin, by honoring the greatest minds in science, engineering, and industry. Through their boundless creativity and passion for discovery, the members of our Class of 2025 have seen the previously invisible, pushed the limits of nature’s toolkit, and dreamed up solutions to global challenges. Beyond their remarkable achievements, they are mentors and role models, guiding the next generation of trailblazers and creating a better future for us all.

The Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony and Dinner will be held on Thursday, May 1, 2025. For event information, click HERE.

Presenting Sponsor
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Bank of America Logo

 

Awards Week Sponsors
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JPMorganChase | Morgan Lewis | Marsha and Jeffrey Perelman
Year
2025
Subject
Electrical Engineering
Award
Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award
Affiliation

Johns Hopkins University │ Baltimore, Maryland

Citation

For her contributions to the novel design of medical imaging systems involving ultrasound and light that make robotic and non-robotic guided surgery safer and more effective.

Year
2025
Subject
Life Science
Award
Benjamin Franklin Medal
Affiliation

Stanford University │ Stanford, California

Citation

For leadership in developing methods and applications for nanoscale manipulations with light (“optical tweezers”) to elucidate biological mechanisms.

Year
2025
Subject
Computer and Cognitive Science
Award
Benjamin Franklin Medal
Affiliation

NVIDIA │ Santa Clara, California │ Stanford University │ Stanford, California

Citation

For his contributions to the design of affordable, high-performance, parallel computer systems, a core technology that has enabled the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence and other applications that require massive amounts of computation.

Year
2025
Subject
Leadership
Award
Bower Award for Business Leadership
Affiliation

JPMorganChase | New York, New York

Citation

For his steadfast leadership in building JPMorganChase into a diversified global financial institution and his powerful advocacy on behalf of the American business community and its worldwide role and responsibilities.

Year
2025
Subject
Chemistry
Award
Benjamin Franklin Medal
Affiliation

Rice University │ Houston, Texas

Citation

For the creation and development of nanoshells—metal-coated nanoscale particles that can capture light energy—for use in many biomedical and chemical applications.

Year
2025
Subject
Mechanical Engineering
Award
Benjamin Franklin Medal
Affiliation

Harvard University │ Cambridge, Massachusetts

Citation

For outstanding contributions in the development of theories of the stability and failure of materials and structures, which have had profound impact on critical technologies for aerospace, energy systems, and nanoscale materials.

Year
2025
Subject
Physics
Award
Benjamin Franklin Medal
Affiliation

Tulane University │ New Orleans, Louisiana

Citation

For designing a method based on quantum mechanics that is widely used by researchers to computationally predict physical properties of atoms, molecules, fluids, and solids.

Year
2025
Subject
Electrical Engineering
Award
Benjamin Franklin Medal
Affiliation

Silicon Valley Band of Angels │ San Francisco, California

Citation

For his pioneering research and development of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology microscopic systems that merge mechanical and electrical parts—which has wide-ranging applications such as pacemakers, inkjet printers, optical projectors, and airbags.

Year
2025
Subject
Earth and Environmental Science
Award
Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science
Affiliation

University of Colorado │ Boulder, Colorado

Citation

For making transformative contributions to restoration ecology by increasing our understanding of degraded ecosystems and their recovery dynamics. Her work addresses urgent environmental and societal challenges, and guides policies and practices of ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable ecosystem management.

Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony 2023

Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony & Dinner

The 2025 Awards Ceremony & Dinner will be held Thursday, May 1.

 

Learn More
Sponsorship & Tickets

Benjamin Franklin Memorial statue with dramatic dark blue lighting

Call for Nominations

The Franklin Institute is currently accepting nominations for the Benjamin Franklin Medals, the Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award, the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science, and the Bower Award for Business Leadership.

 

 

Marie Curie | ca. 1900 | Tekniska Museet, Stockholm

Case Files

A Unique Repository in the History of Science and Technology. As the documentary record of The Franklin Institute Awards program, the Case Files are filled with stories of scientific enterprise dating back to 1824, when the Institute was founded to train artisans and mechanics in the fundamentals of science.

Since 1824, The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia has honored the legacy of Benjamin Franklin by presenting awards for outstanding achievements in science, engineering, and industry.

As the oldest comprehensive science and technology awards program in the United States, The Franklin Institute Awards Program has recognized more than 2,000 of the most 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, Martin Rees, Gordon Moore, Shuji Nakamura, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Blackburn, Bill Gates, Jim West and Gerhard Sessler, Cornelia Bargmann, John Goodenough, Jim Allison, and Frances Arnold.

The Franklin Institute Awards presents the Benjamin Franklin Medals, the Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award, the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science, and the Bower Award for Business Leadership.
 

Awards Videos

View each year’s Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony and learn about the laureates and their incredible work. Videos are presented in collections by year. 

2024  2023  2022  2021  2019  2018  2017  2016  2015

Looking for a specific laureate or subject? Check out the laureate search. Video profiles can be found on each laureate’s bio page.

Laureate Search