Call for Nominations
2010 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science
Eligibility and Selection Process
Nomination Information:
Theme: Earth Systems
Prize: $250,000 USD
Deadlines:
Notice of intent to nominate is encouraged: February 28, 2009
Complete Nomination: April 30, 2009
The Franklin Institute seeks nominations for the 2010 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science of individuals who have made significant scientific contributions to our understanding of the interrelationships among Earth systems leading to increased predictability of natural or human-induced changes on the planet. Nominations should recognize efforts that encompass various earth systems and processes, including: the Earth's interior, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere, biogeochemical cycles, and Earth history. Nominations should also indicate the scientific, technical, and, where applicable, societal impact of the nominee's work.
Eligibility:
- This is an international competition for individuals whose work has had a significant impact on our understanding of Earth systems.
- The award is for an individual rather than that of a group or team. If the individual is a part of a group whose joint work is selected for an award, he or she must be recognized as the group's leading scientist.
- Candidates for the award must be living, and the winner must participate in the Awards Ceremony, to be held on April 29, 2010 in Philadelphia.
- In cases of candidates with equal technical merit, the factor of societal impact of the discovery or application will weigh favorably on behalf of the candidate.
The Bower Award and Prize for Science Achievement was established in 1990 through a bequest from Philadelphia chemical manufacturer and philanthropist Henry Bower (1896-1988). The award, with its gold medal and cash prize of $250,000, is presented annually to a distinguished member of the international scientific community for work in a prescribed discipline that changes each year.
The Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science and the Bower Award in Business Leadership are the newest in The Franklin Institute's long history of recognizing and encouraging achievement in science, technology, and leadership. Through The Franklin Institute Awards, which today includes the Benjamin Franklin Medals and the Bower Awards, the Institute has honored over 2,000 luminaries since 1824, representing the greatest minds of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The roster of The Franklin Institute laureates reads like a Who's Who of science and invention, including such titans as Thomas Edison, Marie and Pierre Curie, Rudolph Diesel, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Enrico Fermi, Stephen Hawking, Ralph Cicerone, Noam Chomsky, Paul Baran, Rob Van der Voo, Luna Leopold and M. Gordon Wolman, and Wallace Broecker.