After thoughtful consideration, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, we made the difficult decision to postpone the 2020 Franklin Institute Awards celebration to April 26–29, 2021. At that time, our current laureates will be honored with a full week of events culminating in The Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony and Dinner on April 29, 2021. 
 

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 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science, and the Bower Award for Business Leadership.