The Townes Award

The Governor's School for Science and Mathematics Foundation presents an annual Townes Award that honors individuals or institutions that have gone beyond the basic requirements of their professional positions to raise the quality of science, mathematics and technology education in South Carolina.

Past winners have hailed from academic, business and political sectors.

Since 1993, the Governor's School for Science and Mathematics has presented the Townes Award, named for Dr. Charles H. Townes, native South Carolinian, Furman graduate and Nobel Laureate in physics. In 1964, Dr. Townes received the Nobel Prize for his work in quantum electronics leading to the invention of the laser. This breakthrough revolutionized not only science, but also our everyday lives. The laser now is a ubiquitous part of the modern landscape in everything from supermarket bar code scanners to compact disc players, as well as surgery, fiber optic communication, laser printers and weapons guidance systems.

Past Townes Award Recipients
 
1993
Governor Carroll A. Campbell Jr. and Mr. Charles W. Coker

1994
Dr. John R. Carpenter and Dr. Doris R. Helms

1995
Professor Elizabeth M. Martin

1996
Dr. Walter D. Smith

1997
Mr. Fred Sheheen

1998
Dr. Peggy W. Cain

1999
Mr. Roger Milliken and Dr. Ruth Patrick

2000
Mr. Rudy Mancke and Dr. John Michener

2001
Dr. Larry A. Jackson

2002
The Honorable Richard W. Riley

2003
Major General and NASA Astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr.

2004
South Carolina's Three Research Universities – Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina

2005
Former Senator Ernest F. Hollings

2006
Mr. Don Herriott, head of Roche Global Chemical Manufacturing

2007
The Honorable Robert W. Harrell, Jr., Speaker of the House, SC House of Representatives

2008
Steve Swanson, Automated Trading Desk