Townes Award

 

GSSM is proud to announce South Carolina Department of Commerce as the 2025 Townes Award Recipient. 

Wednesday, March 19, 2025
6:00 p.m.
1208 Washington Place
Columbia, SC

Join us as we Celebrate South Carolina’s Transformative Growth and honor S.C. Commerce, the organization dedicated to moving our state forward. Led by Secretary Harry M. Lightsey III, Deputy Secretary Ashely Teasdel, the achievements of S.C. Commerce and the tremendous growth they have led in the Palmetto State have been paramount.

 

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Past Townes Award Recipients

Watch the 2024 Townes Award Dinner Livestream!

Since 1993, the Governor's School for Science & Mathematics has presented the Townes Award to honor individuals, businesses, or institutions that have transformed South Carolina and the world. Past winners have hailed from academic, business and political sectors. Dr. Charles H. Townes (1915-2015) was a native South Carolinian, Furman graduate and Nobel Laureate in physics. In 1964, Dr. Townes received the Nobel Prize for his pioneering research in quantum electronics leading to the invention of the laser. This breakthrough transformed not only science, but also our everyday lives. The laser now is a ubiquitous part of the modern landscape, including in surgery, fiber optic communication, and laser printers.

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