On Friday, January 20th, GPIC representatives were delighted to participate in the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Birthday Celebration. The theme for this year’s celebration was Franklin and Energy: Resources, Uses and Efficiencies. The morning seminar heard presentations from Denis O’Brien, President and CEO of PECO; Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer at Franklin Institute; and Dr. Henry Foley, Executive Director of GPIC and the Vice President for Research at Penn State University. Dr. Foley related how the GPIC is carrying on the work of Benjamin Franklin, and noted the important role that federally-funded research plays in making important strides in the world of energy,.
During lunch, the 2012 Franklin Founders Award was given to Nobel Prize winner and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu who ,like Benjamin Franklin, is a scientist devoting his life to public service. Dr. Chu noted that throughout history, it is not enough to be the country that houses new inventions. From airplanes to cars and now to clean energy sources, the U.S. must again invent, produce and sell in order to lead.
You can view pictures from the day’s events on GPIC’s Facebook page.
