Gates accepts Franklin Institute award

Computer mogul Bill Gates was in town Thursday to accept an award from the Franklin Institute. The founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men in the world is being recognized for his philanthropic activities.

Computer mogul Bill Gates was in town Thursday to accept an award from the Franklin Institute. The founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men in the world is being recognized for his philanthropic activities.

Before accepting the Franklin Insitutute Award, Bill Gates toured a nearby magnet school, the Science Leadership Academy. Physics teacher Matthew Van Kouwenberg showed Gates some student projects. Gates offered ideas for a parabolic mirror used to power a homemade water distillation apparatus.

“You’d almost like to have some laser thing that’s helping you orient these things,” Gates said.

“And you absolutely could increase the efficiency that way, but this is something anyone…,” Matthew Van Kouwenberg said.

Later, Gates advised a roomful of high school students to invest in their own education before attempting charitable actions. Shareesa Bollers won a college scholarship from the Gates foundation, and says his appearance at the Academy is inspiring.

All of us are smart and want to change the world. It’s not easy – when teacher say, you better make the most of your education, that sheds a light on that.

Although the primary concerns of his multi-million dollar foundation are poverty and health care, Bill Gates says about 30 percent goes to education, including an experimental program to study teacher performance in classrooms.