Nobel laureate, Charles H. Townes, was awarded the 2005 Templeton Prize on Wednesday for his lifelong advocacy of converging the worlds of science and religion. The Templeton Prize is awarded for exemplary work in the field of "spiritual realities" research. Created by Sir John Templeton, the Prize award this year is 795,000 pounds sterling, or more than $1.5 million. Sir John stipulated upon creating the Prize that the award will always be more than that awarded every year by the Nobel Prize. Townes reportedly will give most of his prize to educational institutions and churches.

Townes, co-awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1964, has been writing and speaking about breaking down the walls between science and religion since the 1966 publication of his article, "The Convergence of Science and Religion" in the journal THINK, published by International Business Machines (IBM). The article started a movement to begin drawing similarities between scientific and religious research. He is most known for his work with lasers, which have led to tremendous technological advancements including such devices as DVD players and precision medical devices.

And this convergence seems to make sense. There are many similarities in the ways that science and religion seek to answer their respective riddles. Townes described moments of scientific revelation as being similar to a spiritual one. Often, ideas conjured up by scientist come seemingly from nowhere, almost like some divine intervention.

NICE does not advocate for religion, science or particular religious practices. NICE only advocates for nice things. But, we think that Townes' vision is profound in helping us all to remember just how big life is; that there are still some very large and pending questions of life out there and that both science and religion play equally important parts in our search for the answers.

D. Robert -- New York, NY