Ambassador Ronald P.Spogli's Remarks at

GRAN SASSO NATIONAL LABORATORY

November 30, 2006

President Petronzio, Professor Coccia, Presidente Del Turco, Prefetto Troiani, Prefetto Camerino, Onorevoli Sindaci e Rettori, Dr. Calaprice, and distinguished guests, I would like to thank you all for inviting me to take part in this instructive presentation, followed by what I know will be a fascinating tour of the world-famous Gran Sasso National Laboratory. I've never been in an underground atom-smashing lab before, so I'm going to hold on to my hat. After the presentations I have just seen, I am expecting to be impressed and awed by the experiments. But let me just say that what impresses me the most about being here is the brain power collected around me. I literally feel like I am poised on the frontier of human knowledge, being shown around by pioneers like you, who are not afraid of taking risks to push the frontier a little farther.

I would like to say a few words of encouragement today and sum up my impressions of what you have achieved here at Gran Sasso, why it is so important, and what conditions should be in place in order to take your work to even greater heights -- even if your work is actually taking place deep underground!

Your kind invitation to me to take part in today's program makes my first point: that science today is international and increasingly interdisciplinary. More and more, projects like Borexino involve teams of scientists who bring together unique expertise and facilities. In this age of instant communication, scientists team up across the globe. The several nationalities that are taking part in Borexino prove that. Different scientists contribute their expertise in different disciplines, such as particle and nuclear physics and chemical engineering. Using the Internet and dedicated data networks, they can collaborate on research from their own universities. I have learned today that even though technology has made international collaboration possible, sometimes location does make a difference, allowing one partner to contribute something unique. That is the case with Gran Sasso, whose deep underground location and the composition of the mountain's rock provide the shielding essential to detect neutrinos from cosmic rays. I would like to recognize Gran Sasso for its role in bringing scientists from many different countries together.

Secondly, scientific and technological innovation are driving forces around the globe. Scientific endeavors are improving public health, lightening the burden of labor, improving energy efficiency, and expanding human understanding of the cosmos as well as our earthly world. But we also need to remember where these practical improvements came from. They are the fruits of fundamental, or “frontier”, research. If research like the experiments at Gran Sasso were not taking place, there would be fewer and fewer discoveries leading to new innovations. In a nutshell, basic research is the mother of applied inventions. All countries that want to advance based on innovation know that we must strike the right balance between fundamental and applied research. Gran Sasso is a successful example of forward-looking investment in frontier research involving international partnerships.

I am pleased to note that the National Institute of Nuclear Physics is active in technology transfer to enterprises, and is pursuing patents in areas such as medical diagnostics and imaging, information technology, and non-invasive nuclear techniques for analyzing paintings and other cultural objects. Transformation of discoveries into applications is especially important to boost competitiveness and economic growth based on innovation and high technology products. Your efforts are very compatible with the Embassy's initiative, the Partnership for Growth. Let me take a few moments to describe the Partnership.

One of my goals as Ambassador to Italy is to enhance the relationship between our two countries, allowing it to approach its full potential, both politically and economically. Notwithstanding our very positive cooperation on international issues, I do not believe the economic interaction between the United States and Italy is anywhere near to reaching its full potential. Relative to our existing political relationship or relative to our economic relationships with other EU countries, there is much more we need to do and can do economically together. To this end, in an April speech to Confindustria’s Giunta, I launched an initiative called the “Partnership for Growth.” The Partnership for Growth is designed to enhance economic dynamism in Italy through four major initiatives. The Partnership seeks, first, to encourage increased university-private sector collaboration in Italy to commercialize technology transfer and to create new companies. Second, the Partnership seeks to broaden and deepen capital markets; we especially want to broaden access to risk investment, such as venture capital and private equity. The third objective of the initiative is to promote stronger intellectual property rights regimes to encourage innovation. Finally, in order to begin to address cultural elements which work against intelligent risk taking, we are establishing a new exchange program to send young Italian scientists, engineers, and managers to the United States to study entrepreneurship and complete internships in high-growth U.S. enterprises.

My message to Italian policymakers is that in this world of the Internet and international science, where great discoveries can come from any corner of the globe, Italians need to forge stronger ties between research institutions and enterprises, supported by more flexible and effective financing, to create even more high-tech products to complement Italy’s traditional market niches, like textiles, footwear, and leather goods.

The Embassy looks forward to collaborating with the Abruzzi Region on Partnership for Growth projects, including those focusing on building closer research and business ties, and on the Business (and Scientist) Exchange Student Training program.

I am proud to be here today to recognize the United States' contribution to this international laboratory. Not only is Dr. Frank Calaprice of Princeton University here working on Borexino, but I understand that there are other American scientists, like Laura Kogler, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She is working on the "Cuoricino" experiment. Complimenti a tutti for so ably representing our country, and for contributing in an important way to the excellent relations the U.S. and Italy have traditionally enjoyed across the broad spectrum.

I would like in particular to recognize the contribution of the National Science Foundation to Borexino. NSF has invested $1 million dollars a year of U.S. Government funds over the past decade to support academic faculty, students, and postdocs, with an additional $7 million dollars supplied for construction funds. By the same token, I would also like to recognize the Government of Italy's enormous contribution to the project: half of Borexino's total costs, as well as an additional 80 million euro for restructuring that enable this world-class scientific facility to meet rigorous environmental and safety standards. Both sides have shown strong commitment to the laboratory, ensuring that it remains a leading international facility for years to come.

Thank you all very much for inviting me here today to mark the continuation of the Borexino project, and for showing me the Gran Sasso facilities where your international team is doing top of the line science. I am looking forward to visiting the laboratory to see the experiments up close.