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Remarks

Photo of Joseph Bordogna

Dr. Joseph Bordogna
Deputy Director
Chief Operating Officer
National Science Foundation
Biography

Remarks: SIA Award Luncheon/Administration Leadership Award Acceptance
Washington, DC
March 18, 2004

Thank you very much, George 1. . This is such an honor. The strengthening of the NSF-SRC partnership on a larger and more pervasive scale exemplifies the collaborative efforts of government and industry in our common goal to secure our nation's S, E, & T preeminence.

Since we're on the topic of administration leadership, I'd like to speak briefly about Vannevar Bush, whose 1945 work, Science: The Endless Frontier, ignited the initiative that would become the National Science Foundation and established the foundation for today's NSF-SIA synergy. Vannevar Bush was an electrical engineer with 80 patents and a key player in engineering in the United States. We know him best as Chairman of Roosevelt's military R&D office. He was the Nation's most prominent engineer at the time of World War II.

Not only did he co-author an engineering textbook (1922) that stayed in print for 30 years, build the world's first differential analyzer, co-create the famous GE power system network analyzer and serve as Dean of Engineering at MIT; in 1945 Vannevar wrote an article in The Atlantic Monthly, entitled "As we may think it," which included his prediction of a "desktop personal information machine" which would facilitate rapid access to huge amounts of information and form connections between related items. It seems he forecasted our present computer-communications capability long before it became the reality it is today. Almost 60 years later, in anticipation of the future from our vantage point, it is clear that the only way for the United States to thrive amidst a throng of competing nations is to surpass the competition on every level; at every landmark along the way. This means being the very best in new technologies. This means pounding at the frontiers of S&E with audacity. This means having the best workforce -- the best trained and the most capable at adapting to constant change. By applying the knowledge we gain to manufacturing techniques, we will witness accelerated and tangible progress in creating our society's productive and successful future. And in doing so, we will insure that our nation is competitive in science, engineering and industry.

In the words of management guru Peter Drucker, "The source of wealth is something specifically human -- knowledge. Knowledge applied to tasks we already know how to do is productivity. Knowledge applied to tasks that are new and different is innovation." Drucker's characterizations of productivity and innovation encapsulate what I believe to be the core of the NSF-SRC partnership.

By investing in fundamental research at universities, and by training and educating our workforce, we strengthen our knowledge base. Application of a strong knowledge base transfers directly to both increased productivity and increased innovation -- in street language, both "the here and the now" as well as the "beyond." But both can happen only when the mechanisms are in place.

SRC's experience with technology-transfer facilitates this transition of integrated, cross-boundary and silicon nanoelectronics research discoveries to actual products that will have immediate and lasting impact on society. Working together, we can only speed the process and insure the quality of the product, while amplifying the impact across all sectors of our science and engineering research and product industry.

Our gathering today represents our success to date in actively pursuing the means to a productive future. But the road ahead requires even more of our dedication, our efforts, and our support. I am honored to be a part of this journey and I can't wait to see what is on the horizon and what develops in the marketplace.

Thank you again.

1 George Scalise, President of the Semiconductor Industry Association, presenting SIA Administration Leadership Award to Joseph Bordogna.
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