REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO RUSNANO
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO RUSNANO - RUSSIAN CORPORATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGIES – MOSCOW
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur measc anseo ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
Good morning, Friends. I am delighted to be with you for this special Scientific Forum on Nanotechnology, and I want to thank you, Mr. Chubais and your colleagues for the extremely warm welcome that you have extended to us here at the wonderful RUSNANO facility in Moscow.
I’m delighted to see that such a strong group has travelled from Ireland to be here today, led by Professor Frank Gannon, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland. This morning we want to highlight the importance of scientific research, to acknowledge the tremendous and exciting advances in innovation being generated here in RUSNANO in partnership with Government, commercial, educational and other sectors, across Russia and internationally and to showcase some of the best of Irish research in nanotechnology. Fáilte romhaibh go léir.
Since personal connection can enhance progress in even the most high-tech science and research, today’s event is a welcome opportunity for everyone here dedicated to nanotechnology to meet face-to-face, handshake to handshake, to discuss latest developments, to share knowledge and to foster key personal relationships – things that, even with enormous technological advances, are not always easy when our respective countries are geographically separated by some 2,800kms. And so I am therefore very pleased that we are joined by leading figures from Enterprise Ireland, Trinity College Dublin’s CRANN centre, Tyndall National Institute, University College Dublin and all the others who have made the trip to be here this morning.
This audience knows how important science is to our past, our present and our future. You also know that scientific discovery presents us with the possibility of unraveling great mysteries of huge significance to human kind. But scientific discovery needs more than curiosity. It needs an architecture of encouragement and resources. It needs an environment which supports brilliant and pioneering minds, which encourages collaboration and which ensures that vital information gets easily to where it can do most good for all stakeholders including the wider scientific, commercial, industrial and public affairs communities but, above all, for civic society and the individual whose health, dignity, life’s opportunities and life chances can be so imperiled or enhanced by the advancing frontiers of science. And that is why the vision and commitment which has resulted in the establishment of RUSNANO is to be congratulated.
Although only some few years in existence, RUSNANO has already made its mark in research, enterprise and educational circles in Russia and much further afield. Its establishment has represented a clear signal of intent to advance and enhance nanotechnology and related disciplines in partnership with a myriad of sectors on your doorstep and right across the globe.
Indeed, there are many parallels between RUSNANO and Science Foundation Ireland, most notably a shared vision of attaining excellence in the scientific sphere and of supporting projects that have high potential for commercial and social benefit. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) was formed to target investment in academic research teams that generate new knowledge, leading-edge technologies and competitive enterprises in science and engineering - be it biotechnology, information and communications technologies or sustainable energy and energy-efficient technologies. And over the last decade, SFI has helped to revolutionise scientific research and development in Ireland. In that relatively short period of time, Ireland has climbed in the international rankings and is now third in the world in the field of immunology and sixth in the world in the area of nanotechnology.
It is worth noting that there now exists an unprecedented level of collaboration in Ireland between enterprise and academia focused on commercial output and job creation – I understand that such partnerships grew by 25 per cent last year. This, of course, is a critical yardstick against which scientific progress is measured. Our commitment to leading-edge science is demonstrated by Dublin’s successful bid to become the ‘European City of Science’ in 2012 and we’re looking forward to the exciting opportunities that this title offers.
Today’s gathering is an important milestone – not only in the relationship between SFI and RUSNANO, but also in the long associations between our two nations. I have no doubt that further discussions between RUSNANO and SFI and our respective agencies and educational institutions will reap rewards of mutual benefit and strengthen these ties.
Today we are focusing very specially on the many opportunities offered by nanotechnology. The word ‘nanotechnology’ can perhaps be daunting to many non-scientific-minded people. It evokes images of complex, miniscule processes of precision engineering. It is helpful, in terms of assisting in the wider understanding of such practices, to ask ourselves “What is the end game here?” and “What does – or will – this research or this new device enable citizens to do now or in the future?” And in that respect, nanotechnology clearly challenges the notion as featured in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra that “Small to greater matters must give way”!
Nanotechnology has the potential to fundamentally change for the better the way we live, influencing areas as diverse as healthcare, the environment, food, agriculture and manufacturing – making a real impact on the way we live and work. One exciting recent development was RUSNANO’s signing in July of a cooperation agreement on greater usage of innovative materials in housing construction, including materials that have been manufactured through nanotechnology. These are tangible, day-to-day examples of the benefits arising from nanotechnology research and development. Some examples have been developed for many years, while others have been unearthed and implemented more recently. And who dares to foresee what is to be discovered in this field?
Speaking of the foreseen and unforeseen, you may have read coverage in the global press recently about predictions made a century ago in a book which has now been reprinted due to the wide attention it has received. In gazing into their crystal ball in 1910 and outlining their vision of what the world would be like 100 years from then, leading German thinkers, scientists and artists collaborated on a book entitled ‘The World in 100 Years’. While many of their visions have not materialised - at least, not yet! - forecasts that we would be carrying “telephones in our waistcoat pockets” and that “everything we now send and receive through wires we can also send by wireless means” have indeed come to pass. It certainly gives us food for thought and makes us wonder what your legacy will be and what the scale of influence nanotechnology will have on the world a century from now.
RUSNANO and SFI are also working together to make the best possible strategic assessment of global scientific, research and commercial trends in order to nurture the most promising innovations of tomorrow. And rather than being inhibited by distance, time, language or traditional restrictions and parameters, you as members of the scientific community relish the challenge of disproving doubters and converting the seemingly impossible into the possible. For this, I congratulate you on your individual and collective success to date, and hope that you continue to persevere in partnership and in your vocation as scientists.
It is important to acknowledge the challenging global economic backdrop against which the international scientific community is conducting its innovative research. Support for what you are endeavouring to achieve comes from many quarters, and your expertise in sourcing and nurturing early-stage ventures is greatly valued. I am confident that RUSNANO will remain resolute in its continued development of Russia’s nanotechnology research base, and that SFI will travel a similar path in Ireland – both engaging extensively with the international community in their respective quests.
It is a pleasure to be with you all here today, and to have discussed with Anatoly many of the initiatives in which RUSNANO is engaged. I’m sure that today is merely the beginning of a productive and dynamic scientific dialogue that will benefit both Russia and Ireland into the future.
Thank you.