Press Statement - October 15 , 1997
Statement by Dr. Neal Lane
Director, National Science Foundation
On Award of Nobel Prizes
I congratulate the 1997 Nobel Laureates in science. This honor is
fitting tribute to their remarkable achievements and, in the case of
four of them, to the foresight of the American public which supported
their work.
Economist Robert C. Merton of Harvard University, who helped to change
the field of finance, received a graduate fellowship and three research
grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and has served often
as an expert reviewer for NSF proposals. Physicists Steve Chu of
Stanford and William D. Phillips of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) also were recipients of NSF fellowships early in
their careers. Chu's research has been supported by NSF over the last
20 years, and Phillips' has been supported by the U.S. Department of
Commerce through NIST. Support for the work of chemist Paul D. Boyer
of the University of California-Los Angeles by American taxpayers
includes five NSF awards over 15 years.
To date, NSF has supported the work of at least 23 Nobel Laureates,
and at least 17 laureates are former NSF Graduate Fellows.
As the only federal agency to support fundamental research in all
non-medical science and engineering disciplines, NSF is the agent of
the American people, investing in a more secure and productive future.
Most Americans value science as a national resource; nearly
three-quarters surveyed say that we should continue to invest in
science even if it shows no immediate benefit. American taxpayers are
both the sponsors and the beneficiaries of scientific research. As
such, they helped make possible the achievements of the Nobelists we
honor today, and also share in the benefits that this new knowledge
brings to society.
Some say that we are approaching the end of science, and that one day
there will be no more mysteries left to understand and no new
knowledge left to uncover. I disagree with that view. The
discoveries that we honor today were at one time unimaginable. Can we
even imagine now the future Nobel prizes that might result from the
seeds of discovery being sown today? We live in a golden age of
science, which will continue to unlock the secrets of the unknown for
the benefit of all humankind. I encourage all Americans to join me in
gratitude to these pioneers of science, the 1997 Nobel Laureates.
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