News

Comments by Governor Ted Kulongoski
ONAMI Visit, Portland State University
February 13, 2006

Thank you very much.

Before I begin my comments, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to everybody at ONAMI [Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute] and the lab here at PSU. Thank you so much for this amazing tour. Thank you for answering our questions about this wonderful new technology.

And thank you for all the great work you are doing--not only to give Oregon a foothold in this new field of science and technology, but also to brighten the economic future of our state and our region.

I want to say a special thank-you to President Dave Frohnmayer of the University of Oregon, and President Ed Ray of Oregon State, for joining this momentous partnership with Portland State University, our private-sector partners, and the State of Oregon--a partnership to make our world better through technology. It's great to have you here today.

Gov. Kulongoski with Lindsay Desrochers, Simon Benson House, Portland State University

I also want to thank PSU Vice President Lindsay Desrochers, for the truly warm hospitality. I'm delighted to be here with you, and I'm especially grateful to Debbie Murdock of the PSU president's office for putting this event together on such short notice.

Whenever I visit an ONAMI facility, I marvel at the possibilities that nanotechnology offers the world.
It also reminds me of the people who lived a hundred years ago, just after the turn of the last century. Some of those folks are still with us--not many, but a few. When they were young, they marveled at the new technologies bursting upon the world in the 20th century.

They marveled over airplanes and blimps. They marveled over radios and washing machines.

If they could have seen the technologies we take for granted today--high-definition television, cell phones, and the Internet, to name a few--they would have thought they were seeing miracles. Just think of it--images and sounds projected through space and brought to life on screens far away;

Machines that can think and compute and solve problems;

Navigating by invisible signals sent by orbital manmade moons.

To the people of 1906, the very concepts would have seemed like magic. In their eyes, the world of today would seem full of miracles.

Here in Oregon, we stand on the threshold of even greater miracles--the miracles of applied science and technology.

Three short years ago, in 2003, I had the privilege of leading a team that mustered $20 million in capital and another million in operating funds to start the ONAMI effort on Oregon's research campuses. Last year, I asked the legislature to invest $7 million more to strengthen ONAMI's capacity--and here I must thank Senator Kate Brown and Senator Ryan Deckert for their critical work in gaining the legislature's approval to get this done.

Just last week, the federal government announced its intention to invest $8 million more in this important effort. I want to assure you today that I intend to ask the next session of the legislature to work with me toward upgrading Oregon's investment in ONAMI--for the simple reason that this investment will pay off handsomely for all Oregonians.

Governor Ted Kulongoski (upper right) examines a high-powered transmission electron microscope in Portland State's Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanofabrication. With the Governor, John Carruthers (upper left) and Chunfei Li, lab manager (lower right).

As we all know, nanotechnology is not a "pie in the sky" vision that only academics can get excited about. Nanotechnology is hope.

Nanotechnology will play a vital role in solving the energy crisis by giving us ways to create, store and transport renewable energy. That's worth hoping for in an age when we must rely on the Middle East for a fuel that pollutes our air and contributes to global warming.

Nanotechnology will play a role in making materials stronger and more versatile. That's worth hoping for, too, in a world running low on critical building materials.

Nanotechnology will help us create amazing new fibers to keep us warm or cool us off, to heal our wounds, and protect us from the elements. This gives us hope for longer, healthier lives.

Nanotechnology will help us bolster our economy and extend the hope of prosperity to more people. We will create new jobs for Oregonians--well-paying jobs in clean industries. We will position Oregon to take advantage even greater opportunities in industries that have not yet been born.

In every sense, nanotechnology means hope.

ONAMI embodies that hope. This effort is important not only for highly educated researchers, engineers and business leaders. It's just as important for the working families of Oregon who will benefit from creation of new family-wage jobs, a more vibrant economy, and a society that looks to the future with hope.

The inclusion of $8 million for ONAMI in the Department of Defense budget, and the recognition of Oregon's unique expertise in the critical area of energy production, clearly demonstrate that ONAMI has "arrived." This investment puts ONAMI on par with MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies and the other centers of excellence around the country.

Our proven excellence in several areas in nanotechnology--including safe and efficient nano-manufacturing; micro energy and chemical systems; and nano-laminate materials--positions us for even greater things. When we build a world-class research infrastructure, we also build a world-class workforce. When corporations know they will find a pool of graduates in Oregon who have highly developed skills, they will come here to grow and prosper.

My friends, this is only the beginning.

As ONAMI's capacity increases, its ability to win major federal awards will also increase. We will see more innovative technologies and new companies that create high-wage jobs for Oregonians. If we want to sustain this momentum, and achieve global competitiveness in nanotechnology, we must remain focused. We must continue to enhance our strengths.

And that's my commitment as your Governor--to enhance Oregon's strengths in this vital new world of nanotechnology.

Before ending my remarks, I want to stress what may be our most outstanding accomplishment in this area, and that is that ONAMI represents the best in collaboration. I'm talking about collaboration among the research campuses of the university system, the private sector, state agencies, and our partners at the Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland--a billion-dollar laboratory with strong ties to Oregon. Today, we have with us the full array of partners, some of whom I've already noted.

I want to give special recognition to our other ONAMI board members, who have helped make this collaboration so successful. They have worked diligently to keep the effort focused.

They represent Oregon's "Silicon Forest"--a cluster of the most advanced R & D and manufacturing operations for the world's top suppliers of semiconductors, electronic printing, instrumentation and displays.

They include cutting-edge researchers from Portland State University, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Thank you for your contribution of energy and resources, and thank you for helping give Oregon yet another new source of hope.

I must also thank Oregon's congressional delegation for their key role in securing the new federal investment of $8 million in ONAMI for fiscal year 2007. This investment comes on top of about $22 million in federal and private funding that has come ONAMI's way in the past year.

Needless to say, ONAMI has succeeded dramatically in leveraging both private and public support. Oregon's initial investment has proved to be a very smart one.

We do indeed stand on the threshold of miracles, here in Oregon. They are miracles that we can create for ourselves and our children--using our own brains and our own hands. They will give us miraculous new products. They will strengthen Oregon's economy with new jobs. They will establish Oregon as a world-class competitor in an industry that improves the lives of countless human beings in countless.

I look forward to crossing that threshold with ONAMI leading the way. Thank you very much.

For more information, visit www.pdx.eduhttp://www.pdx.edu/news/gov-kulongoski-to-tour-portland-state-university-on-ONAMI-visit-monday-Feb-13.