Gateway Celebration
Comments from James Decker, Deputy Director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science
 The U.S. government came to Oak Ridge some 62 years ago because its remoteness and seclusion were key to keeping atomic research secret. Today, much of the research we conduct is unclassified, and we want it to be shared, as shared information enables science progress. Science.gov is a step toward not only getting out the results of the Department of Energy's research, but also that of 11 other collaborating federal agencies.
As Secretary Abraham has remarked about today's Gateway Celebration, "This street re-naming ceremony is a wonderful way to highlight Oak Ridge's transformation from the 'secret city' of the 1940's into the hub it has become today for information about all federal research and development results."
It is a tribute to the dedicated Department of Energy staff here in OR that this kind of dramatic transformation has been accomplished.
The vision for science.gov is traceable to a workshop in 2000 chaired by Alvin Trivelpiece, a former director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and also former director of the Office of Science. Al's vision called for a grand new Information Infrastructure for the Sciences. Subsequent work here at the Department of Energy has been shaped by that vision. With the collaboration of the federal science agencies, science.gov is the first concrete step toward making the Trivelpiece vision a reality. By highlighting the Department of Energy's research results as well as those generated by the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and other research agencies, science.gov can help to make the Department of Energy research and all other agencies' research known and available as never before.
The Web, which makes science.gov possible, has only become widely used within, say, the last 10 years, and the technology continues to evolve very rapidly. I applaud the men and women here at OSTI for pushing that technology and rapidly adopting and assimilating its advances.
OSTI became a part of the Office of Science a number of years ago. At that time it was an organization that was, primarily on paper, providing information about information. And I remember the day that Dave Nelson and I came down here and sort of laid down a challenge for the OSTI management and staff to move the organization into the electronic age and to really bring scientific information to peoples' desktops. And that is what they've done, and they've done a terrific job and they've done it quickly.
Probably Dr. John H. Marburger, the President's science advisor, said it best. He said, "Science.gov aims to bring the substantial resources of the federal science and technology enterprise together, in one place. Working together, federal agencies have assembled countless pages of government research, data, and reports. The site is a great example of e-government in action."
As we make research results available through science.gov we are also helping in the development of the next generation of scientists who will continue to carry forth the great science tradition of this country. Some young students are here today from Ms. (Mimi) Holtzclaw's 5th grade class at Norwood Elementary School, which is one of five schools that OSTI assists in the Adopt-a-School program. Hopefully some of these students will be part of America's next generation of scientists, and most certainly will reap the benefits of a nation strong in scientific research and development. Easy access to a wealth of science information is one benefit provided to them by science.gov.
Science.gov is the gateway to government science, and now that gateway is located on the appropriately named Science.gov Way. I am pleased today to have been able to participate in this event that is so significant to our partner science agencies, the Department of Energy, the Office of Science, the City of Oak Ridge, and to researchers and citizens across the nation.
Now let's open the gateway to science. |
