Keck Foundation Salutes Laureates.

The W. M. Keck Foundation salutes the Nobel laureates and all of the scientists who dedicate their lives to unraveling the physical and biological processes that shape our lives. We stand at the threshold of exciting developments in the physical sciences. The deciphering of the human genome has inaugurated a new era of unprecedented discovery in biomedicine that will extend the borders of knowledge within traditional disciplines of chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science and the life sciences, while also requiring innovative new collaborations between them.

This interdisciplinary approach demands a nurturing environment in order to thrive. California's youth, vitality, and entrepreneurial spirit all foster this creative milieu. These qualities also characterize the Golden State's remarkable public university system, in which the oldest campus was chartered only a little over 130 years ago. Even the most venerable private research university in the state was chartered only about 120 years ago. Most of its prestigious universities are much younger. This youth cultivates a vigorous spirit and a "can do" mindset that has engendered innovative, and often high-risk, high-reward research.

The W. M. Keck Foundation has embraced this mindset through its funding of groundbreaking science. When the University of California at San Francisco approached the Foundation 20 years ago to fund one of its promising young scientists, the Foundation's directors recognized the opportunity to support a pioneering, risk-taking idea. We were gratified when Dr. Stanley Prusiner received the Nobel Prize in 1997 for his revolutionary discovery of prions, a new causative agent for disease. The Foundation also saw risk rewarded when it supported a "discovery fund" for diverse, innovative research projects at the California Institute of Technology. One of the projects funded was Dr. Ahmed Zewail's rapid laser technique for revealing how atoms move inside a molecule during chemical reactions. That work was rewarded with a Nobel Prize in 1999.

All discoveries in basic science, whether cited for a Nobel or not, further our knowledge of both the macro- and micro-universe. We cannot predict how far the ripples from a discovery will spread. Few states have had the success at establishing technology spin-offs from its basic science work that California has.

This has been a remarkable achievement, to be sure. But more important has been the development of creative new approaches to scientific research, both in California and at leading institutions across the nation. Administrative and technological barriers to funding and pursuing bold research and new ideas, though still a major obstacle, are beginning to come down. Investigators are reaching across disciplinary borders and developing new vocabularies, new partnerships and new methods for tackling some of science's most vexing questions. This entrepreneurial spirit creates incentive for scientists, opportunities for investors, and ultimately, better lives for us all, be it through advances in basic science, health care, or engineering.

We pay homage to all scientists, in California, in the United States, and in the world, for dedicating themselves to unraveling the mysterious forces that regulate our lives and our world. Each discovery brings us further understanding. And with understanding comes the ability to change what we see and make it better, for the benefit of all humanity.