[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 39 (Monday, October 6, 2008)]
[Pages 1276-1277]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Presenting the 2007 National Medals of Science and Technology 
and Innovation

September 29, 2008

    Please be seated. Thanks. Welcome. This is a joyous day for the 
White House as we honor some of our Nation's most gifted and visionary 
men and women. I congratulate you all on your achievements. I'm looking 
forward to presenting you with the National Medals of Science and 
Technology and Innovation. And I welcome your friends, but most 
importantly, I welcome your family members. We are glad you're here, and 
thank you for standing by these--by the side of these pioneers and doers 
and achievers.
    I want to thank members of the administration who've joined us, 
particularly Deputy Secretary John Sullivan; Dr. Arden Bement, Director 
of the National Science Foundation. I welcome the chairs and members of 
the 2007 and 2008 nominating committees. These recipients welcome you as 
well. [Laughter] They appreciate your good judgment. [Laughter] And I 
welcome the previous medal recipients who are here. But most of all, 
thank you all for coming.
    You know, it's very interesting that we're having this in the East 
Room. It turns out that Thomas Jefferson reportedly used this room as a 
place to lay out his fossils. [Laughter] Three hundred fossils and bones 
were catalogued right here in the East Room, including a tusk of nearly 
10 feet. Barney has

[[Page 1277]]

been looking for that tusk for a long time. [Laughter]
    Anyway, our history is rich with pioneers and innovators who have 
used their God-given talents to improve our Nation. After all, it was 
Benjamin Franklin who invented the bifocals, and you will see his 
picture hanging here in the White House, or Alexander Graham Bell and 
the telephone.
    Creative men and women are building on the foundation laid by those 
geniuses, and the same thing is going to happen in the future with the 
foundation laid by these geniuses. I mean, after all, Franklin's 
bifocals are giving way to LASIK surgery--[laughter]--and Alexander 
Graham Bell's telephone plays MP3s. [Laughter]
    We're proud to honor a new generation of people who have strived for 
excellence; people whose discoveries have changed America and the world. 
And that's what we're here to honor: discovery and hard work and 
creative minds.
    The men and women we honor here hold more than 100 patents. They are 
the leaders in business and industry. They public--publish influential 
books. They chair academic departments in some of our country's finest 
universities. Our honorees have made breakthroughs in the range of--in a 
range of fields, including polymer chemistry, neurobiology, condensed 
matter physics--all a little esoteric for a history major, I might add. 
[Laughter]
    Each of our honorees has extended the frontiers of knowledge, and in 
so doing, they've inspired a wave of innovation. We're an innovative 
society, and one of the main reasons why is we got very capable people 
who are willing to use their talents to push for new innovations. The 
work has helped inspire new medicines to treat diseases, strengthen 
security in Americans' airports, build new jet engines. They have helped 
create a global marketplace through a single phrase: ``Find it on 
eBay.'' [Laughter]
    Each of these folks up here has earned the appreciation of our 
country. And one way to express our appreciation is to present a medal, 
and that's what we're doing.
    I do want to thank the members of our academic community for helping 
youngsters understand the importance of math and science and 
engineering. Today we've got students from Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin 
Banneker Academic High Schools. And I know that some of the recipients 
here took time out to inspire, and I hope scientists and mathematicians 
and engineers all across the country will serve as mentors and role 
models to encourage young folks to take a serious interest in 
academics--in the academic of engineering and physics and sciences and 
biology, so that some day another American President will be able to 
hang a medal around their neck.
    All in all, this is an important day for our country, because it 
reminds people that innovation and science are important for our future 
and that good education is important for that future as well. I want to 
thank you all again for your many contributions to our Nation. I want to 
thank you all for coming to witness this important ceremony.
    And now I ask the military aide to read the citations.

[At this point, Maj. Curtis Buzzard, USA, Army Military Aide to the 
President, read the citations, and the President presented the medals.]

Note: The President spoke at 10 a.m. in the East Room at the White 
House.