Beckman Institute 20th Anniversary Symposium Closing Remarks from Tamer Başar - October 7
Our Vision for the Future speakers, John Rogers, Todd Coleman, and Gene Robinson, have given us some profound food for thought and provided a most fitting way to conclude this Beckman Institute 20th Anniversary Symposium. What we find at the close of this symposium is not an end, however, but a beginning, or a renewal, if you will.
We heard earlier in the day, following Charles Lieber’s illuminating keynote talk, about the work going on in our four research themes, as well as the plans of our two strategic initiatives and the developing initiative. Those talks left no doubt that research at Beckman is as forward-looking and vibrant today as it was 20 years ago in 1989 when a few dozen very enthusiastic scientists began the great mission of doing interdisciplinary research. We learned at this symposium about those early days from the researchers, administrators, and students who laid the foundation for the work that goes on today. We learned about Arnold Beckman, his work as a scientist and as a businessman, and about the personal qualities that made him a great philanthropist and a wonderful human being. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation not only made this building possible, but it has created a legacy that helps ensure that the important work going on here continues to evolve.
Throughout its 20 year history, researchers at the Beckman Institute have been at the forefront of forging interdisciplinary collaborations to generate new knowledge, new science, and create new technology while also contributing to the educational mission of the Institute by mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and post-docs in an environment enriched by interdisciplinarity. They have been enthusiastic participants in the continuing pursuit of the mission of breaking down disciplinary boundaries that was first tasked to them in 1989. But we cannot rest on our past accomplishments or current projects and activities. What I take away from this symposium is the message that the possibilities inherent in doing 21st Century science and advanced technology development gives us even greater opportunities to imagine than Beckman’s founding researchers had two decades ago. We should accept that challenge and strive to reach even greater heights in the next 20 years, with more profound societal impact than has been heretofore. We are now at a point where, as we heard throughout the symposium, the problems emerging from societal concerns and problems formulated around the needs for advances in science and technological development, all require collaborative team work, with teams formed from researchers with diverse backgrounds, trainings, and expertise, but also can talk to each other. The Beckman Institute with the path it has traversed during the last twenty years and the interdisciplinary culture it has successfully built all these years, is in a perfect position to meet the challenge. The bar is now higher, and the aspirations and expectations bigger. But the ultimate reward is greater.
I thank you all again for coming and for participating, which contributed immensely to the symposium. I thank the speakers, former directors, and others who have played a pivotal role in the founding, growth and evolution of the Institute and its programs. I thank alumni and friends who have joined us for this celebratory event. And I thank particularly Pat Beckman who has sit through all the presentations all three days of the symposium for being such a good friend of the Beckman Institute. I also thank the behind-the-scenes staff at Beckman who helped make this event run so smoothly and thus contributed to its success. I could here cite a long list of names, but one person I will single out is our Director of Communication, Sue Johnson, who orchestrated the entire operation. Hopefully, we can do this again in another 20 years, maybe 10 years.