Welcome. Thank you for coming.

We've come a long way since we opened JILA in 1962 in the old State Armory Building. 
 
The old Armory is quite a contrast to the high-tech facility we are dedicating today. The new X-wing provides an ultra-stable environment necessary to support the science of precise laser measurements and nanotechnology. The technology that went into this wing is, itself, a testament to the miracle of science. 
 

We are equally excited that just six blocks away about 90 minutes ago, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) dedicated its new Precision Measurement Laboratory for research at the frontiers of measurement science. 
 
We gather today nearly 50 years after JILA was founded as a highly successful joint institute of CU-Boulder and NIST.  =
We can define the success of our partnership in myriad ways.
 
We can start with the fact that three JILA scientists have received Nobel Prizes: Eric Cornell, Carl Wieman and Jan Hall; and two are MacArthur Fellows in Margaret Murnane AND Deborah Jin. 
 
The collaboration between CU and NIST can be no more dramatic than when CU Professor Carl Wieman and NIST scientist Eric Cornell combined for their 2001 Nobel Prize in physics.
 
Consider too, that JILA is the original poster child for interdisciplinary research in our community. 
 
JILA's CU members hold faculty appointments in physics; chemistry and biochemistry; molecular, cellular and developmental biology; and astrophysical and planetary sciences. NIST's quantum physics division members hold adjoint faculty positions at CU in the same departments. 
 
This valuable partnership has produced 11 companies currently operating in Colorado based on the work of JILA scientists and their discoveries.
 
JILA's very success has set the standard for all of CU's joint institutes and federal lab partnerships that followed. The ultimate result of this visionary alliance is that JILA is one of the nation's leading research institutes in the physical sciences.
 
Today, JILA takes another step forward with this new facility and its advanced labs to ensure that U.S. industry remains at the forefront of science.
 
It's also further evidence of our partnership with NIST. NIST contributed $22.5 million to the $32.7 million project, with CU-Boulder picking up the rest, through indirect cost recovery and other sources restricted to research facilities. 
 
I'm proud to say this new wing is on track for a LEED gold rating for energy standards and leadership. We now have 15 buildings on campus that are LEED-certified or pending certification. 
 
It adds 56,000 square feet of laboratory, office and collaborative space to train the next generation of top scientists and develop technologies needed to support our nation's science priorities.
 
A central part of JILA is training tomorrow's scientists. JILA produces 5 to 10 percent of all atomic, molecular and optical science Ph.Ds. in the United States.
 
This new wing will help us support our growing number of JILA graduate students, which have grown from 69 in 2000 to 104 today.  It will enable us to boost both the number of JILA graduate students and the quality of their training.
 
It's notable that JILA and the CU physics department are tied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the nation's top graduate program in atomic, molecular and optical physics in the latest U.S. News and World Report ranking.
 
This is evidence of our ability to train a new generation of scientists in laser measurement, nanotechnology, and other technologies vital to our future and the future of our country.
 
The X-wing will only enhance our efforts.
 
Thank you.