President France A. Córdova
MOU Ceremony/Plaque Ceremony
Monday, March 5, 2012
Universidad de EAFIT in Colombia

• Thank you. I’m delighted to be here in Colombia and at EAFIT.
• And thank you Rector Juan Luis Mejia, for your hospitality.
• We are pleased that EAFIT will host this supercomputer, but the benefits will extend much farther than this campus. They will spread from Medellin hasta Bogotá, and from Bogotá, hasta Cali. And from there, to throughout Colombia and Latin America—because of our mutually beneficial partnership.
• Aristotle wrote that a “friendship is essentially a partnership.” I would add that a partnership, ought to essentially be a friendship.
• Purdue has had a formal partnership with Colombia less than two years and with EAFIT for much longer. Today, we have taken additional steps to ensure that our partnership will also always be a long-lasting friendship.
• Together, in a short time, Purdue and EAFIT have expanded Latin America’s capacity for scientific research. We are jump-starting HUBzero cyber-infrastructure communities, such as nanotechnology, throughout the continent.
• Together, we have devised a framework for the exchange of students, researchers and expertise between our countries and our schools.
• Together, we have defined a new model for global engagement. One based not on a single academic conference, but on continuous interaction, sincere collaboration and effective communication—one based on a true relationship.
• But we have plans to accomplish much more.
• Through our partnership—Colombia, with EAFIT as a major player—is well positioned to become a leader in Latin America in the field of nanotechnology, biotechnology and sustainability against disasters.
• Through our partnership—Purdue is well positioned to create new opportunities for its scholars, expose our students to global issues, and play a small role in the development of one of the world’s most vibrant and growing economies.
• The focus areas of the Colombia-Purdue Institute for Advanced Scientific Research will charter a brighter future for Colombia and Purdue’s home state of Indiana.
• The name of this computer, Apollo, is fitting. It shares its name with the designation given to the NASA missions that put us on the moon. In 1969, it was the words of a Purdue graduate, Neil Armstrong, as he walked on the lunar surface that inspired me to become a scientist. “Apollo 11” and the missions to the moon, were about discovery. That is also what “Apollo” the supercomputer will lead to.
• There’s no limit to what Purdue and Colombia can discover together. It’s an honor to do it side-by-side, Purdue and EAFIT, as partners…and as friends.