As a young U.S. Foreign Service officer, Norman P. Neureiter grew to know Poland during the 1960s fervor for government reform. Now a democracy, Poland can be an important scientific partner with the United States, says the chemist, business executive, and public policy advisor. He’ll discuss international science cooperation as an instrument of foreign policy at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 16, at the University of Rochester.
The lecture, sponsored by the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies and the Department of Political Science, will be held in the Welles-Brown Room of Rush Rhees Library on the University’s River Campus. It is free and open to the public.
Neureiter’s most recent role as science and technology advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell completes almost 40 years of sharing scientific and technological information, and negotiating cooperative agreements around the world.
A graduate of the University of Rochester, Neureiter began his Foreign Service career as deputy science attaché in the American Embassy in Bonn, Germany, before becoming the first U.S. science attaché in Eastern Europe from 1967 to 1969. His base in Warsaw offered responsibility for Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.
Neureiter carried his scientific portfolio from there to the White House where he worked for the Nixon Administration’s Office of Science and Technology to help develop agreements with the former Soviet Union and China. In 1973, Neureiter began a long association with Texas Instruments, a global semiconductor company, until 1996. He directed operations such as East-West business development, managed the company’s Europe division, and later became vice president of the Asia division.
Neureiter’s base at the State Department from 2000 to 2003 provided the opportunity to integrate science, technology, and health into the network of foreign policy issues. In one speech, Neureiter described his role as “contributing directly to developing mutually beneficial scientific and technical cooperation with other countries and thereby strengthen our overall relations with them.”
He continues as a consultant to the Department of State, and recently was appointed a distinguished presidential fellow for international affairs at the National Academy of Sciences.
Neureiter grew up in Geneseo, and received his bachelor of science degree from the University of Rochester in 1952. He was selected as a Fulbright Fellow at the Institute for Organic Chemistry at the University of Munich, Germany, in 1955, and earned his doctoral degree in organic chemistry from Northwestern University in 1957.
The Skalny Center supports research and teaching about the historical legacy and political and economics changes within Central Europe. Its public lecture series, film festival, and other activities offer the Rochester community opportunities to learn about Poland and its people. For more information, contact the center at (585) 275-9898.