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500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, S.D.57501
(605) 773-3212
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
CONTACT: Joe Kafka or Roxy Everson, 605-773-3212
Governor to Visit Gran Sasso Laboratory
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Mike Rounds, who leaves next month for a Council of State Governments economic development mission to Switzerland, announced today that plans have been firmed up for a one-day visit to the Gran Sasso National Underground Laboratory in Italy.
Gran Sasso has direct ties to the Sanford Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at Homestake.
“Many of the scientists who will do research at the Sanford Lab have done research at Gran Sasso,” the Governor said. “Gran Sasso is also a partner with South Dakota on the Davis-Bahcall Scholarships, and South Dakota students who get those annual scholarships have the opportunity to visit Gran Sasso, PrincetonUniversity in New Jersey and the Sanford Lab.”
Gran Sasso officials have been very supportive of South Dakota’s efforts to turn the former Homestake Mine into a megacomplex of laboratories that would be used for world-class research, Gov. Rounds said.
“Because Gran Sasso is just a short flight from Geneva, it’s the perfect opportunity to reinforce our commitment to underground science,” the Governor said. “The community was recently impacted by a major earthquake and is in the process of recovery.”
Gov. Rounds is president of the Council of State Governments, which is paying for the June 5-9 trip to Geneva, Switzerland. He will lead a delegation of officials from several states as the group visits World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva. WTO negotiates international trade agreements and enforces trade rules.
Also on the agenda in Geneva is the Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). CERN is one the world’s largest and most-respected laboratory centers for fundamental physics.
The Governor will tour Gran Sasso, which is the largest underground laboratory in the world, on June 10.
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