Thank you all for joining us today at this lunch to honor the American winners of the 2006 Nobel Prizes.<

As I look around, I recall what President Kennedy said when hosting a dinner honoring the 1961 American Nobel Prize laureates, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."<

And on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes in 2001, President Bush noted that - and I quote -- "many awards recognize excellence. The Nobel Foundation recognizes greatness. The annual selection of laureates expresses a profound optimism about humanity and our prospects for improvement. "<

I am reminded today of one of the great achievements of our time - the development of polio vaccine and the eradication of polio in most parts of the world. It was 51 years ago that Jonas Salk announced - after years of research and trial tests in Pittsburgh - that the Salk vaccine was safe, effective and potent. <

But that success was based to a large extent on the work done by John Enders, Thomas Weller and Frederick Robbins who in the 1940s discovered how to grow polio viruses in tissue culture. They may not be as well known today as Jonas Salk, but their greatness was recognized when they were awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Medicine. <

This year all of the Nobel Prizes in science were awarded to Americans. That is an extraordinary achievement and a great tribute from the Nobel Foundation and Sweden to the American educational system.<

It is impossible, of course, for me to do justice to the decades of dedication and research by our six American Nobel Laureates here, but I would like to take a few minutes to recognize them. <

And invoking my privilege as host of this lunch, I would ask each of you to stand as I mention your name and remain standing, please.<

John Mather and George Smoot shared this year's Physics Prize for their work on the Cosmic Background Explorer project that has helped us understand the seeds of the universe. <

In Chemistry, Roger Kornberg was recognized by the Nobel Foundation for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription -- research that explains the process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to RNA. <

This year's Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was won by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello for their discovery of RNA interference and how RNA can shut certain genes down.<

Edmund Phelps is the winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for deepening our understanding of the relationship between the short-term and long-term effects of economic policy. <

Finally, I would ask the other Nobel laureates with us today to stand as I read your names -three Economics Prize winners, Sir James Mirrlees, Robert Mundell and Joseph Stiglitz; and finally, 88-year-old Arthur Kornberg, Roger's father who won the Prize in Medicine in 1959. <

Now please join me as I raise my glass and offer a toast in honor of our Nobel Prize laureates here today - past and present. <