Our Military collaboration was critical in World War II. During his visit to Deptford, Peter attended several of Penn’s Quaker meetings and there they had many discussions and exchanged views on religion. Peter was staying at the home of John Evelyn, a British writer and diarist, where he was learning to build boats at the local dockyard. This was the first formally documented meeting of prominent Russian and American personalities and took place outside of London in the small town of Deptford. In 1698, Peter met William Penn, the founder of the Pennsylvania colony. He was your first bridge builder and pioneered the integration of Russia with the rest of the world. Our first exchange was in theology, appropriately beginning with Peter the Great, one of my favorite characters in time. All of these collaborations were based on two key virtues: friendship and a common interest to make a better and safer world. They have encompassed many spheres including theology, diplomacy, warfare, and the sciences. Our collaborations have been broad, and have transcended time, distance and differences in ideology. Indeed, our nations have much more in common than we have different, and we have worked together many more times than apart from or against each other.
The thing that made Roebling’s bridges the strongest in the world was that he and his father perfected and utilized a method of making rope from iron wires and anchoring these rope cables to towers sunk into the deepest of bedrock.Īlthough our countries and citizens have many differences, including politics, language, culture, and geography, they can be overcome through a focus on common goals and through the cultivation of relationships. Its builder, Washington Roebling, was the Union bridge architect during the US Civil war and was an engineering genius. This iconic giant, built in 1883 by a man from my home state of New Jersey, is arguably the most important structure built in America during the 19th century. Perhaps my favorite fact about bridges is this: the deeper the foundation, the wider and stronger the bridge can span. It allows us to cross barriers, to make a connection in a new way, to overcome obstacles, and to look at something from a different perspective. One of the most valuable lessons I carry with me is that friendship is like a bridge. Even though I was under the shackles of residency, my chief, Dr Jannetta, had the generosity and foresight to say, “Mark, I want you to go.” I had no idea that this opportunity would turn into a lifelong connection that would ultimately lead to this historic event.Ĭelebrating my 40th birthday this year, I have spent a great deal of time in reflection about my past and the lessons I have learned. It was a chance to see a foreign land and to get a glimpse of how neurosurgery was performed there.
The trip was intriguing: a fleeting, once in a lifetime opportunity that I just couldn’t resist. Knowing only a handful of Russian words, and no one at my destination, I was nervous and anxious. In 1997, on a cold and rainy September day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I left my pregnant wife, Julie, and our three young children. Keynote Speech Russian American Neurosurgery Symposium July 2005 Russian and American Collaboration: Our History, Our Future