[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1094 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1094

    Recognizing the 60th Anniversary of Argonne National Laboratory.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 6, 2006

Mrs. Biggert submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                        the Committee on Science

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                               RESOLUTION



    Recognizing the 60th Anniversary of Argonne National Laboratory.

Whereas Argonne National Laboratory was chartered in 1946, making it the 
        Nation's first national laboratory;
Whereas Argonne is a direct descendant of the University of Chicago's 
        Metallurgical Laboratory, where, on December 2, 1942, a team led by 
        Enrico Fermi, winner of the 1938 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in 
        nuclear reactions, created the world's first controlled nuclear chain 
        reaction;
Whereas throughout its 60-year history, Argonne has demonstrated and maintained 
        world-class leadership in such fields as materials research, computer 
        science, nuclear physics, nuclear energy technology, and transportation 
        research and development;
Whereas this distinguished legacy of accomplishment includes three Nobel Prizes 
        and more than 750 national and international awards and honors received 
        by Argonne scientists and engineers;
Whereas today Argonne employs 2,900 staff, including 1,000 scientists and 
        engineers working on more than 200 projects in basic and applied 
        research aimed at improving the Nation's energy, economic, 
        environmental, and national security;
Whereas Argonne is a national leader in the design, construction, and operation 
        of large, one-of-a-kind scientific research facilities, consistently 
        delivering these facilities on schedule and within budget;
Whereas Argonne's national scientific user facilities provide the highest level 
        of scientific, engineering, and technical support to thousands of 
        scientists each year whose published works continue to consistently 
        enrich their respective research fields;
Whereas the Advanced Photon Source provides the most brilliant X-ray beams in 
        the Western Hemisphere for research and is used every year by about 
        3,000 scientists to conduct research on topics ranging from combustion 
        engines to nanotechnology, making it the Department of Energy's most-
        used scientific facility;
Whereas the Argonne Tandem-Linac Accelerator System, known as ``ATLAS'', 
        provides beams of any element up to and including uranium for studies of 
        the forces within atomic nuclei, and as such is world renowned in the 
        physics community and annually receives three times more research 
        proposals than it can accommodate;
Whereas the transfer of technology developed from publicly funded research at 
        Argonne to private industry has helped to strengthen the Nation's 
        economy and technology base; and
Whereas Argonne provides a wide range of educational opportunities for faculty 
        and students coming from institutions ranging from leading national 
        universities to local junior high schools and thereby attracts more 
        people to its educational programs than any other Department of Energy 
        national laboratory: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the outstanding and unique role that the 
        Argonne National Laboratory has played over the past 60 years 
        in the scientific and technological advancement of our Nation 
        and of the world;
            (2) praises the Argonne National Laboratory on the great 
        flexibility and foresight it has had in moving from being one 
        of the Nation's original prominent physics laboratories to a 
        highly diversified scientific laboratory of world prominence in 
        a variety of fields;
            (3) congratulates the dedicated employees at Argonne 
        National Laboratory past and present who have worked to make 
        the institution one of the greatest research resources in the 
        world; and
            (4) encourages Argonne National Laboratory to continue its 
        leadership in pushing the scientific frontiers as we work to 
        address unprecedented challenges whose solutions are grounded 
        in science and technology.
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