[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 830 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 830

  Recognizing the 150th anniversary of Purdue University Engineering.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 19, 2024

     Mr. Braun (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the 150th anniversary of Purdue University Engineering.

Whereas, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Act of July 2, 1862 
        (commonly known as the ``First Morrill Act'') (12 Stat. 503, chapter 
        130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), which granted land to States that agreed to 
        use the land to teach ``agriculture and the mechanic arts'';
Whereas the Indiana General Assembly--

    (1) in 1865, voted to participate in the Act of July 2, 1862 (commonly 
known as the ``First Morrill Act'') (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 
301 et seq.), and planned to build an institution; and

    (2) in 1869, chose Lafayette, Indiana, in Tippecanoe County, for the 
new institution, Purdue University;

Whereas, in 1874, the first engineering student at Purdue University began 
        taking engineering classes with an engineering instructor;
Whereas, in 1882, 1888, and 1904, Elwood Mead received degrees from Purdue 
        University, and, in the 1930s, Elwood Mead directed the development of 
        the Hoover Dam;
Whereas, in 1891, the 85,000-pound test locomotive Schenectady, the original 
        ``Boilermaker Special,'' arrived at Purdue University to be used in the 
        first locomotive testing lab of its kind;
Whereas Reginald Fessenden--

    (1) from 1892 to 1893, while at Purdue University, initiated 
experiments for wireless transmission of the human voice-radio; and

    (2) in 1900, succeeded in sending the first wireless transmission of 
the human voice-radio;

Whereas, in 1921, Donovan Berlin graduated from Purdue University and later 
        designed important World War II planes, the P-40 and P-36, the only 
        numerous battle-ready fighters available in the United States at the 
        outbreak of the war;
Whereas, in 1921, Games Slayter graduated from Purdue University and later 
        developed coarse fibers that facilitated the commercial production of 
        the first fiberglass product;
Whereas, in 1927, Roscoe George graduated from Purdue University and later, with 
        colleague Howard Helm, became the inventor of all-electronic television 
        receivers;
Whereas, in 1929, Charles Ellis, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue 
        University from 1934 to 1946, drew the blueprint design for the Golden 
        Gate Bridge and oversaw test borings for, and the surveying and setting 
        of, the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge;
Whereas, in 1933, Edward Purcell graduated from Purdue University and, in 1952, 
        with Felix Bloch, won the Nobel Prize in Physics for finding a way to 
        detect the extremely weak magnetism of the atomic nucleus;
Whereas, from 1935 to 1937, Amelia Earhart was a visiting professor in the 
        aeronautical engineering department of Purdue University;
Whereas, in 1907 and 1948, John Atalla earned degrees from Purdue University and 
        later co-developed the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect 
        transistor, the most widely used type of integrated circuit in the world 
        and the most manufactured human artifact in history;
Whereas Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr.--

    (1) graduated from Purdue University in 1949;

    (2) in 1956, became the Air Force test pilot that flew the Bell X-2 to 
126,000 feet, becoming the first person to reach space; and

    (3) was selected to fly the X-15 to become first citizen of the United 
States in space, but was killed in another test flight on July 26, 1958;

Whereas, in 1947, 1948, 1950, and 1981, Robert C. Forney earned degrees from 
        Purdue University and later led the development of many new polymeric 
        resins, most notably Dacron polyester fiber;
Whereas Virgil ``Gus'' Grissom--

    (1) graduated from Purdue University in 1950;

    (2) in 1959, was in the first group of astronauts in the United States;

    (3) in 1961, was the second citizen of the United States in space, 
piloting Mercury-Redstone 4;

    (4) was the command pilot for Gemini 3, the first 2-person space flight 
of the United States; and

    (5) would eventually die while serving the United States on January 27, 
1967, in the Apollo 1 flash fire at Kennedy Space Center;

Whereas, in 1955, Neil Armstrong graduated from Purdue University and later 
        became the first person on the Moon;
Whereas, in 1956, Gene Cernan graduated from Purdue University and became the 
        last person to set foot on the Moon as of 2024;
Whereas, in 1960, Paul McEnroe graduated from Purdue University and developed 
        the globally ubiquitous barcode;
Whereas, in 1969, Purdue University founded the Women in Engineering Program, a 
        first-of-its-kind program in the United States and model for other 
        universities that aimed to recruit women into the engineering field, and 
        to help retain women while at the Purdue University campus;
Whereas, in 1974, Les Geddes began a distinguished teaching and research career 
        at Purdue University that spawned life-saving innovations including--

    (1) burn treatments;

    (2) miniature defibrillators;

    (3) ligament repair; and

    (4) tiny blood pressure monitors for premature infants;

Whereas, in 1974, the Purdue University Black Society of Engineers invited every 
        Black engineering society to a conference at Purdue University and, from 
        that meeting, the National Society of Black Engineers was created and 
        became the largest student-managed organization in the United States, 
        with more than 20,000 members and more than 790 chapters on college and 
        university campuses;
Whereas, Purdue University is known as the ``Cradle of Astronauts'', as 27 
        graduates of Purdue University have been selected for space travel and 
        nearly \1/3\ of United States spaceflights have included a graduate of 
        Purdue University;
Whereas, Purdue University is home to various academic programs that rank in the 
        top 10 in the United States, including programs for--

    (1) agricultural and biological engineering;

    (2) industrial engineering;

    (3) aeronautics and astronautics;

    (4) civil engineering;

    (5) mechanical engineering;

    (6) electrical and computer engineering; and

    (7) environmental and ecological engineering;

Whereas, as of 2024, Purdue University produces more than 5 percent of 
        engineering students in the United States, and continues to expand; and
Whereas Purdue University has produced several Nobel Prize laureates, 
        astronauts, and numerous ideas that have advanced humankind: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes--
                    (A) the 150th Anniversary of Purdue University 
                Engineering;
                    (B) the consequential impact that Purdue University 
                Engineering, and other programs at Purdue University, 
                have had on the United States and the world, due to the 
                engineering research, study, and feats of their 
                graduates;
                    (C) that Purdue University Engineering--
                            (i) continues to provide nationally 
                        recognized programs for its students; and
                            (ii) is a treasured resource for 
                        individuals in the great State of Indiana, the 
                        United States, and the world; and
            (2) encourages individuals in the United States to 
        celebrate Purdue University Engineering and its graduates on 
        their accomplishments and contributions to the world.
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