[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 32 (Monday, March 21, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              TRIBUTE TO CAROL KOUSNETZ STERKIN (1923-93)

                                 ______


                          HON. LESLIE L. BYRNE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 21, 1994

  Mrs. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable 
scientist, wife, and mother whose unique contributions to the American 
scientific community deserve our highest accolades and profound 
admiration. Although an accomplished scientist in her own right, Carol 
Kousnetz Sterkin will be most remembered as the legendary head of the 
Literature Search Function at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL] in 
Pasadena, CA, a position which she held with distinction for the past 
30 years.
  Carol Kousnetz Sterkin was born in Chicago, IL, in 1923 and spent her 
childhood under the shadow of the Great Depression. Taking advantage of 
a remarkably early ability to read, she finished every book in her 
father's extensive library by the age of 6. Since many of his books 
were technical in nature, the seeds of a life-long dedication to 
science were planted at an early age. As a young teenager bedridden by 
a severe accident, she continued her pattern of voracious reading which 
helped prepare her for admission to college in 1940.
  She received her B.S. in physics from the University of Chicago in 
1944 and, after working for 2 years as an engineer for General Electric 
on low pressure, plasma discharge research and igniter point 
development related to mercury pool tubes--thyratrons and ignitrons--
she taught math and physics and completed her M.S. in nuclear physics 
at the University of Illinois in 1947. During these years she studied 
under several famous scientists, including Enrico Fermi, who were 
working on the Manhattan project at the time. While she was not 
involved with the initial development of the atomic bomb, she did 
participate in subsequent research and development for both the 
destructive and peaceful uses of the atom.
  Long before the advent of modern feminism, Carol Sterkin deplored the 
sex discrimination suffered by professional women in science. She noted 
that often men with half her education were receiving twice her salary 
and 10 times the recognition for far less impressive work. This was 
especially true in the 1940's, when it was unusual for a women to even 
study the sciences, not to mention actually teaching in that field.
  In the following years, Ms. Sterkin developed severe moral 
reservations about the destructive uses of the atom. She was also ahead 
of her time in realizing the hazards of radioactive materials and 
decided that she did not want a career working with such substances. 
She is quoted as saying:

       At the time, the only work being done in physics was in the 
     field of nuclear physics. I found myself surrounded by a 
     group of men who had helped develop the A(tomic)-bomb at Los 
     Alamos. Most of the graduate students in my nuclear physics 
     courses could have written the (text) book! * * *. When I 
     left I was faced with the dilemma of not really wanting to 
     work with radio-active materials, and disapproving morally of 
     the atomic bomb.

  With these factors in mind, Carol turned more and more to the fields 
of research and technical writing. For the last 30 years of her life 
she served as the head of the Literature Search Function at the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory Library. In this capacity she was so valuable 
because she combined the research skills of a librarian with the 
knowledge of a scientist, and became truly indispensable to the 
scientific community which she served.
  She was a pioneer in the development of global access to online 
scientific and technical data bases. In the late 1960's and 1970's, she 
was one of the original developers (from the NASA side), along with 
experts from other government agencies and universities all over the 
world, of the online information systems that provide scientists 
worldwide with the capability of sharing and pooling knowledge. Until 
the time of her death, she remained one of the world's ranking experts 
in this field.
  Again and again, she postponed her retirement because there was no 
one else at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who could continue her work. 
Her extensive technical knowledge and acquaintance within the worldwide 
scientific community enabled here, not only to support the appropriate 
literature to a scientist, but also to put him/her in touch with the 
latest published work being done in the field.
  Scientists all over the world knew her and valued her concept of 
unrecorded knowledge and information (as opposed to the common notion 
recorded information). This is the ongoing information as it is 
discovered and developed. It includes the personal knowledge a 
scientist has yet to document, unpublished documents and papers, 
current test and research results, personal scientific diaries, and so 
forth. For obvious reasons, in a rapidly changing technological world, 
this information is the most valuable to a scientist.
  The high quality of her work is attested to by the fact that she did 
extensive work on extreme vacuums and atomic theory for Nobel laureate, 
Richard Feynman, the late American physicist of international fame. One 
of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's principal scientists, Dr. James 
Stephens, has said that ``she knew so much, it will be absolutely 
impossible to replace her.'' The trust of this statement is borne out 
by the fact that her position--which the JPL scientists are desperate 
to fill--remains vacant and they have yet to find anyone they feel even 
has the potential to grow into her capability.
  Carol Sterkin was married at one time to Samuel Sterkin and was the 
mother of three sons, Bruce, Joel, and Lawrence. Although she worked in 
an era in which women often received little recognition for their 
accomplishments, she leaves a legacy of achievement, dedication, and 
expertise which has paved the way for greater recognition of other 
women of outstanding ability in the latter part of the 20th century. 
Her loss will be felt, not only by her family and local community, but 
throughout the scientific world for a long time. I ask my colleagues to 
join me on the floor of the House of Representatives to honor a truly 
great American, Carol Kousnetz Sterkin.

                          ____________________