[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1881-E1882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     BILL WILEY, A UNIQUE RESOURCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. NORMAN D. DICKS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 30, 1996

  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to bring to my colleagues' attention 
the loss of a unique resource in the State of Washington, indeed, the 
entire country. Dr. Bill Wiley, who has served in many capacities over 
the past 30 years, passed away on June 30, 1996. While he was only 54, 
he made many contributions to many causes and left us at too early an 
age.
  I first met Bill Wiley in 1984 when he became director of the Pacific 
Northwest National Laboratory, operated by Battelle Memorial Institute. 
While Battelle has many facilities in the State of Washington, at that 
time they did not have any in the Sixth District. Subsequently, the 
Marine Sciences Laboratory at Sequim became a part of the Sixth 
District after the reapportinment of 1990. Battelle also has facilities 
at Seattle and Richland, and Bill Wiley was the senior official for 
Battelle in the Pacific Northwest from 1984 until 1994, at which time 
he was named senior vice president for science and technology policy 
for Battelle Memorial Institute and his portfolio expanded to the 
world.
  Bill Wiley was a tremendous resource in his community of Richland, 
indeed, the entire Tri-Cities area. He was a member of the Rotary, Tri-
City Industrial Development Council, and chairman of the United Way 
Campaign. His community service was highlighted in 1989 when he was 
selected by his fellow community leaders as Tri-Citian-of-the-Year.
  Bill Wiley had so much enthusiasm and so much to give that his 
talents were sought by the entire State of Washington. Since Bill Wiley 
was a perfect demonstration of what educational opportunity can 
provide, he spent a good deal of his time on this issue. Education was 
a primary interest of his and, therefore, it was not surprising that he 
was selected to be a member of the first Washington Higher Education 
Coordinating Board. He also served as a member of the Board of Regents 
of Gonzaga University, a member of the Board of Overseers at Whitman 
College, and was most recently a member of the Board of Regents of 
Washington State University, having also served as Chairman of this 
Board. Additionally, he served as a member of the Washington Board of 
the Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement [MESA] 
organization which is chartered to enhance the capabilities for young 
students of minority populations to pursue science and engineering 
careers. Bill also served on the Board of the Commission for Student 
Learning for the State of Washington.
  Bill Wiley was also a good corporate citizen. He was a member of the 
Board at Trustees of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, as well as a member 
of the Boards of Directors of the SAFECO Company, the Washington 
Business Roundtable, ``Forward Washington,'' the Seattle branch of the 
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the Pacific Science Center. 
When Governor Lowry was elected in 1992, he asked Bill Wiley to serve 
on his advisory committee for addressing statewide issues.

  Soon the Pacific Northwest region sought out this man of many 
talents. He became a

[[Page E1882]]

member of the Board of the Oregon Graduate Institute, and was later 
named to the Board of the Pacific Northwest Natural Gas Co., and he 
provided many years of service to the Oregon Museum of Science and 
Industry.
  Not surprisingly, the Nation learned about this man of remarkable 
skills, and many organizations recognized his contributions to science 
and technology issues as well as education challenges. He was selected 
to be a member of the Government-University Industry Roundtable [GUIR]; 
he was asked to serve on several task forces of the Center for 
Strategic and International Studies and Office of Technology 
Assessment. He was a lifelong member of the American Association for 
the Advancement of Science [AAAS] and had been named cochairman of the 
upcoming annual meeting to be held in Seattle in February 1997. He also 
was an invited participant in the Economic Conference convened by 
President Clinton and Vice President Gore in Little Rock, AR in 
December 1992. Bill Wiley was recognized for his talents by being 
selected Black Engineer of the Year by Black Engineer magazine as well 
as receiving a distinguished associate award from the U.S. Department 
of Energy in 1994. Bill Wiley had recently been selected to serve on 
the Smithsonian Institution's National Board and been elected president 
of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Society of America. I think, Mr. Speaker, 
you can begin to get the sense of this man and his contributions to 
society at all levels.
  I will not stop there. The man had a vision that covered the globe. 
He was instrumental in supporting Battelle's efforts to create Energy 
Efficiency Centers in third world countries. He was a driving force in 
Battelle's efforts to develop these centers in Russia, Ukraine, 
Bulgaria, Poland, and China.
  What I have omitted in this statement is the fact that Bill Wiley was 
the director of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for 10 years, 
from 1984 to 1994. This, itself, is a full-time job with many 
challenges. His vision as director of this laboratory was to build a 
great national laboratory. The raison d'etre of this vision was the 
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, which I have had the 
pleasure of supporting and helping make happen over the last 5 years. 
When this laboratory opens later this year, it truly will be a monument 
to Bill Wiley's vision and what science can do to solve mankind's 
problems.
  Mr. Speaker, this son of a shoemaker from Jackson, MS, through 
education and dedication, made his community, his State, his Pacific 
Northwest that he loved, so dearly, his country and, indeed, the world 
a better place to live. He was memorialized by the Tri-City Herald 
newspaper following his death, and I am inserting for the Record the 
text of that editorial, suggesting that the EMSL should be named in his 
honor.

               [From the Tri-City Herald, July 30, 1996]

                  EMSL Should Carry Bill Wiley's Name

       It was 10 years ago when Bill Wiley proposed his vision of 
     a laboratory where top scientific experts could collaborate 
     on molecular science.
       His vision was of a new era of innovation on the molecular 
     level with far-reaching implications in a variety of fields, 
     including medicine, energy and environmental cleanup.
       That vision is coming to fruition as the Environmental 
     Molecular Science Laboratory is readied for occupancy with 
     installation of state-of-the-art equipment for the cutting-
     edge work that will be conducted there.
       The workers are building on a foundation that is Wiley's 
     heart and soul. But he will not be there to cut the ribbon. 
     The former director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 
     died June 30.
       At Wiley's funeral earlier this month, a colleague, Jack 
     White, proposed EMSL carry the name of the man who conceived 
     it.
       It's a good idea and one we hope Martha Krebs, the 
     Department of Energy chief of national labs, will consider. 
     She arrives tonight in the Tri-Cities to review EMSL's 
     progress.
       After October, about 210 permanent staff will move into 
     EMSL, which also will accommodate scores of visiting 
     scientists and students. The lab is expected to be 100 
     percent complete by fall 1997.
       The annual research and operating budget will be about $70 
     million.
       On a 1994 visit, Krebs gave Wiley credit for steering EMSL 
     along the bumpy path of congressional approval and financing.
       ``Battelle, especially under the guidance of Bill Wiley, 
     has exercised extraordinary leadership in the past 10 years 
     in anticipating the direction that national labs must go,'' 
     said Krebs, who spent seven years on the House of 
     Representatives' Committee on Science and Technology.
       Under Bill Madis, Wiley's successor, this laboratory is 
     positioned to make worldwide contributions that go beyond 
     Hanford.
       The entire thing started in Wiley's imagination and was 
     rooted in his conviction that the molecular revolution will 
     be just as critical to human advancement as was the 
     industrial revolution and the atomic age.
       It is fitting such a visionary and groundbreaking facility 
     be named after such a visionary and groundbreaking man.

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