[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING PROFS. ROBERT F. CURL AND RICHARD E. SMALLEY OF RICE 
                               UNIVERSITY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 1997

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Profs. Robert F. Curl and 
Richard E. Smalley of Rice University in Houston for their contribution 
to science and technology. Their pioneering work in molecular chemistry 
earned them and Prof. Harold Kroto of England a Nobel Prize in 
chemistry last fall and has opened new and wondrous doors for Rice 
University and the scientific community.
  Professor Curl and Professor Smalley are codiscoverers of a new class 
of carbon molecules--the fullerenes--that promise to usher in a new 
wave of extraordinary scientific innovations. The fullerenes were named 
in honor of the famed architect Buckminster Fuller because the 
structure of these molecules are similar to geodesic dome structures. 
Carbon-60, known as buckminsterfullerene, is the most common and 
symmetrical fullerene. Because their 60 carbon atoms are arranged at 
the points corresponding to where the seams of a soccer ball meet, C-60 
molecules are more commonly known as ``buckyballs''.
  Professors Curl's and Smalley's once-in-a-lifetime breakthrough 
discovery promises to change many fields of science, from the way we 
conduct electricity to how we deliver medicines in the body.
  This new discovery could allow scientists to construct new fiber 
tubes that will be 100 times stronger than steel with one-fifth the 
weight. Cables made of these fibers transmit electricity better than 
copper, paving the way for a revolution in electrical power. Other 
scientists are working on attaching buckyballs containing radioactive 
metals in their hollow center to biological markers that bind 
selectively to specific cells, thereby delivering radiation where it is 
needed. This development call add a potent new weapon for the treatment 
of cancer.
  Professor Smalley and Professor Curl have galvanized the scientific 
community with their discovery. The promise of the practical 
application of their research has led thousands of researchers around 
the world to drop what they are doing and begin working with the 
buckyball molecule. The technologies of the 21st century are being born 
today, and it all began with these two men and their coworkers, 
Professor Kroto, James Heath, and Sean O'Brien, in a lab at Rice 
University.
  In addition to congratulating Professors Curl Smalley, I also want to 
congratulate Rice University for fostering an environment of innovation 
and cutting-edge research that resulted in this discovery. This is a 
well-deserved boost to Rice's reputation and standing in the scientific 
community. Construction is now under way on Rice's new Center for 
Nanoscale Science & Technology to expand on the sort of science that 
led to the professors' discovery of buckyballs. Rice University's 
scientific research is luring the top minds to its labs. The center's 
faculty includes fresh arrivals from Harvard, AT&T Bell Labs, Stanford, 
and the University of Chicago. And with the awarding of the prestigious 
Nobel Prize to Professors Curl and Smalley, Rice University is 
attracting not only the top faculty, but the top students from around 
the Nation and the world.
  I congratulate Professor Curl and Professor Smalley, as well as Rice 
University, on receiving the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Their 
contributions to science will pave the way for future success in the 
21st century and will improve our lives.

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