[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3658-S3659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           PATRICK H. WINDHAM

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I would like to take a few moments to 
pay tribute to Patrick H. Windham, the long-serving Senior Democratic 
Professional Staff Member for the Subcommittee on Science, Technology 
and Space. Pat is leaving Washington for California with his wife Arati 
Prabhakar and newborn baby Katie after nearly 20 years of service to 
the Senate, primarily on science and technology policy issues. For the 
many people here who knew or worked with Pat, including my staff and 
me, he will be sorely missed as a great source of institutional 
knowledge but most of all as a friend, a genuine and nice guy in a town 
not always known for its friendliness.
  Originally from California, Pat completed his undergraduate work at 
Stanford, received a Masters in public policy from the University of 
California at Berkeley and first came to the Hill in 1976 as a 
Congressional Fellow to the Committee on Commerce, Science and 
Transportation. In 1982 Pat began his long association with Senator 
Hollings, joining his personal staff as a legislative assistant. He has 
held his present position of Senior Democratic Professional staff 
member for the Subcommittee on Commerce, Science and Transportation 
since 1984.
  I met Pat through his many hours of work on the important issue of 
technology partnerships, especially those run through the Commerce 
Department such as the Advanced Technology Program. Pat, along with my 
able colleague Senator Hollings, has been a

[[Page S3659]]

tireless advocate of promoting the movement of new ideas generated by 
scientists and engineers in our universities and national laboratories 
out into the commercial marketplace. Widely respected for his 
substantive thinking on such topics, Pat has tirelessly worked on 
legislative solutions that would bridge the cultural gap existing 
between the differing worlds of academia, government and industry. I 
believe this effort to be critical towards ensuring the future ability 
of America to compete in a global market.
  During World War II and the subsequent Cold War, federal investment 
in science and technology was seen as essential to maintaining 
America's national security. A by-product of federal investment was an 
infrastructure of world-leading high tech defense companies, 
laboratories and universities and subsequent creation of an entire new 
generation of products and industries. With the end of the Cold War, 
the defense rationale for continued investment is not as politically 
compelling and the growth of information technologies continues to 
change the landscape for American business.
  We are now in a period of transition, looking for ways to move from 
the old system of innovation where the government funded the science, 
paid for development and then purchased the final product--to a new 
system that preserves both our country's security and its competitive 
economic advantage. It is not an exaggeration to say that Pat has been 
a major contributor in the development of science and technology policy 
during this turbulent transition period. My office and I particularly 
respect his work for Senator Hollings as an architect of both the 
Advanced Technology Program and the Manufacturing Extension Program, 
both of which help move technology and information out to the 
manufacturing floors of America's workplaces. Pat has always been open 
minded, has carefully listened and will be remembered as a joy to work 
with. My staff and I hope that Pat will find some time to write and 
reflect on the technology policy issues he's been grappling with for so 
long, and welcome fresh insights from him. The Senate owes him a large 
debt of thanks for his fine work here. Good luck in California, Pat, 
and best wishes to your wonderful wife and daughter.

                          ____________________