[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 138 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1916-E1917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO 
                                 (UCSD)

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BRIAN P. BILBRAY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 6, 1998

  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues five major research advances at the University of 
California, San Diego, that have come about thanks to the support in 
this body for science research funding. These advances, included in the 
just-published ``Great Advances'' report released by the Science 
Coalition, demonstrate once again the value of federal funding for 
university-based research. The Great Advances report highlights UC San 
Diego research in the areas of transportation, physics, defense, 
environment, and disease and injury

[[Page E1917]]

treatment. I believe that these five projects reflect much of what is 
best about science research in the university environment, including 
collaboration between institutions, leveraging of federal dollars with 
private dollars to maximize research value, and the potential for 
university research to support America's national security.
  Research at the UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography into 
acoustics and wave sounds is of immediate value to the U.S. military, 
enabling defense planners to better monitor onshore activity and better 
prepare for landings.
  Bioengineering Department research into knee cartilage--providing the 
first real picture of what happens when cartilage is squeezed and 
flattened as it absorbs impact--was jointly funded by the Whitaker 
Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation, leveraging funding from the 
National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
  Biophysicists from UCSD and Caltech collaborated to capture in atomic 
detail changes that take place in the earliest stages of 
photosynthesis. Researchers from the Scripps Institution of 
Oceanography are collaborating with more than 60 scientists from around 
the world, including India, England, France, Germany, Mauritius, and 
the Netherlands in the Indian Ocean Experiment, or INDOEX, an effort to 
measure the cooling effect of sulfates and other aerosols on regional 
climate.
  Mr. Speaker, I have long supported Federal funding for science 
research, because I believe that it contributes in a wide variety of 
ways to the health and well-being of the United States. While I commend 
my colleagues to the entire report, I am pleased to see that so much of 
the research highlighted as ``Great Advances'' of the 105th Congress 
includes projects conducted by researchers from UC San Diego. Science 
has played and will continue to play an important role for America as 
we move forward into the 21st Century. I congratulate the many UCSD 
scientists whose work has been recognized in the ``Great Advances'' 
report, and I urge my colleagues to continue to recognize the 
importance of Federal funding for university-based science.

   Excerpts from the Science Coalition's ``Great Advances'' Report: 
          Advances at the University of California, San Diego


 Transportation: Research Breakthroughs Lead to Lighter, Safer Bridges

       Structural engineers at the University of California-San 
     Diego's Irwin and Joan Jacobs School of Engineering have 
     designed the nation's first major advanced composites 
     vehicular bridge, culminating years of defense technology 
     research on advanced composite materials. The 450-foot bridge 
     over Interstate 5 in San Diego will be the first of its kind 
     built for vehicular traffic. It will be constructed with 
     advanced materials--including glass, carbon and aramid fibers 
     embedded in polymer matrices. The composite materials are 
     lighter, stronger and more durable than conventional 
     materials which enables us to build bridges, highways and 
     buildings faster and with less disruption to traffic flow. 
     Because they are lighter, such structures would be much less 
     sensitive to ground motion from earthquakes. This research is 
     made possible through funding from the Federal Highway 
     Administration.


                Defense: Ocean Technology Aids Military

       Using a set of sensitive sound devices called 
     seismoacoustic arrays, a team of scientists at Scripps 
     Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-
     San Diego monitored current and wave dynamics and beach surf 
     conditions. Their goal was to provide the military with 
     insight into conducting amphibious missions augmented with 
     covertly deployed onshore and offshore acoustic sensors and 
     wave and current sensors. The researchers found that land 
     vehicle activity can be clearly detected and tracked using 
     data from underwater devices located as far as 2.2 miles 
     offshore. This research is made possible through funding from 
     the Office of Naval Research.


 Disease and Injury Treatment: Mechanical Blueprint for Knee Cartilage

       A team of bioengineers at the University of California-San 
     Diego has for the first time described in detail what happens 
     when cartilage is squeezed and flattened as it absorbs 
     impact. As the body's shock absorber, cartilage is a cushion 
     of durable tissue that protects the knee from a lifetime of 
     walking, bending and running. Although it is only a few 
     millimeters thick, cartilage is a complex tissue made up of 
     several regions, each with its own distinct composition and 
     structure. The UCSD researchers' blueprint, which includes 
     the mechanical properties of cartilage and how it works in 
     the body, provides valuable insight for the development of 
     laboratory-grown knee cartilage to replace damaged tissue, 
     including treatments for arthritic and aging cartilage. 
     This research is made possible through funding from the 
     National Institutes of Health, the Arthritis Foundation, 
     the National Science Foundation, and the Whitaker 
     Foundation.


               physics: atomic details of photosynthesis

       Photosynthesis is probably the single most important 
     chemical reaction in the biological world. Indeed, all life 
     derives its energy from photosynthesis. A team of 
     biophysicists from the University of California-San Diego and 
     Caltech recently captured in atomic detail the changes that 
     take place when light strikes the site where the primary 
     events of photosynthesis occur--a protein called the reaction 
     center. The results are offering a new and detailed 
     explanation for how this complex chemical reaction takes 
     place. They're also offering a vital step toward the creation 
     of artificial photosynthesis, a process that one day could 
     usher in a new era of food and energy production. This 
     research is made possible through funding from the National 
     Science Foundation.


environment: international experiment in indian ocean to study role of 
                      pollutants in climate change

       More than 60 scientists from around the world, including 
     researchers at the University of California-San Diego, have 
     joined forces in a $25 million international experiment to 
     answer a pivotal question in climate change: How are 
     pollutants known as aerosols cooling the planet and impacting 
     global warming?
       The project, called the Indian Ocean Experiment, or INDOEX, 
     is one of the first attempts by scientists to measure the 
     cooling effect of sulfates and other aerosols on regional 
     climate. Scientists from England, France, Germany, India, 
     Maldives, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United 
     States are participating in field studies in the experiment. 
     This research is made possible through funding from the 
     National Science Foundation.


                defense: ocean technology aids military

       Using a set of sensitive sound devices called 
     seismoacoustic arrays, a team of scientists at Scripps 
     Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-
     San Diego monitored current and wave dynamics and beach surf 
     conditions. Their goal was to provide the military with 
     insight into conducting amphibious missions augmented with 
     covertly deployed onshore and offshore acoustic sensors and 
     wave and current sensors. The researchers found that land 
     vehicle activity can be clearly detected and tracked using 
     data from underwater devices located as far as 2.2 miles 
     offshore. This research is made possible through funding from 
     the Office of Naval Research.

     

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