[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 139 (Thursday, October 24, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1953-E1954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PROFESSOR SMOOT RECEIVES ENERGY AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHRIS CANNON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 24, 2002

  Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, as the nation struggles with the need for 
energy and a desire to preserve the environment, we should take special 
notice of those who make these competing desires easier to harmonize. 
One such is Leon Smoot, professor of engineering at Brigham Young 
University.
  Dr. Smoot has just been recognized by the United States Department of 
Energy for a lifetime of research into fuel combustion, and ways to 
make that combustion more efficient. As my colleagues know, cleaner 
combustion means more energy per unit of fuel, and cleaner air for us 
all to breathe.
  Dr. Smoot is more than a talented researcher. He is a devoted father, 
a wildly popular and effective teacher, a civic activist, a religious 
leader, and an author. Those of us who are younger can only stand in 
awe of his stamina and his accomplishments, but we can also be grateful 
for his contributions to the betterment of the lives of all Americans
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Daily Herald newspaper 
article about Dr. Smoot and his recognition by the Department of Energy 
be printed at this point in the Congressional Record.

           [From the Daily Herald (Provo, UT), Oct. 9, 2002]

            Professor Heads to D.C. To Receive $25,000 Award

       A thin white-haired man with bright blue eyes peering 
     through large, thick lenses, Leon Douglas Smoot strides down 
     the hallway and dashes to the elevator in the BYU engineering 
     building.
       Smoot chats with students as they ride the elevator, asking 
     them which floor they want. Most of them simply know him as a 
     chemical engineering professor, but his recognition and 
     talents run the gamut. He's helped save the Brigham Young 
     Academy building,

[[Page E1954]]

     served as an expert witness for cases involving fires and 
     explosions all over the United States and has even taught 
     chemical engineering in China.
       Tonight, he will add to his long list of awards and 
     recognitions when he accepts an award from the Department of 
     Energy for three decades of research into computer modeling 
     of fuel combustion. His research has led to groundbreaking 
     insights into the formation and prevention of air pollutants, 
     which means cleaner air for Americans to breathe.
       Smoot doesn't take full credit for the accomplishment, 
     referring to the many colleagues and students who have helped 
     him with his research.
       ``I have often said, `I can't remember doing anything all 
     by myself,' '' he said modestly.
       The award being presented to Smoot tonight in Washington, 
     D.C., is the highest honor given by the Energy Department for 
     outstanding contributions to fossil energy science and 
     technology.
       ``He won't flaunt this award at all. He doesn't make you 
     feel like you're beneath him,'' said Craig Eatough, senior 
     manager of Provo engineering company Combustion Resources, 
     for which Smoot is a senior consultant.
       And that may be why Smoot is so well-liked and respected in 
     this community--a community where he grew up and then lived 
     continuously since 1967.
       As a young boy in Springville, he loved playing with 
     fireworks and explosives, foreshadowing his later career in 
     researching fossil energy--coal in particular--and the 
     environmental problems that come with it.
       As Smoot began teaching at BYU, he was the director of the 
     Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center at the 
     university, set up by the National Science Foundation to 
     better use low-grade fossil fuels.
       In 1985, the center applied for a grant from the 
     foundation, which brought BYU about $20 million over a 12-
     year period. The subsequent research has led to a better 
     understanding of pollutants and created computer programs 
     that have helped industrial and academic institutions reduce 
     or prevent the formation of nitrogen oxides, the air 
     pollutants created when coal and other fuels burn.
       While even his family sometimes doesn't understand his 
     research, basically, Smoot's discoveries have resulted in 
     Americans breathing cleaner air because officials are better 
     able to predict, understand and control pollution.
       Smoot said he isn't sure what he is going to do with the 
     $25,000 that accompany the award, but joked that by the time 
     his wife, Marian, and his four daughters finish with it, 
     there may be just a few pennies left. His four children are 
     all married BYU graduates and between them have ``eight 
     college degrees and 15 children,'' Smoot proudly declares.
       The feelings of pride go both ways, as his daughters tout 
     their father's accomplishments.
       ``Besides being a great community leader and example, he's 
     also a family man and father who puts great emphasis on being 
     a faithful member of the (LDS) church,'' said daughter Analee 
     Foster of Mapleton, as she traveled with Smoot on Tuesday to 
     the nation's capital for the awards ceremony.
       Perhaps some of the award could be set aside for later this 
     year, when Smoot begins retirement.
       His students and co-workers say they will surely miss his 
     infectious enthusiasm.
       ``He's definitely a role model. And his class is fun,'' 
     said Brad Damstedt, 22, a senior from Smithfield majoring in 
     mechanical engineering.
       However, retirement may be impossible for a man who loves 
     to stay busy: He says he will likely teach part-time, write 
     and perhaps spend more time with his family and his four 
     Arabian horses--Natasha, Suntan, Bosco and Dotty.
       Despite the fact he is well into his 60s, Smoot still 
     exudes the energy of youth. He plans to keep up with his 
     daily trips to the gym and will continue to challenge 
     opponents with his mean backhand on the tennis court.
       ``He has a unique combination of brains, personality, civic 
     mindedness and athleticism,'' said one of Smoot's tennis 
     buddies, Utah County Commissioner Gary Herbert. ``He has a 
     rare combination of being great in many different areas--a 
     well-rounded, uniquely talented individual.''
       Faithful to his religion, Smoot will continue with his 
     church service. He has been an LDS bishop, area authority, 
     stake president and spent five years in the Fifth Quorum of 
     the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
     Saints. He also volunteers to teach Book of Mormon classes at 
     BYU.
       Most recently, one of Smoot's largest community projects 
     came to fruition: helping preserve the Brigham Young Academy 
     which is now the Provo City Library at Academy Square.
       Smoot was the preservation project leader of the Brigham 
     Young Academy Foundation (BYAF) and spent seven years and 
     about 8,000 hours of volunteer work during which he led seven 
     consecutive committees.
       ``Doug was driven. He has more energy than anyone I know 
     and more passion for this Academy building,'' said library 
     executive assistant Terry Ann Harward who led the ``Get Out 
     and Vote'' committee for the bond election.
       Provo voters approved a $16.8 million bond in February 1997 
     to help fund a new library for the city. But BYAF needed to 
     raise the remaining $5.4 million in a matter of months, or 
     the preservation project would be killed and the historical 
     building would be torn down.
       ``Doug was able to pull everyone together and get the 
     momentum going. He let them see his vision of working this 
     marriage of a library and Academy building,'' Harward said. 
     ``He was a mediator who was able to carry this project into a 
     reality.''
       Smoot's history is deep into the area: His great-
     grandfather Abraham Owen Smoot served as president of the 
     Brigham Young Academy board of trustees from 1875 until he 
     died in 1895. The university's administration building bears 
     his name.
       In 1994, Smoot co-authored a book titled ``Abraham Owen 
     Smoot: A Testament of His Life'' with his cousin Loretta D. 
     Nixon of Mapleton. He's just finishing another book called 
     ``The Miracle of Academy Square,'' which will detail the 
     history of the preservation of the building.
       Tonight, surrounded by colleagues, family and government 
     officials, Smoot will proudly accept yet another award.
       ``This honor and experience will be a treasured memory,'' 
     Smoot said.

     

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