[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 133 (Thursday, November 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING BATTELLE ON THE OCCASION OF THEIR 75TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID L. HOBSON

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 17, 2004

  Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with Mrs. Pryce and Mr. Tiberi 
to congratulate Battelle, a global science and technology enterprise, 
on its 75th anniversary.
  Although founder Gordon Battelle never lived to see his dreams come 
to fruition, it was his and his mothers' estates that led to Battelle's 
existence. The estates were generously left for the establishment of 
the ``Battelle Memorial Institute . . . for the purpose of education in 
connection with and the encouragement of creative and research work and 
the making of discoveries and inventions . . .''. It was Mr. Battelle's 
desire to recover zinc from Ozark mines that led him to his first 
patent. This initial success produced the grand vision which Mr. 
Battelle's business partner, Joseph Frantz, is credited with carrying 
out.
  In 1929, Battelle opened for business with only 30 staff members. 
Today, including the national labs that they manage, Battelle oversees 
16,000 staff members and conducts $3 billion in annual research and 
development.
  It is hard to believe what this Columbus, Ohio-headquartered 
institution has accomplished since those humble beginnings. In fact, 
their innovative technologies touch most Americans on a daily basis.
  Possibly the most well known of Battelle's innovations is the 
development of xerography, which eventually led to today's copying 
machines and the company Xerox. Other innovations include: armor 
plating for U.S. Army tanks during WWII, fuel for the first nuclear 
powered submarine Nautilus, the metal composition of most of the 52.5 
million coins produced each day by the U.S. Mint, cruise control for 
the automotive industry, the technology that led to the compact disc, 
and ``no-melt'' chocolate.
  In addition to their commercial customers, Battelle provides services 
to over 800 federal, state, and local government agencies concentrating 
on important issues from national security to transportation and space.
  As Chairman of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations 
Subcommittee, I have the distinct pleasure of working very closely with 
Battelle on a number of issues. Through the annual Energy and Water 
Development Appropriations bill, I provide funds for the U.S. 
Department of Energy's National Labs. One of Battelle's primary 
services includes the management or co-management of the Pacific 
Northwest National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Oak 
Ridge National Laboratory, and the National Renewable National 
Laboratory. In fact, just last week, Battelle won a 10-year contract to 
operate the newly created Idaho National Laboratory, and 
congratulations are certainly in order regarding this new addition to 
the Battelle family.
  As we look forward with great anticipation to the next 75 years of 
Battelle innovations, one can only dream of what may come. Battelle 
projects that they will concentrate on a broad range of issues in the 
upcoming years including: advanced healthcare, sustainable and 
renewable energy, clean water, and nuclear power.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing to work with Battelle on 
these issues, and many more, and I congratulate them on their continued 
success.

                          ____________________