[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H1947-H1948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN RECOGNITION OF HERMANN A. GRUNDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man whose spirit 
and dedication to the world of science inspired him to give more than 
four decades of tireless service to the Nation as a scientist, 
administrator and a leader.

[[Page H1948]]

  This week Dr. Hermann A. Grunder will retire as Director of Argonne 
National Laboratory, a leading Department of Energy science laboratory 
that I am proud to say is located in my congressional district in 
Illinois. I have had the privilege of working closely with Dr. Grunder 
over the course of the last 5 years during his tenure at Argonne, and 
so I speak with personal knowledge and affection when I say that 
Hermann has left an indelible stamp on Argonne, the quality of life in 
my district, the DOE complex and the Nation.
  There is no doubt that he has created a positive and lasting legacy, 
both nationally and internationally, and I would like to take this time 
to pay tribute to his many achievements and wish him well on the 
occasion of his retirement.
  Dr. Grunder first entered the DOE system in 1959 at Lawrence Berkeley 
Laboratory in California. After a short break to complete his Ph.D at 
the University of Basel in Switzerland, he returned to Berkeley as a 
physicist in 1964 and has served the Nation ever since. At Berkeley, 
his scientific excellence, vision and leadership earned him executive 
positions of increasing responsibility.
  In 1985, he left Berkeley to become the first Director of the Thomas 
Jefferson National Accelerator facility in Virginia, which he helped to 
build from the ground up literally. Today, the Jefferson lab is one of 
the Nation's leading accelerator laboratories.
  In 2000, Dr. Grunder became Director of Argonne. The first thing I 
noticed when I met Hermann was his energy and enthusiasm for science. 
It is infectious. As a long-time member of the Committee on Science and 
chairman of its Subcommittee on Energy, I have had the good fortune of 
meeting many of the Nation's most talented scientists; and I can say 
without a doubt that Hermann's passion for science and his dedication 
to DOE's system of national laboratories stands out among the crowd.
  As Argonne's 10th Director, Dr. Grunder strengthened the laboratory 
by renewing senior management at the highest level and grooming the 
laboratory's next generation of leaders. Through his active efforts to 
encourage strong research ties between Argonne and regional 
universities and Fermilab, Dr. Grunder greatly enhanced the Midwest's 
reputation as a world center of advanced scientific research and 
development. These collaborations are expected to trigger new 
scientific, technological and economic benefits for Illinois and the 
Nation, while providing students from Illinois and around the world 
with a greater role in research at Argonne.
  While at Argonne, Dr. Grunder emerged as an international advocate 
for safe, proliferation-free nuclear energy, a strong steward of DOE's 
unique user facilities at our national labs, and a keen supporter of 
biosciences and technology's role in homeland security.
  Under his leadership, Argonne reviewed ongoing research in the 
aftermath of September 11 and identified many potential ways this 
research could improve our homeland security. Since then, Argonne has 
contributed to hundreds of research initiatives designed to anticipate, 
detect and counter terrorist acts.
  It came as no surprise in 2004 when Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham 
chose to honor Dr. Grunder's career with the DOE laboratory system by 
presenting him with the Secretary of Energy's Gold Award in recognition 
of his tireless engagement on issues of national importance, including 
nuclear energy, national security and international user facilities.
  The DOE and the Office of Science recognized how extremely lucky they 
were to have a true champion like Dr. Grunder on their team for so 
long; and we in Illinois were very, very lucky to have had such an 
outstanding professional at the helm of one of our two outstanding labs 
for the last 5 years.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Hermann Grunder has contributed greatly to the DOE 
laboratory complex, my district, and the State of Illinois and our 
Nation. His commitment and industrious efforts as a public servant 
serve as an inspiration to us all. I know that his presence at Argonne 
will be greatly missed, but I am confident that with his abundant 
energy and zeal for science he will continue to do great things in the 
scientific community for years to come.
  Today I congratulate Dr. Grunder on his retirement and wish him all 
the best in his many future endeavors.

                          ____________________