[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 16, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO THE PFIZER PLANT RESEARCH LABORATORY AT THE NEW YORK 
                            BOTANICAL GARDEN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2006

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to honor The New York Botanical Garden as it celebrates the grand 
opening of the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory on May 16, 2006. The 
opening marks the completion of the Garden's science campus, and is the 
only one of its kind at any botanical garden in the country.
  Founded in 1891, The New York Botanical Garden is one of the world's 
great collections of plants, the region's leading educational center 
for gardening and horticulture, and an international center for plant 
research.
  The Botanical Garden's presence in the Bronx adds to the borough's 
diversity and provides a temporary oasis from the ubiquitous presence 
of concrete and steel in the city.
  Realizing the integral role it must play in the quest to unlock the 
secrets of plants in order to cure diseases and protect the earth, the 
Garden has created the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory at The New York 
Botanical Garden with leadership support from Pfizer Inc. and The 
Pfizer Foundation.
  The Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory marks a new era of scientific 
research at The New York Botanical Garden's International Plant Science 
Center. The laboratory is the latest addition in The Botanical Garden's 
comprehensive 15-year renaissance and will further its urgent mission 
to discover, decipher, document, and defend Earth's vast biodiversity.
  The two-story, 28,000-square-foot laboratory provides highly advanced 
scientific research facilities, including robotic workstations and a 
high-throughput DNA sequencer. It forms a center for collaborative 
research in molecular systematics and plant genomics, serving 
scientists and graduate students not just from The Botanical Garden, 
but also from the region and indeed the whole world. The Pfizer 
Laboratory is the largest and finest laboratory research facility in 
any botanical garden in the United States, enabling scientists to 
reconstruct the genealogy of plants and fungi and to probe the 
mysteries of genes and genomes.
  Mr. Speaker, it is only fitting for a structure that will house such 
important and groundbreaking work to be an architectural gem. Indeed, 
the Lab designed by Susan T. Rodriguez and Polshek Partnership 
Architects is nothing short of breathtaking. The free-standing building 
is located on a site across from the Steere Herbarium and overlooks the 
scenic Twin Lakes. The building's integration into its natural setting 
reinforces the vital importance of the natural world in the scientists' 
research. The exterior of the laboratory complements the design and 
materials of the adjacent Steere Herbarium and Library Building. Large 
windows in the labs and graduate study suites look out on the built and 
natural landscapes, and an inviting courtyard provides space for all 
types of gatherings.
  I salute The New York Botanical Garden for its continued efforts not 
only to provide a beautiful museum of plants but also an environment 
for important research and development. I also salute Pfizer, a product 
of our sister borough, for its commitment to further mankind's 
understanding of the plant world. It is their shared hope, and indeed, 
mine, that one day this research will yield beneficial knowledge to 
curtail human suffering.
  Mr. Speaker, may the collaboration of these two respected 
institutions provide fascinating and useful discoveries for generations 
to come.

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