[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10749-S10750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 595--RECOGNIZING THE LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL 
LABORATORY AS 1 OF THE PREMIER SCIENCE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS OF THE 
                                 WORLD

  Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Boxer, and Mrs. 
Feinstein) submitted the following resolution; which was:

                              S. Res. 595

       Whereas the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was 
     founded on August 26, 1931, by Ernest Orlando Lawrence, 
     winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in physics for his invention 
     of the cyclotron, a circular particle accelerator that opened 
     the door to modern high-energy physics;
       Whereas the belief of Mr. Lawrence that scientific research 
     is best done through teams of individuals with different 
     fields of expertise left a legacy that has yielded rich 
     dividends for the United States in basic knowledge and 
     applied technology;
       Whereas that distinguished legacy of accomplishment 
     includes 10 Nobel Laureates associated with the Lawrence 
     Berkeley National Laboratory, and a dozen scientists of the 
     Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who have won the 
     National Medal of Science;
       Whereas, in 2006, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 
     continues to be used to conduct research across a wide range 
     of scientific disciplines with key efforts in fundamental 
     studies of the universe, quantitative biology, nanoscience, 
     new energy systems, environmental solutions, and the use of 
     integrated computing as a tool for discovery;

[[Page S10750]]

       Whereas scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National 
     Laboratory discovered the revolutionary new truth of the 
     accelerating expansion of the universe, are pioneering the 
     promising new scientific field of synthetic biology, and are 
     harnessing the secrets of the genome to help solve the grand 
     challenges of the world;
       Whereas, through those accomplishments and others, 
     including finding the antiproton, advancing energy efficiency 
     and conservation technologies, deciphering the photosynthetic 
     process, pioneering the field of nuclear medicine, and 
     spearheading the development of alternative energy sources, 
     scientists of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have 
     played a critical role in advancing the world leadership of 
     the United States in fundamental and applied sciences;
       Whereas the national scientific user facilities of the 
     Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory provide the highest 
     level of scientific, engineering, and technical support to 
     thousands of scientists each year whose published works 
     continue to consistently enrich their respective research 
     fields;
       Whereas the newest user facility of the Lawrence Berkeley 
     National Laboratory, the Molecular Foundry, opened its doors 
     on March 24, 2006, to enable the design, synthesis, and 
     characterization of nanoscale materials, thereby opening the 
     door to unimagined scientific and technological advancements;
       Whereas the Advanced Light Source of the Lawrence Berkeley 
     National Laboratory is a national user facility that 
     generates intense light for scientific and technological 
     research that, among other accomplishments, has helped reveal 
     how bacteria resist antibiotics, how inexpensive and 
     efficient solar cells can be fabricated, and how unique 
     substances like quasicrystals possess properties never before 
     seen by humans;
       Whereas the National Center for Electron Microscopy of the 
     Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory houses several of the 
     most advanced microscopes and tools for microcharacterization 
     in the world, including the One-Angstrom Microscope and the 
     Spin Polarized Low-Energy Electron Microscope, that allow 
     scientists to gain a basic scientific understanding of new 
     energy-efficient materials, as well as to analyze the 
     behavior of materials such as magnets, superconductors, 
     ceramics, and high-temperature alloys; and
       Whereas the National Energy Research Scientific Computing 
     Center of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is the 
     flagship scientific computing facility for the Office of 
     Science of the Department of Energy, and is 1 of the largest 
     facilities in the world that is devoted to providing 
     computational resources and expertise for basic scientific 
     research: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the outstanding and unique role that the 
     Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has played over the 
     past 75 years in the scientific and technological advancement 
     of the United States and the international community; and
       (2) congratulates the dedicated past and present scientists 
     and researchers who have worked at the Lawrence Berkeley 
     National Laboratory to make the institution 1 of the greatest 
     research resources in the world.

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