[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8407-S8408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY

 Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, today I wish to acknowledge 
Louisiana Tech University for its scientific breakthrough and 
innovation in the department of nanotechnology. I would like to take a 
few moments to expand on Louisiana Tech's achievements and wish the 
facility and student body continued success.
  Nanotechnology is the art of manipulating materials on an atomic and 
molecular level, and Louisiana Tech University has risen to the top of 
this scientific threshold. This year a trade magazine, Small Times, 
ranked LA Tech third in micro and nanotechnology education. Small Times 
evaluated each college based on various criteria, and Louisiana Tech 
surfaced as one of

[[Page S8408]]

the elite universities. Louisiana Tech also stands as one of the only 
universities in the country that offers a nanotechnology degree at both 
the undergraduate and graduate levels. Their diversity within the 
program, and their excellence in both faculty innovation and curriculum 
ranks them among the best major scientific universities.
  Louisiana Tech University also ranked tenth in the Nation for 
commercializing nanotechnology inventions, or the capability to process 
patents and turn them into profitable ideas. The university alone 
applied for 24 patent applications in the last year, 20 of which 
involved micro and nanotechnology, proving Louisiana Tech's dedication 
as a national contributor to the scientific spectrum. As Louisiana Tech 
blossoms, many profitable institutions have invested and settled within 
the university, such as Avoyelles Renewable Fuels, which is working to 
discover a way to convert biomass waste into a biofuel through a 
nanocatalyst.
  I would also like to take a moment to honor Joshua Michael Brown. At 
Louisiana Tech University, he became this first person in the entire 
world to graduate with a nanosystems engineering degree. He will 
continue at Louisiana Tech University in order to gain his doctorate in 
micronanotechnology.
  Thus, today I congratulate Louisiana Tech for its innovation in the 
ever-changing fields of science, and I look forward to the continued 
growth of the school and its students as they shape the future 
development of micro and nanotechnology.

                          ____________________