[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 163 (Thursday, October 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING MR. MERLON E. WIGGIN, PH.D., M.E.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. TIMOTHY H. BISHOP

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 25, 2007

  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor and recognize 
Dr. Merlon Wiggin, an accomplished and exemplary resident of the first 
district of New York.
  Dr. Merlon Wiggin is a proud Long Island native and the founder of 
East End Lighthouses, Inc. a chapter of the American Lighthouse 
Foundation. The organization's mission is to encourage the historic 
preservation and restoration of lighthouses, lightship, and lifesaving 
station artifacts throughout America. The East End branch, in 
particular, works to preserve and restore the offshore lighthouses of 
Southold Town.
  Dr. Wiggin is an authority on boating and maritime safety. A graduate 
of the University of Maine, with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, 
Merlon's expertise and passion for the sea is what led him to initiate 
the conversion of the former Greenport Railroad Station into a maritime 
museum. He has authored numerous historical articles and booklets on 
local lighthouses and is on the writing staff of Long Island Boating 
World and Peconic Bay Shopper magazines.
  Among a long list of accomplishments, Dr. Wiggin has served as 
Director of engineering at Presque Isle Air Force Base and chief of 
engineering at Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center. He also 
worked with NASA on its ``Moon Lab'' during the Apollo space missions. 
Dr. Wiggin is currently the president of ``Peconic Associates'', a 
local maritime consulting firm, and ``Isocon Ltd'', an internationally 
recognized research laboratory and biological containment consulting 
firm.
  In his free time, Merlon is an avid sailor and is known to race his 
30 foot sloop, ``Albion'' on local waters. He and his wife Isabelle 
reside in East Marion, NY. On behalf of a grateful community, I thank 
Dr. Merlon Wiggin for his many enduring contributions to Long Island, 
New York, and this great Nation. I wish him and his family the absolute 
best for the years to come.

                          ____________________