[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 22, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H2513-H2515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1545
JOHN ARCHIBALD WHEELER
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 1118) honoring the life and achievements of John
Archibald Wheeler and expressing condolences on his passing.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1118
Whereas John Archibald Wheeler was born July 9, 1911, in
Jacksonville, Florida;
Whereas John Wheeler graduated from high school at age 15
and earned a Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University
at age 21;
Whereas Dr. Wheeler then moved to Copenhagen to work in the
field of nuclear physics with pioneering physicist Niels
Bohr;
Whereas, while still in his 20s, Dr. Wheeler, then a
Professor of Physics at Princeton, along with Dr. Bohr in
1939 worked out the first explanation of how the newly
discovered nuclear fission actually worked;
Whereas Dr. Wheeler spent the war years at Hanford,
Washington working on the theoretical understanding of
nuclear reactions that led to production of plutonium for the
bomb dropped on Nagasaki and later worked on the development
of the American hydrogen bomb under Project Matterhorn B;
Whereas Dr. Wheeler then returned to Princeton where, after
discussion with Albert Einstein, he switched from the study
of
[[Page H2514]]
nuclear physics to working on extending the theory of general
relativity, including in 1957 creating the concept of
wormholes to describe tunnels in space-time and in 1967
coining the term black hole as part of the theory of
gravitational collapse;
Whereas Dr. Wheeler was a visionary who could see farther
on the horizon than most people by way of his physical
intuition;
Whereas Dr. Wheeler was a beloved academic who trained some
of the best minds in the next generation of physicists, a
gifted communicator sometimes called a physics poet, and an
active researcher for over 70 years; and
Whereas Dr. Wheeler was, in the words of Dr. Max Texmark,
the last Titan, the only physics superhero still standing
until the time of his death on April 13, 2008: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) honors the life and accomplishments of Professor John
Archibald Wheeler and expresses condolences on his passing;
and
(2) recognizes the profound importance of Dr. Wheeler's
record as a pioneer in nuclear and theoretical physics and a
long-time contributor to advancing mankind's understanding of
the nature and workings of the universe.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Baird) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
General Leave
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
to include extraneous material on H. Res. 1118, the resolution now
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today to pay tribute to a great American scientist, Dr. John
Archibald Wheeler. Dr. Wheeler passed away recently at the age of 96.
He was a pioneer in the fields of nuclear and theoretical physics.
Along with Niels Bohr, Dr. Wheeler worked out the first explanation of
how nuclear fission actually worked. During the war years, Dr. Wheeler
went to work on the Manhattan Project, helping to understand the
theoretical basis for plutonium production. After the war, Dr. Wheeler
continued his work for the country by helping to develop the American
hydrogen bomb.
After returning to academia, Dr. Wheeler continued his contributions
to the field of physics. In 1957, Dr. Wheeler created the concept of
wormholes to describe tunnels in space-time, and in 1967 he coined the
term ``black hole,'' not to describe Congress, but as part of the
theory of gravitational collapse.
John Wheeler also contributed greatly to the scientific community
with his devotion to teaching and training the next generation of
scientists. He was a devoted teacher and textbook author, and served as
a professor for over 70 years. Some of his graduate students included
Richard Feynman, Kip Thorne, and Hugh Everett, all renowned physicists
in their own right.
Mr. Speaker, last week we lost one of the truly great scientific
minds of the 20th century. I urge my colleagues to support this
resolution honoring John Wheeler's achievements and expressing our
profound condolences on his passing.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1118,
honoring the life and achievements of John Archibald Wheeler and
expressing condolences on his passing. Dr. John Archibald Wheeler, who
was one of America's greatest physicists, passed away this last week at
the age of 96. Dr. Wheeler's wife of over 70 years passed away in 2007;
and he is survived by three children, eight grandchildren, 16 great-
grandchildren, six step grandchildren, and 11 step great-grandchildren.
What a fruitful life.
Dr. Wheeler was a man who was decades ahead of his time. He not only
played a key role in the development of the theory of nuclear fission
with Niels Bohr, but also became the first scientist to give black
holes and wormholes a name.
Dr. Wheeler is described as a visionary physicist and teacher. His
work on the Manhattan Project in 1941 helped build the atomic bomb.
Always seeking answers to the larger questions of the universe, he
would spend his time debating the meaning of the quantum theory and the
nature of reality with Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr.
John Archibald Wheeler was born on July 9, 1911, in Jacksonville,
Florida. Dr. Wheeler earned his Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins
University at the old age of 21 years.
Dr. Wheeler accomplished many things during his lifetime. Perhaps his
greatest accomplishment was his ability to inspire generations of
physicists and scientists through his teachings at Princeton and at the
University of Texas, and his constant ambition to answer the greatest
questions of the universe.
In 1981, Dr. Wheeler wrote: ``We are no longer satisfied with
insights only into particles, or fields of force, or geometry, or even
space and time; today we demand of physics some understanding of
existence itself.'' Think about that. It is for this constant quest for
knowledge that inspired his life and will continue to inspire the
American scientific community. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to
support House Resolution 1118.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, at this moment it is a real pleasure to yield
time to one of our distinguished new Members. We sometimes say in this
body that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do something. In this
case, we actually do have a physicist, Dr. Foster, the gentleman from
Illinois, and the author of this outstanding legislation. I yield to
him such time as he may consume.
Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month the United States lost a
colossus within the science community, a visionary who advanced our
understanding of the universe while inspiring generations of younger
scientists. John Archibald Wheeler is perhaps best known to the public
for coining the term ``black hole,'' but throughout his career he also
worked alongside the likes of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr on
theoretical physics' most puzzling questions, helped develop the
hydrogen bomb, and, upon his death on April 13, was appropriately
called: The last Titan, the only physics superhero still standing.
For 22 years, I was a particle physicist at Fermi National
Laboratory, working with my colleagues on giant experiments to move
beyond the horizons of current scientific understanding. As a graduate
student at Harvard and as an undergraduate before that, I could not
escape the mention of John Wheeler's name engraved on the promontories
or floating on the delicate backwaters of what is now called modern
physics.
As a member of the tribe of experimental physicists, that is, people
like me who did real experiments in the real world, we were always
surrounded by a wondrous shimmering cloud of theoretical physicists.
These are men and women who spend their days bobbing and weaving
through the world of what might be mathematically possible, of what
might show up in experiments that have yet to be invented, or what
might have shown up if we had just done the last experiment just a
little more carefully. John Wheeler was one of the most luminous
droplets in that shimmering cloud.
As young scientists, we studied the legacy of those great minds,
physicists like Einstein, Bohr, Enrico Fermi, and John Archibald
Wheeler. To a fellow physicist, the breadth of John Wheeler's
achievements are staggering. Born in Jacksonville, Florida on July 9,
1911, he graduated from high school at 15, and earned his Ph.D. from
Johns Hopkins University at the age of 21. He sailed to Copenhagen a
year later to begin work with the eminent physicist Niels Bohr, and in
1939 the pair produced the first description of how nuclear fission
works. During the Second World War, Dr. Wheeler joined with scientists
working on the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. He continued
to work with the U.S. government well after the war, and was awarded
the Enrico Fermi Award by President Johnson in 1968.
By the time he returned to academic life, Dr. Wheeler had become
fascinated with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Studying
gravitational collapse, he introduced not only the term black hole, but
also the concept of the
[[Page H2515]]
wormhole, a hypothetical tunnel in space-time. Dr. Wheeler was willing
to passionately consider seemingly incomprehensible phenomena. In 1999,
he wrote that the black hole ``teaches us that space can be crumpled
like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal dot, that time can be
extinguished like a blown-out flame, and that the laws of physics that
we regard as sacred, as immutable, are anything but.'' His work in the
1960s revived and transformed this field.
In the last years of his career, Dr. Wheeler considered the
mysterious and sometimes bizarre world of quantum mechanics, seeking
connections between science and philosophy to explain fundamental
questions of existence.
Despite these high achievements, Dr. Wheeler remained committed to
the nurturing of the next generation of scientists. He continued to
teach introductory classes to undergraduates throughout his career, and
he mentored some of the century's most noted theoretical physicists.
Any physicist with the amount and color of the hair that I possess will
also have indelible memories of ``MTW,'' the big black book called
Gravitation authored by Misner, Thorne, and John Archibald Wheeler that
describes in intuitive terms what is really going on in Einstein's
general theory of relativity.
So at a time when the primacy of our Nation's science programs are in
peril, John Wheeler's example should remind us of our own commitment to
the next generation of American scientists and innovators.
Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to introduce this resolution, and I urge
my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and achievements of John
Wheeler. The power of his intellectual accomplishments and the
memorable color of his phrases will grace physics textbooks forever.
Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Foster for introducing
this resolution, and for his eloquent description of an individual to
whom we owe such a great debt in this country.
A recent survey asked citizens of the United States if they could
name a single living United States scientist, and, sadly, many, many
weren't. In this body it is not at all uncommon for us to bring up
suspension bills honoring sports teams who may have won an NCAA
championship or the Super Bowl or something like that. It is thoroughly
appropriate that we do more to recognize outstanding scientists who did
not just win a single sporting event, but changed the face of the Earth
through their intellect, through their diligence, and through their
discoveries. And I very much commend Dr. Foster for raising this, and I
thank him. And, I hope it is not the last that he will enlighten us
with his knowledge as a physicist. I know it won't be. But I would urge
this body to see what we could do more through our actions here on the
House Floor and in our districts to do more to honor and elevate the
status of U.S. scientists so that we could provide role models for
young people and rise above the gathering storm.
Our science committee, chaired by Bart Gordon, has helped lead the
effort in that. We are proud to have passed The America COMPETES Act.
The America COMPETES Act is designed to produce many, many more John
Wheelers. I want to express our thanks on behalf of the Congress to his
family and our condolences for their loss.
I yield back the balance of my time and urge a ``yes'' vote on this
outstanding resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1118.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________