[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 41 (Monday, March 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E592-E593]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING ROBERT JONES ALLEN-

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 09, 2009

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Robert Jones 
Allen in celebration of his recent 86th birthday. He is a remarkable 
man who, with passion and dedication, has worked tirelessly throughout 
his career to advance our knowledge of Antarctica and cartography.
   Mr. Allen devoted his professional life to studying and learning 
about Antarctica while performing his cartographic tasks of studying, 
handling and compiling photographic materials and maps concerning 
Antarctica. Allen Peak, which sits on the northern edge of the Sentinel 
Range's main ridge, is named in his honor. Dr. Robert Bindschadler, one 
of our nation's foremost experts of the continent and a friend of Mr. 
Allen's, stated that ``there is no one else that holds such broad and 
deep historical knowledge of Antarctic movements'' and refers to Mr. 
Allen as his ``Antarctic Encyclopedia.'' His words shed light on Robert 
Allen's importance to the scientific community.
   Bob Allen's contributions to Antarctic science put him in a class 
all his own. There is no one else that holds such broad and deep 
historical knowledge of Antarctic measurements. He remembers who did 
what, when, where, what they saw and (most importantly) where to get 
the information. His recollections start with the first scientific 
expeditions to Antarctica in the 1940's and continue to the present 
day. Much of what he knows was never written down, making his anecdotal 
record absolutely unique. Often Bob is able to show us what we thought 
was ``new'' had been noted previously. That kind of expertise and 
knowledge is priceless.
   Robert Allen began his career with the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Aerial Photo Lab. He served his country in the military's 
656th Engineering Topography Battalion and later in the 11th Airborne 
Division. For over 50 years he worked at the U.S. Geological Survey.
   His work on the mapping of the Antarctic region has proved 
invaluable to the scientific community. He has a long-time, intimate 
relationship with most of the over 1/2 million photographs as well as 
negatives in the U.S. Antarctic Mapping Photography collection. The 
Antarctic scientific community would, therefore, consult with him not 
only to help their expeditions avoid potentially dangerous areas, but 
also to pinpoint locations that would be conducive for their studies. 
In a time when satellites and computers were rudimentary instruments, 
Mr. Allen became the first to determine the speed of the Thwaites 
Glacier, the fastest moving ice stream in west Antarctica. His vast 
experience has led numerous explorers and scientists to call on him for 
answers and advice.
   Mr. Allen's expertise is not limited to Antarctica. In the 1960's he 
helped create a map of Mars via satellite images. He also used 
photographs from the Apollo 6 mission to create

[[Page E593]]

mosaic maps of the United States. He compiled maps of China and the Red 
Sea using satellite data.
   Today Mr. Allen spends his time at the United States Antarctic 
Resource Center where he still amazes his co-workers with his ability 
to retrieve information from the early days of U.S. studies of 
Antarctica and then apply it to current studies. His devotion to 
studying this extraordinary region of our planet merits our praise and 
gratitude.
   Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting Mr. Allen 
for his 60 years of public service, for his accomplishments, and for 
all he has done to advance scientific understanding.

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