[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 7 (Thursday, January 21, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E61-E62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING TONY KENNETH MEUNIER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 21, 2010

  Mr. HIGGINS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Tony Kenneth 
Meunier in celebration of his recent retirement from the U.S. 
Geological Survey (USGS) after almost 42 years of

[[Page E62]]

Federal Government service. He is a remarkable, inquisitive man who, 
with passion and dedication, has worked tirelessly throughout his 
career to advance our knowledge of the Earth, Space and social 
sciences. He has been a soldier, educator, explorer, scientist, writer 
and devoted family man.
  Mr. Meunier, originally from Buffalo, New York, began his Federal 
Career by enlisting in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in 1963, when 
President John F. Kennedy was Commander-in-Chief. Staff Sergeant (E-5) 
Meunier served overseas for almost 3 of his 4 years with the USAF 
Security Service. After military service, he used the GI Bill (Vietnam 
War Era) to earn a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Geology, Geography, 
and Earth-Space Sciences from the State University of New York at 
Geneseo and SUNY Brockport, New York. After teaching math and science 
in the Rochester, New York area, Mr. Meunier joined the USGS 
Topographic Division, Office of Research and Technical Standards, in 
May 1972.
  Always interested in cutting edge science and technology, Mr. Meunier 
became one of the USGS's first Research Digital Cartographers and an 
early advocate of using Landsat imagery for field research and mapping 
applications. Also, as a physical scientist/cartographer, Mr. Meunier 
made significant contributions to the USGS program in Antarctica, an 
international program that spans more than 60 years. He has been a 
member of three deep field expeditions to Antarctica, including a 14 
month period, serving as a member of one of the first USGS satellite 
surveying winter-over teams at South Pole Station during 1974. For this 
expedition, in 1974, Mr. Meunier was awarded the Antarctic Service 
Medal of the United States of America. During the 1982-83 field season, 
as a member of Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) group, working 
in a previously unexplored region on the East Antarctic Plateau, he 
initiated a successful plan for locating blue-ice areas with meteorite 
concentrations using Landsat satellite imagery and also developed a new 
satellite surveying positioning method to locate and map the meteorites 
discovered in field operations. In 1995-96, Mr. Meunier was a member of 
the first U.S. Absolute Gravity team obtaining measurements in the 
McMurdo and Dry Valley areas and as a supporting member of the South 
Pole Overland Traverses' search for a usable over-snow route to 
resupply the South Pole Station. Finally, during the just completed 
International Polar Year (IPY), Mr. Meunier published a series of USGS 
Open-File Reports on the Scientific Accomplishments of the USGS over 
the past 60 years.
  Throughout his career, Mr. Meunier has demonstrated a continuing 
dedication to the advancement of polar science. His contributions to 
research and the mapping of Antarctica have provided the Nation an 
invaluable asset. In 1977, at the recommendation of the Advisory 
Committee on Antarctic Names, Mount Meunier, a feature on the Walgreen 
Coast of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica, was named in his honor by the 
United States Board on Geographic Names. Also, in recognition of his 
exemplary scientific and programmatic contributions to the U.S. 
Geological Survey's scientific activities in the exploration of 
Antarctica, the Department of the Interior, in 2009, awarded Tony 
Kenneth Meunier, its second highest honor, the Meritorious Service 
Award.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting Mr. Meunier 
for his 42 years of public service, for his accomplishments and for all 
he has done to engender continued interest in the advancement of 
knowledge among his colleagues and the public at large.

                          ____________________