[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 152 (Wednesday, October 12, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S6455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. BRIAN SCHMIDT

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I speak today in honor of Brian 
Schmidt, one of three individuals who were awarded the Nobel Prize for 
physics this week. Dr. Schmidt, of the Australian National University, 
along with Dr. Adam Reiss, of Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Saul 
Perlmutter, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, completed 
groundbreaking work on the expansion of the universe. The scientific 
achievement of these three men deserves to be recognized. I am pleased 
to acknowledge that the scientific career of Dr. Schmidt was encouraged 
through his tenure in high school in Alaska.
  Dr. Schmidt, originally from Montana, moved to Alaska in 1981, where 
he attended Bartlett High School in Anchorage, AK, graduating in 1985. 
At Bartlett, many teachers took note of his academic achievements and 
strong work ethic, and encouraged him to excel in his studies. Dr. 
Schmidt has remarked on the great experience he had attending school in 
Alaska, crediting his high school teachers for helping him cultivate an 
interest in science that has brought him to where he is today.
  After leaving Alaska, Dr. Schmidt attended the University of Arizona, 
receiving a bachelors of science in both physics and astronomy, before 
continuing on to receive his doctorate in astronomy at Harvard 
University. He has since relocated to Australia with his wife Jennie 
and is a researcher at the Research School of Astronomy and 
Astrophysics at the Australian National University.
  Dr. Schmidt, Dr. Reiss, and Dr. Perlmutter are receiving the Nobel 
Prize for a discovery that has greatly changed the field of 
astrophysics and made great furloughs into the understanding of dark 
matter, the term for the force that is driving the universe apart. 
Conventional understanding was that rate of expansion of the universe 
has slowed. However, these three scientists turned this theory on its 
head by proving that, in fact, the rate of expansion is actually 
accelerating. This change in understanding affects predictions 
regarding the conditions of future galaxies, and the discovery has been 
lauded by some as one of the greatest discoveries in science.
  Those who knew Dr. Schmidt in Alaska were not surprised to learn of 
his accomplishment. His teachers at Bartlett knew his intellect and 
passion for science would take him far. I, along with many others in my 
State, am proud to recognize this Alaskan who has made valuable 
contributions to our understanding of the universe.
  I offer warm congratulations to Dr. Schmidt, Dr. Reiss, and Dr. 
Perlmutter on their Nobel Prize and scientific achievements.

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