[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 59 (Friday, April 26, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H2356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A NEW ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS

  (Mr. McNERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce a new achievement 
in mathematics.
  We learned about square roots in middle school. In the 15th century, 
mathematicians discovered the square roots of negative numbers. These 
``imaginary numbers'' form the basis of much science and engineering, 
which are applied for practical uses, like the design of airplane 
wings.
  In the 1920s, Paul Dirac constructed the square roots of 
``differential operators'' in the development of quantum mechanics, 
which is the basis of much high-tech science.
  In the 1970s, another type of square root, called ``matrix 
factorization,'' which is important in physics, was discovered by David 
Eisenbud. This month, Daniel Murfet, a postdoc at the Mathematical 
Sciences Research Institute, announced new ways of linking matrix 
factorizations together, which will have numerous applications.
  Mr. Murfet's work was funded by the National Science Foundation, and 
illustrates the importance of our Nation's continuing investment in the 
research and education of science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics.

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