[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 83 (Wednesday, June 12, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S4403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. PIERMARIA ODDONE

 Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, I stand today to honor Dr. Piermaria 
Oddone as he retires after 8 years of exemplary leadership as director 
of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, also known as Fermilab.
  As America's premier particle physics laboratory, Fermilab is a point 
of pride for Illinois. For over 45 years it has supported thousands of 
scientists across the country whose research is a priceless 
contribution to the world's understanding of matter, energy, space, and 
time. With the appointment of Pier Oddone as director in 2005, Fermilab 
was placed under the leadership of a visionary who ensured that the 
United States would remain a producer of groundbreaking research in 
particle physics.
  Under the direction of Dr. Oddone, Fermilab entered a period of 
unparalleled scientific progress. The laboratory launched a new era of 
research in high-intensity particle beams, and experimentation on muons 
and neutrinos. It advanced our understanding of dark matter and led the 
Pierre Auger Observatory project to study ultra-high-energy cosmic 
rays. Fermilab, in partnership with the State of Illinois, constructed 
the Illinois Accelerator Research Center. It concluded a 28-year run 
for the Tevatron collider that discovered the quark. It contributed 
invaluable resources to the groundbreaking discovery of the Higgs 
boson. Most importantly, however, Fermilab has provided state-of-the-
art facilities for over 4,000 researchers each year so that they can 
continue their work for the advancement of science and society.
  Dr. Oddone's contributions to the scientific community outside of his 
leadership at Fermilab are no less impressive. Born in Peru, he 
received his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton before joining the 
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He quickly rose to become the 
laboratory's deputy director and was responsible for the scientific 
development that contributed to many of the lab's successes. As an 
elected member of the National Academy of Sciences in both the United 
States and Peru, Dr. Oddone has received numerous awards for his work, 
including fellowships from the American Physical Society and American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a recipient of the Panofsky Award 
for his invention of the Asymmetric B-Factory particle collider, and is 
known for his role in the SLAC BaBar collaboration that helped to 
discover matter-antimatter asymmetry in B mesons.
  As my friend Dr. Piermaria Oddone retires from Fermilab, I ask that 
you join me in honoring an individual who embodies the spirit of 
discovery through a shining example of scientific excellence. Thank you 
for your leadership.

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