[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 135 (Friday, September 19, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING DEAN WATERS

                                 ______
                                 

                 HON. CHARLES J. ``CHUCK'' FLEISCHMANN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 19, 2014

  Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, members of the Oak Ridge, Tennessee 
scientific community are mourning the recent passing of Dean Waters, a 
community leader and a pioneer in nuclear physics.
  Dean Waters was an innovator in the field of uranium enrichment 
centrifuge technology--a technology that creates the fuel that provides 
nearly 20 percent of our electricity, powers our nuclear Navy and 
protects our national security.
  After earning two undergraduate degrees at Yale and a master's degree 
in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University, Dean 
Waters worked for 54 years on the development and deployment of gas 
centrifuge technology for uranium enrichment. In 1977, President Carter 
presented Dean with the E.O. Lawrence Award for his contributions to 
the uranium enrichment technology. The Award is given only to those 
``who helped elevate American physics to world leadership.'' Dean 
obtained more than 18 patents in the United States and England 
throughout his career.
  In the early 1980s, Dean was the lead engineer at the Union Carbide/
Martin Marietta project, which was responsible for developing the gas 
centrifuge process. He led a technology team of 500 people. Later, he 
was named chief scientist of the USEC ``American Centrifuge'' program. 
He was instrumental in preserving the core of the 1980s government 
program that served as the basis for a private sector investment. The 
program re-established American leadership in advanced centrifuge 
design. Dean served as a mentor to many who now carry on the banner of 
this critical technology.
  Dean Waters was active in the National Society of Professional 
Engineers, the American Society of Engineering Management, and the Oak 
Ridge Rotary Club, where he served as president. Beyond his 
accomplished professional life, he was active in his church and 
community charities and was a competitive yachtsman, runner and cycler.
  Many of Dean's accomplishments will forever be cloaked under the 
mantle of national security. What is certain is that his decades of 
leadership in the realm of uranium centrifuge technology are manifest 
today in a state-of-the-art American centrifuge technology. This 
indigenous form of uranium enrichment will enable the United States to 
maintain its national security, remain a positive force in the arena of 
nuclear nonproliferation and provide the fuel for future nuclear power 
plants, which will provide millions of people with reliable electricity 
while combating the effects of climate change.
  As a nation, we should be grateful for the contributions of Dean 
Waters--a scientist and patriot--whose achievements in nuclear physics 
will stand forever as a source of inspiration to scientists in Oak 
Ridge and around the world.

                          ____________________