[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 137 (Wednesday, November 12, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS OF DR. SCOTT 
   GERALD BORG, WHOSE LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN DEVELOPING 
 AMERICA'S ANTARCTIC RESEARCH PROGRAM INTO ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS 
                     AND ACCOMPLISHED IN THE WORLD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 12, 2014

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and congratulate my 
constituent, Dr. Scott Gerald Borg of Fairfax Virginia, for being 
selected as a 2014 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalist 
in the career achievement category.
   The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service presents 
the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals annually to pay tribute 
to America's dedicated civil servants. These prestigious medals honor 
and celebrate an esteemed group of Federal employees that have achieved 
significant accomplishments in the course of serving their country. 
Honorees are public servants who represent a broad and diverse array of 
disciplines and career fields. All nominees exemplify the ideal Federal 
employee with respect to their strong commitment to mission, and the 
creativity and spirit of innovation each brings to his or her 
respective agency.
   Dr. Borg serves as the Head of the Section for Antarctic Sciences 
within the National Science Foundation's Division of Polar Programs. 
According to the Partnership for Public Service, under Dr. Borg's 
direction, the National Science Foundation's Antarctic research program 
has become one of the most esteemed and comprehensive on the continent. 
Today, Dr. Borg plays a critical role in guiding the U.S. Antarctic 
science program that supports cutting-edge research across a range of 
topics, including climate change, the origins and nature of the 
universe, and the discovery of new species of extinct dinosaurs.
   The work being facilitated by Dr. Borg and his colleagues is truly 
groundbreaking research. For example, Dr. Borg's leadership is credited 
with overcoming numerous technical and logistical challenges that 
enabled the National Science Foundation to complete the West Antarctic 
Ice Sheet drilling project, which extracted ice core that dates back 
68,000 years and represents the highest-resolution record of climate 
obtained to date. Further, Dr. Borg also oversaw the development of 
clean drilling technology that retrieved the first-ever pure water 
samples from an Antarctic lake a half mile below the surface of ice 
sheet. These samples are estimated to have been sealed under the ice 
for approximately 15 million years, and may enable researchers to 
understand what types of life can survive on other worlds.
   Being named a finalist by the Partnership for Public Service is just 
the latest honor in Dr. Borg's outstanding and celebrated career that 
has made tremendous contributions to the global research community and 
elevated the prestige of Federal scientific research over the past two 
decades.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our highest 
praise and congratulations to Dr. Scott Gerald Borg for being selected 
as a finalist for the 2014 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Career 
Achievement Medal. Dr. Borg and his fellow nominees all boast 
impressive accomplishments, from working to eradicate polio in India to 
landing an exploratory vehicle on Mars to saving the Air Force more 
than $1 billion in 2012 by reducing energy consumption. It has been my 
great privilege and honor to represent Dr. Borg and the tens of 
thousands of exceptional Federal workers who hail from Virginia's 11th 
Congressional District. They all deserve our thanks and respect.

                          ____________________