[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 41 (Thursday, March 9, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1741-S1742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             75TH ANNIVERSARY OF APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, today, we commemorate the 75th 
anniversary of the founding of Johns Hopkins University's Applied 
Physics Laboratory.
  I am fortunate to represent Maryland, a State that plays a leading 
role in science, technology, and innovation. From NASA's Goddard Space 
Flight Center, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Maryland is at 
the frontier of discovery and innovation. Among Maryland's leaders in 
space, science, and innovation is the Applied Physics Laboratory, or 
APL
  From its humble beginnings in a converted auto dealership in Silver 
Spring, MD, to its current state-of-the-art facility in Howard County, 
APL has designed, built, and launched countless spacecraft and 
instruments. Like the Goddard Space Flight Center, APL provides a great 
economic boost for Maryland, employing thousands of Marylanders and 
generating $1 billion in annual revenues. APL serves both civil and 
national security clients, in areas from homeland protection and 
undersea warfare to missile systems and biomedicine.
  Early on the morning of July 14, 2015, along with representatives 
from NASA and the Southwest Research Institute, and my old friend Dr. 
Tom Krimigis, I was able to visit APL to witness the Pluto flyby of the 
spacecraft New Horizons. I waited eagerly as New Horizons flew 7,800 
miles above the surface of Pluto, making it the first spacecraft to 
explore the dwarf planet. The excitement and pride in the room was 
palpable. Maryland and the Applied Physics Laboratory were once again 
playing a critical role in the history of human discovery.
  I am grateful for the work that APL has done. And I look forward to 
the work that APL will continue to do, well into the future. I join my 
Colleague, Senator Ben Cardin, in sponsoring a resolution 
congratulating the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab on the 
75th anniversary of the Lab's founding.
  Humanity has long asked: From where did we come? And are we alone? 
Places like APL will help us answer fundamental questions like these. I 
am proud to represent them here in the

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U.S. Senate, and I look forward to working with them to keep science, 
space, and space technology strong and vibrant in Maryland and the 
United States for years to come.
  I congratulate APL, Johns Hopkins, and its many partners as they 
celebrate this important milestone.

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