[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 12 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E75-E76]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF MARY HELEN McCAY, Ph.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL POSEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 19, 2018

  Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the achievements of Dr. 
Mary Helen McCay who has just been named a Fellow of the National 
Academy of Inventors--a highly prestigious professional distinction. 
Dr. McCay currently serves as University Research Professor and 
Director of Florida Institute of Technology's National Center for 
Hydrogen Research. She was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of 
Fame in 2017.
  Dr. McCay grew up in Fort Pierce just south of Florida's Space Coast. 
A fan of space exploration from an early age, Mary Helen remembers 
watching Astronaut John Glenn's famous launch during high school 
assembly. Like many young people growing up on the Space Coast at that 
time--including myself--her enthusiasm for our space program grew as 
she regularly visited Patrick Air Force Base and Kennedy Space Center 
to watch our rocket launches. With a strong interest in studying 
science and engineering, she went on to earn her Ph.D. in Metallurgical 
Engineering from the University of Florida in 1973.
  Dr. McCay was a Principal Investigator at NASA's Marshall Space 
Flight Center for almost 20 years where she studied the influence of 
microgravity of single crystal formation and conducted failure analyses 
of space vehicle materials. She was Principal Investigator on a 
Microgravity Laboratory I flight experiment, as well as three other 
flight experiments and received the NASA Scientific Achievement Medal 
for her work. Her involvement with NASA led to her becoming a Payload 
Specialist Astronaut for Space Shuttle Challenger Flight Spacelab-3 
mission.
  Prior to joining the Florida Institute of Technology, Dr. McCay was 
Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Chair of the Center for 
Laser Applications, and Adjunct Professor of Metallurgical Engineering 
and Materials Science at the University of Tennessee Space Institute 
and received numerous awards for her groundbreaking research. She has 
published more than 130 technical articles; serves as reviewer on 8 
peer-reviewed journals; and holds 24 patents, 22 for laser-induced-
surface improvement and its applications. Together with her husband, 
Dr. Dwayne McCay, the President of the Florida Institute of Technology, 
she holds 15 joint U.S. patents in the area of metallurgical 
engineering.
  When asked about her inspiration in science, Dr. McCay points to 
Madame Curie for her persistence as well as her brilliance. She credits 
her mother and father as key influences in her life, as well as the 
Dominican sisters who taught her in grade school, her high

[[Page E76]]

school chemistry teacher, Mr. Harris, Dean Rogers at Florida State 
University, and her husband.
  A strong advocate for STEM education, Dr. McCay has worked to 
establish STEM mentoring groups between faculty and new students 
attending the Florida Institute of Technology. Along with her 
colleagues she does outreach to local high schools to encourage 
students to consider pursuing a career in one of the STEM fields. She 
also coordinates a K-12 Girls in Science Summer Camp the Florida 
Institute of Technology.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Dr. Mary Helen McCay, 
as well as Dr. Dwayne McCay and the dedicated faculty of the Florida 
Institute of Technology, for their contributions to science and 
engineering, and for their commitment to inspiring young minds and 
future scientists of our nation.

                          ____________________