[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 126 (Thursday, July 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN MEMORY OF DR. BURTON RICHTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2018

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the passing of Dr. 
Burton Richter on July 18, 2018. Dr. Richter was of major importance to 
the strength and defense of the United States, winning the Nobel Prize 
in 1976 for the co-discovery of a transient fundamental particle, the 
cc meson, that he named the psi particle. The pioneering Stanford 
Positron Electron Asymmetric Rings (SPEAR) facility at the Stanford 
Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), where the psi particle was 
discovered, was one of the class of accelerators that came to dominate 
worldwide experimental high-energy particle physics. Dr. Richter formed 
and led the group that invented and built these first accelerators and 
his work was sponsored by the Department of Energy.
  Dr. Richter received innumerable honors in the scientific community, 
serving as Director of SLAC from 1984 to 1999 and in many other 
prestigious positions, including President of the American Physical 
Society in 1994. Dr. Richter's sense of public service and concern for 
the future of society was reflected in his membership in the JASONs, a 
scientific advisory group, primarily in the areas of defense and 
intelligence to the U .S. government. He was present at Ronald Reagan's 
1983 speech on the Strategic Defense Initiative and served as a key and 
extraordinarily valued advisor to the Department of Energy, which 
supports accelerator research to this day, in areas as diverse as 
nuclear weapons, general basic research, climate change, and 
international relations.
  Dr. Richter valued innovation and advance in all spheres of 
technology and science, and served on key industrial Boards of 
Directors where he had a lasting impact. He and his wife Laurose 
inspired and enlivened the lives of a generation of scientists and 
engineers and it was, in fact, Laurose's enthusiasm and interest in an 
electric car provided by General Motors that helped promote interest in 
such vehicles.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Richter's life is an example of accomplishment and 
public service. He served our country in the best possible fashion and 
his contributions, of which we all benefit, will long endure.

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