[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 157 (Monday, September 24, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO STAMATIOS ``TOM'' KRIMIGIS

 Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize 
Stamatios ``Tom'' Krimigis on the occasion of his 80th birthday and 
50th anniversary of service to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics 
Laboratory.
  Dr. Krimigis is one of our Nation's brightest minds in the field of 
space science, and I and countless others rely on his knowledge and 
good counsel. He has had an amazing journey from humble beginnings on 
the Greek island of Chios to become one of the world's most brilliant 
and renowned space scientists.
  The launch of Sputnik in 1957 drew his eye to the sky and inspired 
him to study physics and space science, so he came to the United States 
at the age of 18 to enroll at the University of Minnesota.
  Upon finishing college, he went to the University of Iowa to work for 
James Van Allen, who had been the principal investigator on Explorer 1, 
which was the U.S. first satellite. In 1968, he joined Johns Hopkins 
Applied Physics Laboratory. He was the head of the space department 
from 1991 to 2004 and has been the emeritus head and principal staff 
scientist since then.
  Dr. Krimigis has led pioneering research into the Earth's 
environment, its magnetosphere, the Sun, the interplanetary medium, and 
the magnetospheres of the planets. He was critical in helping NASA 
shape its approach to planetary exploration and has published more than 
600 articles in scientific journals and books. He remains the only 
scientist to lead investigations of every planet in our solar system. 
In 1999, the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid 8323 
Krimigis, previously 1979 UH, in his honor.
  In addition to being a brilliant scientist in his own right, Dr. 
Krimigis has mentored countless scientists, engineers, and staff at the 
Applied Physics Lab, showing extraordinary generosity with his time to 
develop new generations of leaders. He is always willing to share his 
insights and provide thoughtful guidance. I am lucky to have Tom as a 
friend and adviser who has provided insights and infectious enthusiasm 
for the work being done by he and his colleagues at the Applied Physics 
Lab. I was thrilled to join Tom to witness some of his major successes, 
like the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous in 1998 and the Pluto fly-by in 
2015.
  Dr. Tom Krimigis has a special ability to help people understand the 
value of investing in our ability to explore our planets and peer into 
the depths of space, both to maintain America's technological edge and 
to help answer basic universal questions about our place in the 
universe. I am honored to recognize him today and to wish him a happy 
80th birthday.

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