[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 151 (Thursday, September 19, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5598-S5599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING DR. RAVINDRA LAL

 Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I rise today with deep sadness, but 
also with reverence to remember Dr. Ravindra Behari ``Ravi'' Lal, who 
died on July 23, 2019. Dr. Lal was an esteemed educator and innovator 
in the field of physics. His impact on Alabama A&M University and the 
Huntsville area is incalculable.
  Dr. Lal was born on October 5, 1935, in Agra, India. He was one of 
three children born to Avadh Behari and Radhapyari Lal Mathur. Dr. Lal 
earned his Ph.D. in solid state physics from Agra University in 1962 
and married his wife Usha in the same year. In 1964, Dr. Lal and Usha 
moved to Huntsville, where they raised their son Amit. That same year, 
Dr. Lal began his teaching and research career for the National Academy 
of Sciences as a resident research associate at NASA/Marshall Space 
Flight Center. It was there that Dr. Lal conducted groundbreaking work 
on the effects of radiation on thermal control coatings for Apollo and 
other spacecrafts. Through a special recommendation from famed 
aerospace engineer, Dr. Wernher von Braun, Dr. Lal earned a rare 
extension of his postdoctoral associate position with NASA.
  Following his time at Marshall Space Flight Center, Dr. Lal worked 
for 2 years as a senior scientist and assistant professor at the Indian 
Institute of Technology in Delhi, India. He returned to the United 
States in 1970 as a senior research associate for the University of 
Alabama in Huntsville, leaving in 1973 to become an associate professor 
of physics at Paine College in Augusta, GA.
  Dr. Lal made his return to Huntsville in 1975 to begin his long and 
impressive career at Alabama A&M University--AAMU--rising from 
associate professor of physics to department chair to university 
eminent scholar. In 1978, during his tenure at AAMU, he was chosen by 
NASA as a principal investigator for a space shuttle experiment on the 
maiden flight of the Spacelab-3 Mission in 1985, making Dr. Lal one of 
the first university professors to be selected for an experiment on 
space shuttle and the first from AAMU. During this project, he worked 
as one of the pioneers in crystal growth experiments in microgravity. 
Dr. Lal later served for 7 years as the principal investigator for a 
project from NASA's Commercialization of Space program.
  Dr. Lal was deeply committed to bettering the AAMU and Huntsville 
communities during his tenure as an educator and beyond. In 1997, Dr. 
Lal launched the popular Annual Nobel Laureate Lecture Series, which 
has since brought 20 Nobel Prize winners to Huntsville. He was 
instrumental in establishing AAMU's masters and doctorate programs in 
physics. AAMU celebrated his commitment to his field and students in 
2005, naming Dr. Lal an AAMU eminent scholar. Recognized as one of the 
first Indian couples in Huntsville, Dr. Lal and his wife Usha mentored 
and advised Indian families new to their city and were actively 
involved in helping to build a temple, the Hindu Cultural Center of 
North Alabama, for the local Indian community. Dr. Lal also served on 
the board for AshaKiran, an organization that provides assistance to 
individuals from multicultural backgrounds that are experiencing 
crises.

[[Page S5599]]

  Dr. Lal was highly respected and celebrated in his field, earning 
recognition from the Alabama House of Representatives in 1985 for his 
achievements on NASA's Spacelab-3 experiment. He was also awarded 
NASA's Public Service Achievement award for those same achievements by 
NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher. Dr. Lal was selected for the 
Professional of the Year award by the Huntsville Association of 
Technical Societies, the Noble prize in Science by the National 
Association for Equal opportunity in Higher Education, and the Lifetime 
Achievement Award from AAMU Research Institute.
  Dr. Lal will be dearly missed by all whose lives he touched, both 
through his work as a brilliant educator and scientist and as a pillar 
in the Huntsville community. Both Alabama and the United States have 
benefited immeasurably from his contributions to the field of physics 
and space research.

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