[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 111 (Friday, June 25, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING DR. RANGA DIAS

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                         HON. JOSEPH D. MORELLE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 25, 2021

  Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ranga Dias, for his 
discovery of the world's first high-temperature super-conducting 
material, carbonaceous sulfur hydride. Because of their potential to 
change the world as we know it, such materials have been sought by 
scientists for more than a century. I couldn't be more proud that this 
discovery by Dr. Dias, and his collaborators, was made in my district. 
I also want to acknowledge the incredible support from the National 
Science Foundation and Department of Energy Office of Science that made 
this work possible.
  Dr. Dias is a professor of Mechanical Engineering and Physics and 
Astronomy at the University of Rochester and an internationally 
recognized scientist in the field of high-pressure physics and high 
energy density science. Since announcing his discovery this past 
October, Dr. Dias' work has been extensively reported in popular press, 
including the New York Times, NPR, and the BBC. Dr. Dias was named to 
the 2021 Time 100 NEXT list that highlights 100 emerging leaders who 
are shaping the future and was recently awarded a National Science 
Foundation Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, award. CAREER 
is the NSF's most prestigious award in support of early-career faculty 
and is intended to help them build a firm foundation for a lifetime of 
leadership in integrating education and research.
  Professor Dias' research focuses on materials under extreme pressures 
where their properties are altered in fundamental ways. At these 
incredibly high pressures, individual atoms are forced into close 
proximity, in a similar manner as when they are cooled to very low 
temperatures, allowing them to exhibit a range of interesting quantum 
behaviors, including super-conductivity. This approach is a paradigm 
shift that has allowed Dr. Dias' team what no one else has. To say this 
is the stuff of science fiction would be an understatement.
  To create this material, the team placed a mixture of carbon, 
hydrogen and sulfur in a microscopic niche carved between the tips of 
two diamonds and then subjected them to laser light and squeezed them 
at 2.6 million times atmospheric pressure at sea level. The result was 
a new record: a material that exhibited superconductivity at about 58 
degrees Fahrenheit. The hope, which I share, is that with further 
research, this team of talented scientists will find a way to make 
these, or similar materials, stable at ambient temperatures and 
pressures, unlocking a wide range of potential applications that will 
literally transform our world, including ultra-efficient computers and 
electronic devices, essentially loss-less energy transmission and 
storage, and new forms of propulsion and industrial power transmission 
without friction. With this approach, it may even become possible to 
create unique materials whose properties are tuned to particular 
applications that we have not yet dreamed of.
  Of course, translating this advance into practical applications and 
realizing these breakthroughs still require additional research and 
development that will take some time. However, the phenomenal 
achievement of Dr. Dias and his team have shown us what is possible 
and, thanks to federal support for science, we are closer now than we 
have ever been. I congratulate Ranga on his accomplishments and wish 
him the greatest success with his future research.

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