[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 134 (Friday, July 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E856-E857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 30, 2021

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, today it is an honor for me to pay 
tribute to the Office of Naval Research and its contributions to our 
Sea Services, the Nation, and the pursuit of scientific and 
technological discovery on the occasion of its seventy-fifth 
anniversary.
  The Office of Naval Research was established by act of Congress on 
August 1, 1946, in the aftermath of World War II to ``plan, foster, and 
encourage scientific research in recognition of its paramount 
importance as related to the maintenance of future naval power, and the 
preservation of national security.'' A product of wartime necessities 
that brought together government and military planners, academia, and 
industry to help make science and technology an essential tool

[[Page E857]]

for victory, the Office of Naval Research grew into a vital 
organization dedicated to the enduring warfighting requirements of the 
Navy and Marine Corps and the peacetime needs of the nation. The Office 
of Naval Research prioritizes building a close and essential 
relationship between the public good and the progress of science and 
technology. For seventy-five years this agency has maintained that 
relationship through war and peace. Much of our infrastructure for the 
public support of science and technology. from the National Science 
Foundation to DARPA to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and 
Army Research Office, was built in the years after the war using the 
model pioneered by the Office of Naval Research.
  In its early decades, the Office of Naval Research supported research 
in the burgeoning fields of computing and directed energy, leading to 
the development of one of the first digital computers, Project 
Whirlwind, as well as the creation of the maser and laser. Its projects 
took scientists to the upper atmosphere in some of the highest recorded 
balloon ascents and brought human beings to the very bottom or the 
ocean in the Challenger Deep. Office of Naval Research-supported 
engineers and scientists created the first autonomous robot, as well as 
the first autonomous undersea vehicle. The Office of Naval Research, 
Arctic Research Laboratory helped several generations of scientists 
understand polar environments better. Its support led to the 
development of atomic clocks; the key invention that made precision 
satellite navigation possible. Finally, and perhaps most of all, long-
term support from the Office of Naval Research led to the postwar 
blossoming of the ocean sciences, leading to countless discoveries in 
acoustics, wave prediction, meteorology, marine mammal research, and 
climate studies. The invention of virtually every important sensor and 
undersea vehicle that made these discoveries possible owes a debt to 
the stewardship of the Office of Naval Research.
  From aircraft to ships to weapons systems, nearly every platform in 
use by the Navy and Marine Corps today relies in some way on technology 
originally developed or enhanced by the Office of Naval Research's 
sponsorship. Medical advances such as QuikClot save the lives of 
Marines and Sailors. Portable energy technologies provide power to 
forces, vehicles, and sensors. Laser weapon systems defend ships at 
sea. Materials developed through Office of Naval Research efforts 
protect the hulls of ships from marine organisms as well as the blast 
effects of weapons, and allow jet engines to work hotter, longer, and 
more efficiently than ever before. Today, Office of Naval Research 
programs are advancing the fields of artificial intelligence, autonomy, 
networking, directed energy, warfighter performance, maritime 
awareness, and next-generation power for the Navy and Marine Corps of 
the future.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor the achievements of the Office of 
Naval Research, and I am certain the Members of the House will join me 
in recognizing the seventy-five years of scientific excellence this 
distinguished organization has provided--and seventy-five more that it 
will provide--to our Sailors and Marines and to the American people.

                          ____________________