[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 157 (Monday, September 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. KAREN O'NEIL

  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Dr. Karen O'Neil 
and to thank her for her service as director of the Green Bank 
Observatory for the past 15 years.
  Dr. O'Neil received her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon in 
physics, with a specialty in astrophysics. In addition to her work at 
Green Bank, she has worked as a professor of physics at the University 
of Oregon. She was also a staff astronomer at the National Ionosphere 
and Astronomy Center's Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, PR, where she 
worked on the commissioning and testing of a wide variety of 
instruments and software for the 300m telescope. I am proud to join all 
of West Virginia in thanking Dr. Karen O'Neil for bringing her vast 
expertise to the Mountain State.
  For more than 60 years, the National Science Foundation, Pocahontas 
County, and the State of West Virginia have supported the ability of 
innumerable national and international scientists to make discoveries 
about our universe using the capabilities located at the observatory 
within the National Quiet Zone. Scientists at the Green Bank 
Observatory have made significant discoveries that have helped us 
better understand our universe. Among the many achievements during Dr. 
O'Neil's tenure, researchers helped discover a massive star that 
strains the limits of physics, a discovery that wouldn't have been 
possible without the research made possible at Green Bank. It is a 
testament to the tremendous amount of research and data the observatory 
provides to the global scientific community.
  For the past several years, I have been committed to ensuring Green 
Bank stays open for the next generation of young West Virginia 
scientists. Dr. Karen O'Neil has been a tremendous part of this effort. 
Not long ago, we were fighting to keep the observatory open, and thanks 
to Dr. O'Neil's efforts, we are now discussing Green Bank's integral 
role in the next generation of astrophysics. Once again, I am truly 
grateful for her service as director. Fortunately, she is not going 
far, and will continue to be a vital part of the continued growth of 
the observatory. I am also proud to join her in welcoming the incoming 
Green Bank Director, Dr. James M. Jackson, who recognizes the 
observatory's role as an essential facility in the Nation's 
astrophysics portfolio, and I know he will continue this legacy of 
excellence.

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