[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 146 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6222]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 830--RECOGNIZING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF PURDUE 
                         UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING

  Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 830

       Whereas, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Act 
     of July 2, 1862 (commonly known as the ``First Morrill Act'') 
     (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), which 
     granted land to States that agreed to use the land to teach 
     ``agriculture and the mechanic arts'';
       Whereas the Indiana General Assembly--
       (1) in 1865, voted to participate in the Act of July 2, 
     1862 (commonly known as the ``First Morrill Act'') (12 Stat. 
     503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), and planned to build 
     an institution; and
       (2) in 1869, chose Lafayette, Indiana, in Tippecanoe 
     County, for the new institution, Purdue University;
       Whereas, in 1874, the first engineering student at Purdue 
     University began taking engineering classes with an 
     engineering instructor;
       Whereas, in 1882, 1888, and 1904, Elwood Mead received 
     degrees from Purdue University, and, in the 1930s, Elwood 
     Mead directed the development of the Hoover Dam;
       Whereas, in 1891, the 85,000-pound test locomotive 
     Schenectady, the original ``Boilermaker Special,'' arrived at 
     Purdue University to be used in the first locomotive testing 
     lab of its kind;
       Whereas Reginald Fessenden--
       (1) from 1892 to 1893, while at Purdue University, 
     initiated experiments for wireless transmission of the human 
     voice-radio; and
       (2) in 1900, succeeded in sending the first wireless 
     transmission of the human voice-radio;
       Whereas, in 1921, Donovan Berlin graduated from Purdue 
     University and later designed important World War II planes, 
     the P-40 and P-36, the only numerous battle-ready fighters 
     available in the United States at the outbreak of the war;
       Whereas, in 1921, Games Slayter graduated from Purdue 
     University and later developed coarse fibers that facilitated 
     the commercial production of the first fiberglass product;
       Whereas, in 1927, Roscoe George graduated from Purdue 
     University and later, with colleague Howard Helm, became the 
     inventor of all-electronic television receivers;
       Whereas, in 1929, Charles Ellis, a professor of civil 
     engineering at Purdue University from 1934 to 1946, drew the 
     blueprint design for the Golden Gate Bridge and oversaw test 
     borings for, and the surveying and setting of, the towers of 
     the Golden Gate Bridge;
       Whereas, in 1933, Edward Purcell graduated from Purdue 
     University and, in 1952, with Felix Bloch, won the Nobel 
     Prize in Physics for finding a way to detect the extremely 
     weak magnetism of the atomic nucleus;
       Whereas, from 1935 to 1937, Amelia Earhart was a visiting 
     professor in the aeronautical engineering department of 
     Purdue University;
       Whereas, in 1907 and 1948, John Atalla earned degrees from 
     Purdue University and later co-developed the metal-oxide-
     semiconductor field-effect transistor, the most widely used 
     type of integrated circuit in the world and the most 
     manufactured human artifact in history;
       Whereas Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr.--
       (1) graduated from Purdue University in 1949;
       (2) in 1956, became the Air Force test pilot that flew the 
     Bell X-2 to 126,000 feet, becoming the first person to reach 
     space; and
       (3) was selected to fly the X-15 to become first citizen of 
     the United States in space, but was killed in another test 
     flight on July 26, 1958;
       Whereas, in 1947, 1948, 1950, and 1981, Robert C. Forney 
     earned degrees from Purdue University and later led the 
     development of many new polymeric resins, most notably Dacron 
     polyester fiber;
       Whereas Virgil ``Gus'' Grissom--
       (1) graduated from Purdue University in 1950;
       (2) in 1959, was in the first group of astronauts in the 
     United States;
       (3) in 1961, was the second citizen of the United States in 
     space, piloting Mercury-Redstone 4;
       (4) was the command pilot for Gemini 3, the first 2-person 
     space flight of the United States; and
       (5) would eventually die while serving the United States on 
     January 27, 1967, in the Apollo 1 flash fire at Kennedy Space 
     Center;
       Whereas, in 1955, Neil Armstrong graduated from Purdue 
     University and later became the first person on the Moon;
       Whereas, in 1956, Gene Cernan graduated from Purdue 
     University and became the last person to set foot on the Moon 
     as of 2024;
       Whereas, in 1960, Paul McEnroe graduated from Purdue 
     University and developed the globally ubiquitous barcode;
       Whereas, in 1969, Purdue University founded the Women in 
     Engineering Program, a first-of-its-kind program in the 
     United States and model for other universities that aimed to 
     recruit women into the engineering field, and to help retain 
     women while at the Purdue University campus;
       Whereas, in 1974, Les Geddes began a distinguished teaching 
     and research career at Purdue University that spawned life-
     saving innovations including--
       (1) burn treatments;
       (2) miniature defibrillators;
       (3) ligament repair; and
       (4) tiny blood pressure monitors for premature infants;
       Whereas, in 1974, the Purdue University Black Society of 
     Engineers invited every Black engineering society to a 
     conference at Purdue University and, from that meeting, the 
     National Society of Black Engineers was created and became 
     the largest student-managed organization in the United 
     States, with more than 20,000 members and more than 790 
     chapters on college and university campuses;
       Whereas, Purdue University is known as the ``Cradle of 
     Astronauts'', as 27 graduates of Purdue University have been 
     selected for space travel and nearly \1/3\ of United States 
     spaceflights have included a graduate of Purdue University;
       Whereas, Purdue University is home to various academic 
     programs that rank in the top 10 in the United States, 
     including programs for--
       (1) agricultural and biological engineering;
       (2) industrial engineering;
       (3) aeronautics and astronautics;
       (4) civil engineering;
       (5) mechanical engineering;
       (6) electrical and computer engineering; and
       (7) environmental and ecological engineering;
       Whereas, as of 2024, Purdue University produces more than 5 
     percent of engineering students in the United States, and 
     continues to expand; and
       Whereas Purdue University has produced several Nobel Prize 
     laureates, astronauts, and numerous ideas that have advanced 
     humankind: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes--
       (A) the 150th Anniversary of Purdue University Engineering;
       (B) the consequential impact that Purdue University 
     Engineering, and other programs at Purdue University, have 
     had on the United States and the world, due to the 
     engineering research, study, and feats of their graduates;
       (C) that Purdue University Engineering--
       (i) continues to provide nationally recognized programs for 
     its students; and
       (ii) is a treasured resource for individuals in the great 
     State of Indiana, the United States, and the world; and
       (2) encourages individuals in the United States to 
     celebrate Purdue University Engineering and its graduates on 
     their accomplishments and contributions to the world.

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