[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20502]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DR. LURA POWELL

 Mrs. MURRAY Mr. President, I would like to take a moment today 
to recognize the accomplishments of Dr. Lura Powell, the Laboratory 
Director of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National 
Laboratory in Richland, WA. Dr. Powell will be stepping down at the end 
of this year and, over the past 2 years as director, has provided many 
contributions while leading this National Laboratory. I would also like 
to thank her for her leadership and her commitment to the Tri-Cities 
Community.
  Lura Powell joined the Laboratory after a lengthy career at the 
Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and 
Technology. During her tenure at NIST, she served as Director of the 
Advanced Technology Program. She earned the Department of Commerce Gold 
Medal in 1998. In 2000, Dr. Powell joined Battelle and became the first 
woman director of the Laboratory. There are several noteworthy 
successes to mention, including two ``Outstanding'' ratings from the 
Department of Energy, the highest rating available, during her tenure. 
In addition, DOE recently announced its intention to renew the 5-year 
contract for the Laboratory.
  During her tenure, the acquisition of two major pieces of equipment, 
including a leading-edge supercomputer and the world's first 900 
Megahertz wide bore Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer, will 
position the laboratory to be a leader in molecular research. Dr. 
Powell can also be credited with enhancing university partnerships in 
the Northwest with the University of Washington and Washington State 
University, as well as the University of Idaho and Oregon State 
University. Dr. Powell's legacy is the successful combination of 
academic partnerships with this state-of-the-art laboratory, securing a 
strong economic future for my state of Washington and the Pacific 
Northwest region of the United States.
  In the Tri-City Community, Dr. Powell has been active in promoting 
economic growth and providing leadership in the role that science and 
technology can play in education, work, and our daily lives. In 
Washington State, Dr. Powell has been a member of the Washington 
Roundtable and the Washington Technology Alliance Board where she has 
cared deeply about bringing growth to the state economy.
  On behalf of the people of the Tri-Cities and Washington State, I 
would like to thank Lura Powell for her hard work and know that 
wherever she goes, those around her will benefit from her leadership, 
insight, and commitment.

                          ____________________