[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23672]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING DR. SARAH K. NOBLE FOR HER CONTRIBUTIONS AND SERVICE TO THE 
                        HOUSE SCIENCE COMMITTEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 25, 2005

  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a talented 
individual who has been a dedicated member of our Committee staff for 
the past year--Dr. Sarah K. Noble.
  Sarah came to the minority staff of the House Science Committee in 
late 2004 as a Fellow on a fully funded scholarship from the Geological 
Society of America (GSA). Sponsored by GSA and the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), she has spent her time on the 
Committee assisting primarily with the Subcommittee on Space and 
Aeronautics.
  She is an expert in the field of space weathering and has 
concentrated much of her academic career on the geological specifics of 
lunar and planetary studies. She is an esteemed researcher who has 
presented her work at numerous meetings and conferences. In short Mr. 
Speaker, we were honored to have a person of her distinction and 
expertise on our team.
  During her tenure on the Committee, Sarah played an important role in 
our oversight of NASA, with a particular focus on its science and 
education programs. She also was a valued and tireless participant in 
developing H.R. 3250, the Democratic NASA Authorization bill. A 
significant fraction of that legislation was incorporated into H.R. 
3070, the NASA Authorization Act that passed the House by a wide margin 
earlier this year. In short, both her analytic work and her thoughtful 
perspectives helped us to craft a better bill than otherwise would have 
been the case.
  In addition to her policy and procedural work for the Committee, 
Sarah was also instrumental in another of our great accomplishments 
this year--our newly refurbished website. It must be difficult to find 
a distinguished geologist who also minored in art in college, but we 
successfully found that person in Sarah. Her vision for our new site 
helped shape the overall look and feel, easing navigation and 
broadening its appeal.
  Sarah also has a passion for the study of science and mathematics, 
especially as it relates to inspiring our youth to pursue careers in 
the field. Sarah translated this passion--one that I share--into a 
groundbreaking section on our new website designed specifically for 
science and math teachers and the students they inspire.
  The ``Science Education & You'' portion of the Science Democrats' 
website is more complete and effective today due to Sarah's input and 
guidance. Hardly a day goes by that a teacher or policy professional 
doesn't email with positive feedback on this portion of our website. 
The federal resources we locate and organize for teachers and students 
at http://sciencedems.house.gov will continue to grow, and Sarah 
deserves many thanks for helping us launch such a valuable resource.
  We are sad to see her go, but Sarah is moving on to the next 
prestigious phase of her career at NASA's Johnson Space Center in 
Houston, TX where she will pursue post-doctoral work.
  In a recent AAAS column detailing her Washington, DC experience Sarah 
wrote, ``Scientists have a vital role to play in creating sound science 
policy and I am thrilled to be a part of that process.'' Mr. Speaker, 
Sarah's input as both a scientist and a scholar have been invaluable to 
our Committee this past year. I thank her for her dedicated service and 
wish her the very best in what promises to be an exciting career.

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