[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 28440-28441]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO DR. ROBERT E. FISCHELL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 14, 2005

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to Dr. 
Robert E. Fischell, a mechanical engineer, biomedical engineer, 
inventor, physicist, researcher and teacher. Robert Fischell is one of 
the brightest, most accomplished people I have ever met.
  Let me tell you a little bit about his career. After graduating cum 
laude from Duke University in 1951 with a degree in mechanical 
engineering, Bob earned a Masters degree in physics from the University 
of Maryland, where he also holds an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
  In 1959, he went to work for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab 
(APL), where he developed a number of inventions dealing with the 
control of satellites. His work at APL has led to numerous awards, 
including the IR-100 Award which is presented annually for the 100 most 
significant inventions. He has won this honor twice; once in 1970 for a 
rechargeable pacemaker, and again in 1973 for a drag-free satellite.
  Dr. Fischell holds nearly 200 U.S. and international patents. His 
inventions--which include an implantable insulin pump, a rechargeable 
pacemaker, a flexible stent for placement in coronary arteries, and a 
microminiaturized computer that can be implanted to prevent epileptic 
seizures--have changed the practice of medicine and saved hundreds of 
thousands of lives.
  On December 19, the University of Maryland at College Park is 
announcing the establishment of the Fischell Department of 
Bioengineering and the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical 
Devices.
  I urge my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me 
in honoring Robert E. Fischell, an innovative American inventor who has 
made enormous contributions to medicine, space discovery and higher 
education.

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