[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11570-11571]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                A SALUTE TO DR. JAMES F. ``JEFF'' KIMPEL

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM COLE

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 2010

  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an outstanding 
Oklahoman devoted to being the best public servant ever for the people 
of the United States, working tirelessly to help save lives and protect 
property, Dr. James ``Jeff' Kimpel, director NOAA National Severe 
Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. He is a close friend who will be 
retiring in Norman, Oklahoma this week. After 13 years of federal 
service Dr. Kimpel served the Nation and the people of our State and 
city and is recognized internationally as one of the worlds leading 
experts on weather and meteorology, having served as the past president 
of the American Meteorological Society in 2000. Jeff Kimpel will be 
sorely missed in NOAA and I know that I will miss his active 
participation day by day in all matters relating to meteorology.
  Madam Speaker, Jeff Kimpel's impact in Norman, Oklahoma which is in 
the fourth Congressional District has been ongoing and direct on all 
matters relating to severe weather

[[Page 11571]]

and weather related research and development. We have been considerably 
blessed with the location of the National Severe Storms Laboratory in 
Norman as well as the University of Oklahoma, and The Weather Center 
including many major weather private sector companies who advance the 
future of weather research in the United States. Dr. Kimpel has made a 
mark on weather forecasting that will be felt for decades to come.
  Dr. Kimpel has been one of the main proponents of improving the 
connection of Doppler-radar systems, or NEXRAD, which would advance and 
improve radar resolution and increase the accuracy of rain, snow and 
other weather predictions. This program, which was created under Dr. 
Kimpel, has also generated forecast models and has largely improved the 
ability to predict tornados, windstorms, lighting, and other types of 
severe precipitation. These programs are extremely vital and important 
to Oklahoma in particular, but Dr. Kimpel has brought them into other 
regions that also deal with inclement weather and specific weather 
storms.
  Madam Speaker, currently the upgrade of the current NEXRAD system for 
advanced notice of severe weather and tornados embodied in the Multi-
purpose Phased Array Radar will ultimately improve the effectiveness 
and will also cut costs. Dr. Kimpel's tireless and diligent efforts to 
develop the Multi-purpose Phased-Array Radar technology have paid off 
and are being rewarded with amplified financial support for the 
upcoming 2011 Fiscal Year. Dr. Kimpel's successor will surely continue 
to work hard on this project and continue to work to create even more 
developments for this form of radar technology.
  Madam Speaker, throughout his career, Dr. Kimpel has held important 
positions in several different organizations in the field of weather 
including a member of the National Research Council's Board on Natural 
Disasters of the National Academy of Sciences, an active official of 
the National Science Foundation including past chair of the Advisory 
Committee for Atmospheric Sciences, the University Corporation for 
Atmospheric Research, the American Meteorological Society, and NOAA's 
U.S. Weather Research Program development team.
  Dr. Kimpel's dedication goes above and beyond the field of 
meteorology and weather. He has epitomized and displayed leadership 
qualities that are very often hard to come by. He has been awarded the 
Bronze Star Medal while serving under the United States Air Force in 
Vietnam, has received the University of Oklahoma Student Association 
Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching and Service to Students, and 
among many other awards and honors has been given the Oklahoma 
University Regents' Award for Superior University and Professional 
Service.
  Madam Speaker, I applaud and congratulate Dr. Kimpel on the many 
accomplishments that he has achieved throughout his lifetime and I 
thank him for his life's commitment to weather, science, and severe-
storm prediction. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Kimpel for 
the example he has set for future meteorologists and researchers to 
follow, and for the fine career in which he has dedicated his life's 
work to. Madam Speaker, I am genuinely pleased to be able to say that I 
represent Dr. Kimpel and his family, and the laboratory that he created 
and worked so diligently for. I wish him luck in his future endeavors.

                          ____________________