[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15113-15114]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING TEXAS CENTER FOR SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

 Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, today, the Texas Center for 
Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TCSUH) commemorates 25 
years of achievements following the discovery of the High Temperature 
Superconductor YBCO by Dr. Paul C. W. Chu and colleagues in 1987 and 
the establishment the Center by the State of Texas.
  With ongoing support from the State, the Center has continued to grow 
in size and in the breadth of its programs which include basic and 
applied research, technology development and transfer and advanced 
education and training. TCSUH maintains an infrastructure that supports 
the interdisciplinary research and education that is necessary to 
advance new fields and accelerate scientific discovery.
  I am intensely committed to investing in science and research and 
Texas' place at the top of that ladder. In 2004, I worked to create 
TAMEST The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas a 
vehicle for Texas institutions to share knowledge and research, to know 
what others in the scientific fields were working on. Today, with 
better information sharing, Texas has gone from sixth to third as a 
recipient of Federal research funding.
  Science and technology are critical to the future growth and 
prosperity of our country. America must continue to prioritize 
scientific research and technological development that fuels our 
economy, creates jobs, improves health care and helps to promote our 
national security and global leadership.
  This is incredibly important to both Texas and America. Since World 
War II, more than half of US economic growth can be attributed to 
technological innovation; part of this is a direct result of Federal 
investment in science and technology.
  Texas' world-class research institutions and university-based 
innovation centers like TCSUH bring new technology and research 
together with savvy entrepreneurs, creating new businesses and, most 
important, creating jobs.
  TCSUH contributes to the goals of strengthening the prominence of 
Texas as a national research leader by attracting top quality 
researchers to the State, educating the next generation of scientists 
and engineers, and building links with industry to commercialize new 
technologies and create quality jobs.
  I congratulate Dr. Chu and his colleagues at TCSUH on this important 
occasion and extend my best wishes to all for many more years of 
continued success.

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