[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO DR. TAYLOR W. LAWRENCE

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to Dr. Taylor 
Lawrence, Jr. who, on Friday, October 12, 2012, was honored as one of 
four ``Hometown Heroes'' at the City of Montevallo's 2nd Annual Mayor's 
Breakfast Honoring Hometown Heroes.
  Taylor, who grew up in Montevallo, AL, was the keynote speaker at the 
event and was honored along with former Montevallo Mayor Sharon 
Anderson, World War II veteran Grady Parker, and former University of 
Montevallo English professor Dr. Elizabeth ``Libbie'' Rodgers.
  He graduated first in his class from the California Institute of 
Technology with a bachelor's degree in physics and from Stanford 
University with a master's degree and doctorate, both in applied 
physics.
  Taylor has had an accomplished professional career in the defense 
field and has held positions as vice president of Raytheon's 
Engineering, Technology and Mission Assurance and a vice president and 
general manager for the C4ISR and Space Sensors division for Northrop 
Grumman Electronic Systems. He served as my staff director when I was 
chairman for the Select Committee on Intelligence and prior to that 
position, as the deputy director of the Information Systems Office of 
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
  Currently, Taylor serves as the president of Raytheon Company's 
Missile Systems business, the world's leading producer of weapons 
systems for the United States military as well as allied forces of more 
than 50 countries.
  In 1996, Taylor was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for 
Meritorious Civilian Service due to his exemplary work in his field. He 
is a former member of the Defense Science Board and vice chairman 
emeritus of the Air Force Studies Board of the National Academies, as 
well as a fellow at the American Institute of Aeronautics and 
Astronautics.
  Taylor is extremely bright, highly respected, and committed to 
excellence in his field. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity 
to work with him during his time as my staff director in the Senate, 
and am proud to represent a State that so many of today's professional 
leaders, Taylor included, also call home.
  I congratulate Taylor on his ``Hometown Hero'' award, and know that 
it was well-deserved.

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