[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7480-7481]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. CHARLES LOUIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to an 
individual whose dedication and contributions to the educational 
community are exceptional. The University of California at Riverside 
has been fortunate to have dynamic and dedicated leaders who willingly 
and unselfishly give their time and talent and make their university, 
and community, a better place to learn, live and work. Charles Louis, 
Vice Chancellor for Research at UCR, is one of these individuals. After 
eight years of dedicated service, Charles will be retiring from UCR.
  Dr. Louis' biomedical research on the role of calcium as an 
intracellular signaling molecule, which has been funded by the National 
Institutes of Health for over 25 years, uses a range of different 
approaches including cell physiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, 
cell biology, and biophysics. His current research program focuses on 
the role of gap junctions in the development of cataracts in the lens 
of the eye because an elevation in cytosolic calcium concentration 
which closes these cell-to-cell channels is one of the critical early 
steps in the development of lens cataract formation. Dr. Louis is Chair 
of the Executive Committee of the Council of Research Policy and 
Graduate Education (CRPGE) of the Association of Public and Land-Grant 
Universities (APLU) serving on the Board of Directors of APLU, and a 
member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Government Relations 
(COGR); he has served on many peer-review grant committees as well as 
the boards of biotech industry associations in both Minnesota and 
Georgia.
  Dr. Louis served as Vice President for Research at Georgia State 
University from 2000 2004, having previously served on the faculty at 
the University of Minnesota for over 20 years where he held a number of 
administrative positions that included Head of the Department of 
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics from 1998-2000 and 
Assistant Vice President for Research and Associate Dean of the 
Graduate School from 1994-1998. He previously held faculty appointments 
at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and Leeds University in 
England.
  Dr. Louis received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from 
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, his Doctorate of Philosophy in 
Biochemistry from Oxford University, and post-doctoral training at 
Stanford University.
  Dr. Louis' many accomplishments at UCR have included the growth of 
sponsored funding last year to $115 million, the establishment of a 
very successful Office of Technology Commercialization, and the 
management of the ever-increasing compliance demands that have been 
placed on universities by the federal government. He led the successful 
accreditation of UCR's human research protection program, and has 
worked on higher education committees of the Association of Public and 
Land-Grant Universities and of the Council of Government Relations. We 
have benefited from his advocacy and strong voice for ensuring that UCR 
receive its fair share of research funding available from UCOP VP 
Research, and for his excellent working relationships with many UCR 
faculty that have included the establishment of a number of very 
successful collaborative research programs with Chinese research 
institutions.

[[Page 7481]]

  In light of all Dr. Louis has done for the science community and 
education it is only fitting that we take a moment to thank him for his 
life's work. Dr. Louis' tireless passion for knowledge, science and 
education has contributed immensely to academia. Dr. Louis' 
contributions to his field will continue to resonate and I know that 
many individuals are grateful for his service and salute him as he 
retires and moves on toward the next phase in his life.

                          ____________________