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“ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE'S LABORATORIES IN BOULDER, CO” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1651 on Sept. 17, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE'S LABORATORIES IN
BOULDER, CO
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HON. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT
of new york
in the house of representatives
Friday, September 17, 2004
Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th anniversary and rededication of the Department of Commerce laboratories located in Boulder, CO. As chairman of the House Science Committee, I have the privilege of chairing the authorizing Committee for two of the three Department of Commerce agencies that have laboratories in Boulder: the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NIST laboratories in Boulder have developed a close relationship with the University of Colorado at Boulder, a collaboration that recently yielded a Nobel Prize and a MacArthur ``Genius grant'' fellowship for two of its researchers. The NIST laboratory in Boulder is home of the Atomic Clock, which serves as the primary time standard for the United States. NIST researchers work to provide measurement and standards services to critical industries such as fiberoptics and electronics, and emerging industries such as biomaterials and nanotechnology. NIST has helped to establish the scientific conditions that enable technology-based industries to develop and grow, and it deserves our deepest thanks for its work so far.
NIST researchers in Boulder also work with the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Agency's (NTIA) National Institute for Telecommunications Sciences, which is also located in Boulder. NTIA's engineers search for ways to improve broadband wireless communications, reduce radio frequency interference, and solve other problems with direct impact on the quality of cellular communications, the development of wireless computing, and the management of the radio frequency spectrum, all critical to the nation's telecommunications infrastructure.
The NOAA laboratories in Boulder also enjoy a close relationship with the University of Colorado, conducting research in oceanic, atmospheric, and climate sciences. This research has vastly increased our understanding of global weather and climate systems, including severe weather, air pollution, global climate change, and ozone depletion. Boulder also hosts the NOAA Space Environment Center, which provides the nation with alerts on the magnitude and impacts of solar weather on communications, transportation, and energy systems. We are fortunate in the United States to have the scientific know-how to predict, and thus reduce, the impacts of severe weather, be it tornadoes, hurricanes, or solar storms.
The Boulder Laboratories were first dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 14, 1954. I congratulate them on their first 50 years. The scientists in Boulder have accomplished much that they can be proud of, and I wish them 50 more years of ground-breaking and exciting research.
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