Honoring the life and achievements of John Archibald Wheeler and expressing condolences on his passing.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month the United States lost a colossus within the science community, a visionary who advanced our understanding of the universe while inspiring generations of younger scientists. John Archibald Wheeler is perhaps best known to the public for coining the term ``black hole,'' but throughout his career he also worked alongside the likes of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr on theoretical physics' most puzzling questions, helped develop the hydrogen bomb, and, upon his death on April 13, was appropriately called: The last Titan, the only physics superhero still standing.

For 22 years, I was a particle physicist at Fermi National Laboratory, working with my colleagues on giant experiments to move beyond the horizons of current scientific understanding. As a graduate student at Harvard and as an undergraduate before that, I could not escape the mention of John Wheeler's name engraved on the promontories or floating on the delicate backwaters of what is now called modern physics.

As a member of the tribe of experimental physicists, that is, people like me who did real experiments in the real world, we were always surrounded by a wondrous shimmering cloud of theoretical physicists. These are men and women who spend their days bobbing and weaving through the world of what might be mathematically possible, of what might show up in experiments that have yet to be invented, or what might have shown up if we had just done the last experiment just a little more carefully. John Wheeler was one of the most luminous droplets in that shimmering cloud.

As young scientists, we studied the legacy of those great minds, physicists like Einstein, Bohr, Enrico Fermi, and John Archibald Wheeler. To a fellow physicist, the breadth of John Wheeler's achievements are staggering. Born in Jacksonville, Florida on July 9, 1911, he graduated from high school at 15, and earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University at the age of 21. He sailed to Copenhagen a year later to begin work with the eminent physicist Niels Bohr, and in 1939 the pair produced the first description of how nuclear fission works. During the Second World War, Dr. Wheeler joined with scientists working on the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. He continued to work with the U.S. government well after the war, and was awarded the Enrico Fermi Award by President Johnson in 1968.

By the time he returned to academic life, Dr. Wheeler had become fascinated with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Studying gravitational collapse, he introduced not only the term black hole, but also the concept of the

wormhole, a hypothetical tunnel in space-time. Dr. Wheeler was willing to passionately consider seemingly incomprehensible phenomena. In 1999, he wrote that the black hole ``teaches us that space can be crumpled like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal dot, that time can be extinguished like a blown-out flame, and that the laws of physics that we regard as sacred, as immutable, are anything but.'' His work in the 1960s revived and transformed this field.

In the last years of his career, Dr. Wheeler considered the mysterious and sometimes bizarre world of quantum mechanics, seeking connections between science and philosophy to explain fundamental questions of existence.

Despite these high achievements, Dr. Wheeler remained committed to the nurturing of the next generation of scientists. He continued to teach introductory classes to undergraduates throughout his career, and he mentored some of the century's most noted theoretical physicists. Any physicist with the amount and color of the hair that I possess will also have indelible memories of ``MTW,'' the big black book called Gravitation authored by Misner, Thorne, and John Archibald Wheeler that describes in intuitive terms what is really going on in Einstein's general theory of relativity.

So at a time when the primacy of our Nation's science programs are in peril, John Wheeler's example should remind us of our own commitment to the next generation of American scientists and innovators.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to introduce this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and achievements of John Wheeler. The power of his intellectual accomplishments and the memorable color of his phrases will grace physics textbooks forever.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1118) honoring the life and achievements of John Archibald Wheeler and expressing condolences on his passing.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 1118, the resolution now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to pay tribute to a great American scientist, Dr. John Archibald Wheeler. Dr. Wheeler passed away recently at the age of 96. He was a pioneer in the fields of nuclear and theoretical physics. Along with Niels Bohr, Dr. Wheeler worked out the first explanation of how nuclear fission actually worked. During the war years, Dr. Wheeler went to work on the Manhattan Project, helping to understand the theoretical basis for plutonium production. After the war, Dr. Wheeler continued his work for the country by helping to develop the American hydrogen bomb.

After returning to academia, Dr. Wheeler continued his contributions to the field of physics. In 1957, Dr. Wheeler created the concept of wormholes to describe tunnels in space-time, and in 1967 he coined the term ``black hole,'' not to describe Congress, but as part of the theory of gravitational collapse.

John Wheeler also contributed greatly to the scientific community with his devotion to teaching and training the next generation of scientists. He was a devoted teacher and textbook author, and served as a professor for over 70 years. Some of his graduate students included Richard Feynman, Kip Thorne, and Hugh Everett, all renowned physicists in their own right.

Mr. Speaker, last week we lost one of the truly great scientific minds of the 20th century. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution honoring John Wheeler's achievements and expressing our profound condolences on his passing.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this moment it is a real pleasure to yield time to one of our distinguished new Members. We sometimes say in this body that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do something. In this case, we actually do have a physicist, Dr. Foster, the gentleman from Illinois, and the author of this outstanding legislation. I yield to him such time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Foster for introducing this resolution, and for his eloquent description of an individual to whom we owe such a great debt in this country.

A recent survey asked citizens of the United States if they could name a single living United States scientist, and, sadly, many, many weren't. In this body it is not at all uncommon for us to bring up suspension bills honoring sports teams who may have won an NCAA championship or the Super Bowl or something like that. It is thoroughly appropriate that we do more to recognize outstanding scientists who did not just win a single sporting event, but changed the face of the Earth through their intellect, through their diligence, and through their discoveries. And I very much commend Dr. Foster for raising this, and I thank him. And, I hope it is not the last that he will enlighten us with his knowledge as a physicist. I know it won't be. But I would urge this body to see what we could do more through our actions here on the House Floor and in our districts to do more to honor and elevate the status of U.S. scientists so that we could provide role models for young people and rise above the gathering storm.

Our science committee, chaired by Bart Gordon, has helped lead the effort in that. We are proud to have passed The America COMPETES Act. The America COMPETES Act is designed to produce many, many more John Wheelers. I want to express our thanks on behalf of the Congress to his family and our condolences for their loss.

I yield back the balance of my time and urge a ``yes'' vote on this outstanding resolution.

Mr. Speaker, on April 13, 2008, America lost one of its greatest scientific minds. Dr. John Archibald Wheeler influenced generations of scientists (including me) and his imprint on the field of physics and our collective understanding of the universe we inhabit cannot be overstated.

Wheeler began his career in the company of men whose names are well known to history--Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. Wheeler, who earned his Ph.D. in physics at age 21, went to Denmark a year after earning his degree to study under Bohr, who at the time was on the cutting edge of nuclear research. It was only after Bohr fled Denmark in 1939--just months before the Nazi occupation of the country--that Wheeler learned of the research Bohr and others had been conducting into the possibilities and ramifications of nuclear fission.

Ultimately, Wheeler would join Robert Oppenheimer and others on the Manhattan Project, turning America into the world's first nuclear power. Later, Wheeler would play a key role the development of thermonuclear weapons and become an advocate of the war in Vietnam and of the creation of a ballistic missile defense system for the United States. But for all his work on weapons of war, his passion was trying to understand the workings of the universe.

We owe the term ``black hole'' to Wheeler, who initially resisted the idea of the existence of these stellar phenomena but was ultimately persuaded of their existence by the mathematical work of Dr. David Finklestein and others. In this, Wheeler demonstrated the traits of the best scientists: a willingness to challenge, and ultimately change, his views based on the facts and evidence.

When he reached Princeton University's mandatory retirement age in 1976, Wheeler was not ready to walk away from the profession he loved. He moved to Texas, taking up residence at the University of Texas at Austin and continued his investigation into the workings of the universe, seeking to understand ``how everything fits together.'' He continued to teach, lecture, and write for many more years, and his influence on at least two generations of physicists will be felt for generations to come.

Dr. Wheeler's wife of 72 years, the late Janette Hegner Wheeler, passed away in October 2007 at age 99. The Wheelers are survived by their three children, Ms. Lahnston and Letitia Wheeler Ufford, both of Princeton; James English Wheeler of Ardmore, Pa.; 8 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, 6 step-grandchildren and 11 step-great grandchildren.

I am pleased to join my colleagues in honoring John Wheeler through H. Res. 1118. We can honor him best by recommitting ourselves to making America the world leader in scientific research and achievements, and I will certainly do all I can to make that another of Dr. Wheeler's lasting achievements.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1118, honoring the life and achievements of John Archibald Wheeler and expressing condolences on his passing. Dr. John Archibald Wheeler, who was one of America's greatest physicists, passed away this last week at the age of 96. Dr. Wheeler's wife of over 70 years passed away in 2007; and he is survived by three children, eight grandchildren, 16 great- grandchildren, six step grandchildren, and 11 step great-grandchildren. What a fruitful life.

Dr. Wheeler was a man who was decades ahead of his time. He not only played a key role in the development of the theory of nuclear fission with Niels Bohr, but also became the first scientist to give black holes and wormholes a name.

Dr. Wheeler is described as a visionary physicist and teacher. His work on the Manhattan Project in 1941 helped build the atomic bomb. Always seeking answers to the larger questions of the universe, he would spend his time debating the meaning of the quantum theory and the nature of reality with Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr.

John Archibald Wheeler was born on July 9, 1911, in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Wheeler earned his Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University at the old age of 21 years.

Dr. Wheeler accomplished many things during his lifetime. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was his ability to inspire generations of physicists and scientists through his teachings at Princeton and at the University of Texas, and his constant ambition to answer the greatest questions of the universe.

In 1981, Dr. Wheeler wrote: ``We are no longer satisfied with insights only into particles, or fields of force, or geometry, or even space and time; today we demand of physics some understanding of existence itself.'' Think about that. It is for this constant quest for knowledge that inspired his life and will continue to inspire the American scientific community. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 1118.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.