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March 01, 2007

Udall Introduces Resolution Honoring 50th Anniversary of the International Geophysical Year

(Washington, DC)  House Committee on Science and Technology Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO) today introduced a resolution honoring the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) – an internationally-coordinated global research effort that ushered in the Space Age and the scientific investigation of space. 

Subcommittee Ranking Member Ken Calvert (R-CA), Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Research and Science Education Subcommittee Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA) are original cosponsors of the resolution. 

Chairman Udall made the following statement today in introducing the resolution:

“Madam Speaker, today I am introducing a resolution to mark the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), honoring its contributions to space research, and looking forward to future accomplishments.  I am pleased that several of my colleagues from the Science and Technology Committee have joined me as original cosponsors and would like to thank Chairman Gordon, Research and Science Education Subcommittee Chairman Baird, and Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Ranking Member Calvert for their support. 

The International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958 was a highly successful international effort to coordinate global observations and measurements of the solid Earth, oceans, the atmosphere, and the near-Earth space environment.  It was truly a global effort, involving thousands of scientists from 67 nations who came together—in the midst of the Cold War—to plan and carry out this ambitious cooperative scientific initiative.

As we pause to honor the accomplishments of the IGY, it is worth remembering that the IGY marked the dawn of the Space Age.  The successful launches of the first artificial satellites, Sputnik 1 by the former Soviet Union and Explorer 1 by the , opened new areas of research and enabled one of the most notable achievements of the IGY, the discovery of belts of trapped, charged particles in the Earth's upper atmosphere by the late Dr. James Van Allen of Iowa.

Yet the discovery of the Van Allen belts is just one of the significant scientific achievements of the IGY.  Indeed, scientists around the world continue to build on the impressive research legacy left to them by their predecessors fifty years ago.  Equally importantly, the IGY has been a shining example of the benefits of international cooperation in scientific endeavors.  The coordination of global interdisciplinary observations by researchers from multiple nations during a time of geopolitical tensions continues to be an inspiration and a model for those who recognize the significant contributions that can be achieved when nations come together in the peaceful pursuit of scientific knowledge. 

I introduced a similar resolution in the 108th Congress, which passed the House, to honor the IGY and to encourage the celebration of its 50th anniversary throughout the country and the globe.   This commemoration serves to not only remember the great scientific work that was done during the IGY, but also to  inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, who will be critical to our continued progress and economic well being.  In that regard, I encourage the public and in particular our young people to participate in celebrations planned for the IGY anniversary year and to embrace challenging goals for future research in Earth and space science, so that we will be able to look back, 50 years from now, on equally exciting accomplishments and discoveries.

Madam Speaker, I think that it is fitting that this Congress take the time to recognize and honor the fiftieth anniversary of the International Geophysical Year, and I hope that this concurrent resolution will be speedily adopted by the House.”

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110-031

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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