U.S. Senate honors Rice’s Smalley with resolution

U.S. Senate honors Rice’s Smalley with resolution

The U.S. Senate recently passed a resolution honoring the life of Rice professor Richard E. Smalley, who died Oct. 28 in Houston after a long battle with cancer.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison submitted the measure to the Senate.

The text of the resolution follows:

“Whereas Dr. Richard Errett Smalley opened the field of nanotechnology with his 1985 discovery of ‘buckyballs,’ and for this, in 1996, the Royal Swedish Academy of the Science awarded him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Dr. Robert Curl and Sir Harold Kroto;

Whereas the research and advocacy done by Dr. Smalley in support of the National Nanotechnology Initiative led to the development of a revolutionary area of science that will improve materials and devices in fields ranging from medicine to energy to national defense;

Whereas the accomplishments of Dr. Smalley in the field of nanotechnology have contributed greatly to the academic and research communities of Rice University, the State of Texas and the United States of America;

Whereas Dr. Smalley has been described as a ‘Moses’ in the field of nanotechnology;

Whereas Dr. Smalley is credited with being the ‘Father of Nanotechnology’;

Whereas Dr. Smalley is considered by Neal Lane, a former Presidential science adviser, as ‘a real civic scientist, one who not only [did] great science, but [used] that knowledge and fame to do good, to benefit society, and to try and educate the public’;

Whereas Dr. Smalley devoted his talent to employ nanotechnology to solve the global energy problem, which he believed could ultimately solve other global problems such as hunger and water shortages;

Whereas the dedication and devotion of Dr. Smalley to science led to his receipt of numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Public Service Medal from the United States Department of the Navy and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Small Times Magazine;

Whereas Dr. Smalley, along with Nobel Laureate Michael Brown, was a founding co-chairman of the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science, which was founded to further enhance research in Texas; and

Whereas the legacy of Dr. Smalley will continue to grow as scientists build upon his work and reap the benefits of his discoveries:

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Senate honors the life and accomplishments of Dr. Richard Errett Smalley and expresses its condolences on his passing.”