The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH
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HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN
of rhode island
in the house of representatives
Friday, July 30, 2021
Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, today it is an honor for me to pay tribute to the Office of Naval Research and its contributions to our Sea Services, the Nation, and the pursuit of scientific and technological discovery on the occasion of its seventy-fifth anniversary.
The Office of Naval Research was established by act of Congress on August 1, 1946, in the aftermath of World War II to ``plan, foster, and encourage scientific research in recognition of its paramount importance as related to the maintenance of future naval power, and the preservation of national security.'' A product of wartime necessities that brought together government and military planners, academia, and industry to help make science and technology an essential tool for victory, the Office of Naval Research grew into a vital organization dedicated to the enduring warfighting requirements of the Navy and Marine Corps and the peacetime needs of the nation. The Office of Naval Research prioritizes building a close and essential relationship between the public good and the progress of science and technology. For seventy-five years this agency has maintained that relationship through war and peace. Much of our infrastructure for the public support of science and technology. from the National Science Foundation to DARPA to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Army Research Office, was built in the years after the war using the model pioneered by the Office of Naval Research.
In its early decades, the Office of Naval Research supported research in the burgeoning fields of computing and directed energy, leading to the development of one of the first digital computers, Project Whirlwind, as well as the creation of the maser and laser. Its projects took scientists to the upper atmosphere in some of the highest recorded balloon ascents and brought human beings to the very bottom or the ocean in the Challenger Deep. Office of Naval Research-supported engineers and scientists created the first autonomous robot, as well as the first autonomous undersea vehicle. The Office of Naval Research, Arctic Research Laboratory helped several generations of scientists understand polar environments better. Its support led to the development of atomic clocks; the key invention that made precision satellite navigation possible. Finally, and perhaps most of all, long-
term support from the Office of Naval Research led to the postwar blossoming of the ocean sciences, leading to countless discoveries in acoustics, wave prediction, meteorology, marine mammal research, and climate studies. The invention of virtually every important sensor and undersea vehicle that made these discoveries possible owes a debt to the stewardship of the Office of Naval Research.
From aircraft to ships to weapons systems, nearly every platform in use by the Navy and Marine Corps today relies in some way on technology originally developed or enhanced by the Office of Naval Research's sponsorship. Medical advances such as QuikClot save the lives of Marines and Sailors. Portable energy technologies provide power to forces, vehicles, and sensors. Laser weapon systems defend ships at sea. Materials developed through Office of Naval Research efforts protect the hulls of ships from marine organisms as well as the blast effects of weapons, and allow jet engines to work hotter, longer, and more efficiently than ever before. Today, Office of Naval Research programs are advancing the fields of artificial intelligence, autonomy, networking, directed energy, warfighter performance, maritime awareness, and next-generation power for the Navy and Marine Corps of the future.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor the achievements of the Office of Naval Research, and I am certain the Members of the House will join me in recognizing the seventy-five years of scientific excellence this distinguished organization has provided--and seventy-five more that it will provide--to our Sailors and Marines and to the American people.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 134
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