Recognizing the 150th anniversary of Purdue University Engineering.

Recognizing the 150th anniversary of Purdue University Engineering.

Whereas, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Act of July 2, 1862 (commonly known as the “First Morrill Act”) (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), which granted land to States that agreed to use the land to teach “agriculture and the mechanic arts”;

Whereas the Indiana General Assembly—

(1) in 1865, voted to participate in the Act of July 2, 1862 (commonly known as the “First Morrill Act”) (12 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), and planned to build an institution; and

(2) in 1869, chose Lafayette, Indiana, in Tippecanoe County, for the new institution, Purdue University;

Whereas, in 1874, the first engineering student at Purdue University began taking engineering classes with an engineering instructor;

Whereas, in 1882, 1888, and 1904, Elwood Mead received degrees from Purdue University, and, in the 1930s, Elwood Mead directed the development of the Hoover Dam;

Whereas, in 1891, the 85,000-pound test locomotive Schenectady, the original “Boilermaker Special,” arrived at Purdue University to be used in the first locomotive testing lab of its kind;

Whereas Reginald Fessenden—

(1) from 1892 to 1893, while at Purdue University, initiated experiments for wireless transmission of the human voice-radio; and

(2) in 1900, succeeded in sending the first wireless transmission of the human voice-radio;

Whereas, in 1921, Donovan Berlin graduated from Purdue University and later designed important World War II planes, the P–40 and P–36, the only numerous battle-ready fighters available in the United States at the outbreak of the war;

Whereas, in 1921, Games Slayter graduated from Purdue University and later developed coarse fibers that facilitated the commercial production of the first fiberglass product;

Whereas, in 1927, Roscoe George graduated from Purdue University and later, with colleague Howard Helm, became the inventor of all-electronic television receivers;

Whereas, in 1929, Charles Ellis, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue University from 1934 to 1946, drew the blueprint design for the Golden Gate Bridge and oversaw test borings for, and the surveying and setting of, the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge;

Whereas, in 1933, Edward Purcell graduated from Purdue University and, in 1952, with Felix Bloch, won the Nobel Prize in Physics for finding a way to detect the extremely weak magnetism of the atomic nucleus;

Whereas, from 1935 to 1937, Amelia Earhart was a visiting professor in the aeronautical engineering department of Purdue University;

Whereas, in 1907 and 1948, John Atalla earned degrees from Purdue University and later co-developed the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, the most widely used type of integrated circuit in the world and the most manufactured human artifact in history;

Whereas Iven C. Kincheloe, Jr.—

(1) graduated from Purdue University in 1949;

(2) in 1956, became the Air Force test pilot that flew the Bell X-2 to 126,000 feet, becoming the first person to reach space; and

(3) was selected to fly the X-15 to become first citizen of the United States in space, but was killed in another test flight on July 26, 1958;

Whereas, in 1947, 1948, 1950, and 1981, Robert C. Forney earned degrees from Purdue University and later led the development of many new polymeric resins, most notably Dacron polyester fiber;

Whereas Virgil “Gus” Grissom—

(1) graduated from Purdue University in 1950;

(2) in 1959, was in the first group of astronauts in the United States;

(3) in 1961, was the second citizen of the United States in space, piloting Mercury-Redstone 4;

(4) was the command pilot for Gemini 3, the first 2-person space flight of the United States; and

(5) would eventually die while serving the United States on January 27, 1967, in the Apollo 1 flash fire at Kennedy Space Center;

Whereas, in 1955, Neil Armstrong graduated from Purdue University and later became the first person on the Moon;

Whereas, in 1956, Gene Cernan graduated from Purdue University and became the last person to set foot on the Moon as of 2024;

Whereas, in 1960, Paul McEnroe graduated from Purdue University and developed the globally ubiquitous barcode;

Whereas, in 1969, Purdue University founded the Women in Engineering Program, a first-of-its-kind program in the United States and model for other universities that aimed to recruit women into the engineering field, and to help retain women while at the Purdue University campus;

Whereas, in 1974, Les Geddes began a distinguished teaching and research career at Purdue University that spawned life-saving innovations including—

(1) burn treatments;

(2) miniature defibrillators;

(3) ligament repair; and

(4) tiny blood pressure monitors for premature infants;

Whereas, in 1974, the Purdue University Black Society of Engineers invited every Black engineering society to a conference at Purdue University and, from that meeting, the National Society of Black Engineers was created and became the largest student-managed organization in the United States, with more than 20,000 members and more than 790 chapters on college and university campuses;

Whereas, Purdue University is known as the “Cradle of Astronauts”, as 27 graduates of Purdue University have been selected for space travel and nearly ¹⁄3 of United States spaceflights have included a graduate of Purdue University;

Whereas, Purdue University is home to various academic programs that rank in the top 10 in the United States, including programs for—

(1) agricultural and biological engineering;

(2) industrial engineering;

(3) aeronautics and astronautics;

(4) civil engineering;

(5) mechanical engineering;

(6) electrical and computer engineering; and

(7) environmental and ecological engineering;

Whereas, as of 2024, Purdue University produces more than 5 percent of engineering students in the United States, and continues to expand; and

Whereas Purdue University has produced several Nobel Prize laureates, astronauts, and numerous ideas that have advanced humankind: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,