BOEHLERT AND CALVERT CONGRATULATE NOBEL WINNERS 

NASA, DOE Scientists Win 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics

WASHINGTON, October 4, 2006 – House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) today congratulated Dr. John Mather and Dr. George Smoot on being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Dr. Mather, an Astronomer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center, and Dr. Smoot, an astronomer at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, received the award for their work with the Cosmic Background Explorer, or COBE, satellite, which greatly expanded scientific evidence of the Big Bang.

“I enthusiastically congratulate Dr. Smoot and Dr. Mather on winning the most prestigious prize in science,” said Boehlert.  “Their groundbreaking research has greatly expanded our knowledge of the Universe and has provided a clearer glimpse of the very beginning of time.  It also underscores the important contributions of our federal science agencies to the advancement of scientific knowledge.  Specifically with respect to NASA, this award clearly demonstrates that the agency’s science programs, including COBE and Hubble, are answering some of the most complex scientific questions.  We must continue to fully fund NASA’s science programs.”

Calvert added, “I would like to extend my congratulations to Dr. John Mather on winning this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics.  I am often in awe of the world-class scientists who work for NASA and the work of Dr. Mather will deepen our understanding of the origin of stars and galaxies.”    

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