The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Monday evening (May 23) commemorating and honoring MIT on its 150th anniversary.
The bipartisan resolution was co-sponsored by Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.). The proclamation is the only congressional resolution in recent memory specifically recognizing MIT.
“I am pleased that the Senate has recognized the tremendous contributions that MIT has made over the past 150 years,” Brown said in a statement. “Since its founding, MIT has been a world leader in science and engineering education, scientific breakthroughs, and technological advancement. I salute the Institute’s many contributions to Massachusetts and our country and proudly support it on this historic anniversary.”
“Massachusetts wouldn’t lead the country in science and technology if it weren’t for MIT,” Kerry added in a written statement. “Whether wowing the world with its groundbreaking research, turning out some of America’s brightest minds, or creating whole industries and countless companies born through its innovation, it’s hard to imagine Massachusetts without MIT. Here’s to another history-making century and a half.”
The full text of the Senate resolution reads as follows:
The bipartisan resolution was co-sponsored by Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.). The proclamation is the only congressional resolution in recent memory specifically recognizing MIT.
“I am pleased that the Senate has recognized the tremendous contributions that MIT has made over the past 150 years,” Brown said in a statement. “Since its founding, MIT has been a world leader in science and engineering education, scientific breakthroughs, and technological advancement. I salute the Institute’s many contributions to Massachusetts and our country and proudly support it on this historic anniversary.”
“Massachusetts wouldn’t lead the country in science and technology if it weren’t for MIT,” Kerry added in a written statement. “Whether wowing the world with its groundbreaking research, turning out some of America’s brightest minds, or creating whole industries and countless companies born through its innovation, it’s hard to imagine Massachusetts without MIT. Here’s to another history-making century and a half.”
The full text of the Senate resolution reads as follows:
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Whereas when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (referred to in this preamble as “MIT”) was founded by William Barton Rogers, on April 10, 1861, the doors to a powerful new institution for education, discovery, and technological advancement were opened;
Whereas the commitment of MIT to innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit has trained innovators and delivered groundbreaking technologies that have significantly contributed to the fields of computing, molecular biology, sustainable development, biomedicine, new media, energy, and the environment;
Whereas there are an estimated 6,900 companies founded by MIT alumni in the State of Massachusetts alone, which have earned worldwide sales of approximately $164,000,000,000 and represent 26 percent of total sales made by Massachusetts companies;
Whereas the distinguished living alumni of MIT have founded approximately 25,800 companies that, as of 2011, provide jobs for approximately 3,300,000 people around the world and earn $2,200,000,000,000 in annual sales;
Whereas MIT has many notable alumni and professors who have contributed to leading research and development efforts, including 76 Nobel Prize recipients and astronauts who have flown more than 1/3 of the manned spaceflights of the United States;
Whereas MIT engineers and researchers have pioneered countless innovations, including the creation of random-access magnetic-core memory (commonly known as “RAM”), which led to the digital revolution, the mapping of the human genome, the creation of GPS navigation technology, and the engineering of the computers that landed Americans on the moon;
Whereas MIT biomedical researchers remain at the forefront of many fields and have contributed years of key advancements, such as the first chemical synthesis of penicillin, the invention of heart stents, and the mapping of molecular defects to produce the first targeted therapies for cancer treatment; and
Whereas MIT has excelled as a world-renowned pioneer that promotes science and engineering education, economic growth, scientific breakthroughs, and technological advancement in the State of Massachusetts and throughout the world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) commemorates the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and
(2) honors the outstanding contributions made by the alumni, professors, and staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology throughout the past 150 years, including the efforts supported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that have spurred the industrial progress of the United States through innovation.
