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VERNON J. EHLERS
This year’s recipient of the Philip Hauge
Abelson Prize is the Honorable Vernon J.
Ehlers, United States House of Representatives.
He is honored for his consistent public service
to science, science policy, and science education
at all levels of government.
Dr. Vernon Ehlers is the first research nuclear physicist to serve in Congress having
been elected to the 103rd Congress in a special election in 1993 and, most recently,
was sworn into office on January 7, 2003. Of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ehlers came
to Congress having a distinguished tenure of service in higher education, scientific
research, and community service. He has served on various boards and commissions
and was a member of the Michigan House and Senate, first entering local elective
politics to address area landfill problems. His voice and vote consistently remind lawmakers
on Capitol Hill of the profoundly important role that science plays in the modern
world and the federal support that makes this pursuit of new knowledge possible.
As a member of the 108th Congress and serving his sixth term, Ehlers serves on
four committees. He returns to the Science Committee, where he serves as chair of
the Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards, which oversees the
Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. While on
the Science Committee in 1997-1998, he was selected to rewrite the nation’s science
policy. Many consider the study, "Unlocking Our Future: Toward a New National
Science Policy," as the first full statement on federal science and technology policy
by the U.S. Congress, as well as the most comprehensive examination of this area
by any part of government since 1945.
Ehlers also serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee where he blends
his efforts with the Science Committee to improve mathematics and science education.
He introduced the National Science Education Acts aimed at reforming
our nation’s K-12 science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education.
Not only has he pursued this as a matter of public policy, he has spent considerable
time in schools promoting science and mathematics to children. As a member of the
House Administration Committee, he led the effort to revitalize the House computer
system, connect it to the Internet, and allow all citizens access to House documents.
Ehlers received his undergraduate degree in physics after three years of studying
at Calvin College, and his doctorate in nuclear physics from the University of
California, Berkeley, in 1960. Following six years of teaching and research at
Berkeley, he returned to Calvin College in 1966 to teach physics, later becoming
chair of the physics department there. His many honors include the National
Association for Children’s Hospital Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from
Calvin College, and the Federal 100 Award. He is also a fellow of the American
Physical Society.
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