Foster Delivers First Speech on House Floor

Press Release

Today, Rep. Bill Foster (IL- 14) delivered his first speech on the floor of the House of Representatives to follow-up House Resolution 1118, a resolution honoring the life and accomplishments of Professor John Wheeler. In his remarks, Rep. Foster praised the recently deceased physicist Dr. Wheeler for his contributions to science.

Below are excerpts from Rep. Foster's remarks:

"John Archibald Wheeler is perhaps best known to the public for coining the term ‘black hole,' but throughout his career he also worked alongside the likes of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr on theoretical physics' most puzzling questions, helped develop the hydrogen bomb, and, upon his death on April 13th, was appropriately called ‘the last Titan, the only physics superhero still standing.'

"By the time he returned to academic life, Dr. Wheeler had become fascinated by Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Studying gravitational collapse, he introduced not only the term ‘black hole,' but also the concept of the wormhole, a hypothetical tunnel in space-time. Dr. Wheeler was willing to passionately consider seemingly incomprehensible phenomena. In 1999, he wrote that the black hole ‘teaches us that space can be crumpled like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal dot, that time can be extinguished like a blown-out flame, and that the laws of physics that we regard as ‘sacred,' as immutable, are anything but.' His work in the 1960s revived and transformed the field.

"Despite these high achievements, Dr. Wheeler remained committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists. He continued to teach introductory classes to undergraduates throughout his career, and he mentored some of the century's most noted theoretical physicists. Any physicist with the amount and color of hair I possess will also have indelible memories of "MTW" - the "Big Black Book" called Gravitation authored by Misner, Thorne, and John Archibald Wheeler that described in intuitive terms what is really going on in Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

"So at a time when our nation's science programs are in peril, John Wheeler's example should remind us of our own commitment to the next generation of American scientists and innovators.

"Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to introduce this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and achievements of John Wheeler. The power of his intellectual accomplishments and the memorable colors of his phrases will grace physics textbooks forever."

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