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[Pages S5598-S5599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING DR. RAVINDRA LAL
Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I rise today with deep sadness, but
also with reverence to remember Dr. Ravindra Behari ``Ravi'' Lal, who
died on July 23, 2019. Dr. Lal was an esteemed educator and innovator
in the field of physics. His impact on Alabama A&M University and the
Huntsville area is incalculable.
Dr. Lal was born on October 5, 1935, in Agra, India. He was one of
three children born to Avadh Behari and Radhapyari Lal Mathur. Dr. Lal
earned his Ph.D. in solid state physics from Agra University in 1962
and married his wife Usha in the same year. In 1964, Dr. Lal and Usha
moved to Huntsville, where they raised their son Amit. That same year,
Dr. Lal began his teaching and research career for the National Academy
of Sciences as a resident research associate at NASA/Marshall Space
Flight Center. It was there that Dr. Lal conducted groundbreaking work
on the effects of radiation on thermal control coatings for Apollo and
other spacecrafts. Through a special recommendation from famed
aerospace engineer, Dr. Wernher von Braun, Dr. Lal earned a rare
extension of his postdoctoral associate position with NASA.
Following his time at Marshall Space Flight Center, Dr. Lal worked
for 2 years as a senior scientist and assistant professor at the Indian
Institute of Technology in Delhi, India. He returned to the United
States in 1970 as a senior research associate for the University of
Alabama in Huntsville, leaving in 1973 to become an associate professor
of physics at Paine College in Augusta, GA.
Dr. Lal made his return to Huntsville in 1975 to begin his long and
impressive career at Alabama A&M University--AAMU--rising from
associate professor of physics to department chair to university
eminent scholar. In 1978, during his tenure at AAMU, he was chosen by
NASA as a principal investigator for a space shuttle experiment on the
maiden flight of the Spacelab-3 Mission in 1985, making Dr. Lal one of
the first university professors to be selected for an experiment on
space shuttle and the first from AAMU. During this project, he worked
as one of the pioneers in crystal growth experiments in microgravity.
Dr. Lal later served for 7 years as the principal investigator for a
project from NASA's Commercialization of Space program.
Dr. Lal was deeply committed to bettering the AAMU and Huntsville
communities during his tenure as an educator and beyond. In 1997, Dr.
Lal launched the popular Annual Nobel Laureate Lecture Series, which
has since brought 20 Nobel Prize winners to Huntsville. He was
instrumental in establishing AAMU's masters and doctorate programs in
physics. AAMU celebrated his commitment to his field and students in
2005, naming Dr. Lal an AAMU eminent scholar. Recognized as one of the
first Indian couples in Huntsville, Dr. Lal and his wife Usha mentored
and advised Indian families new to their city and were actively
involved in helping to build a temple, the Hindu Cultural Center of
North Alabama, for the local Indian community. Dr. Lal also served on
the board for AshaKiran, an organization that provides assistance to
individuals from multicultural backgrounds that are experiencing
crises.
[[Page S5599]]
Dr. Lal was highly respected and celebrated in his field, earning
recognition from the Alabama House of Representatives in 1985 for his
achievements on NASA's Spacelab-3 experiment. He was also awarded
NASA's Public Service Achievement award for those same achievements by
NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher. Dr. Lal was selected for the
Professional of the Year award by the Huntsville Association of
Technical Societies, the Noble prize in Science by the National
Association for Equal opportunity in Higher Education, and the Lifetime
Achievement Award from AAMU Research Institute.
Dr. Lal will be dearly missed by all whose lives he touched, both
through his work as a brilliant educator and scientist and as a pillar
in the Huntsville community. Both Alabama and the United States have
benefited immeasurably from his contributions to the field of physics
and space research.
____________________
