H.R. No. 1167
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, With the success of the Wake Shield Facility
    1-2  experiment aboard the space shuttle Discovery in February 1994, Dr.
    1-3  Alex Ignatiev, director of the University of Houston Space Vacuum
    1-4  Epitaxy Center (SVEC), has opened new frontiers in the commercial
    1-5  utilization of space and the development of high technology
    1-6  materials; and
    1-7        WHEREAS, Established in 1986 as a NASA Center for the
    1-8  Commercial Development of Space, SVEC united a consortium of
    1-9  academic, industrial, and governmental institutions in the campaign
   1-10  for space commercialization, and Dr.  Ignatiev, a member of the
   1-11  University of Houston faculty since 1974, was given the tremendous
   1-12  challenge of directing SVEC's operations; and
   1-13        WHEREAS, Since its inception, SVEC funding received from
   1-14  NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval
   1-15  Research, and industry partners has totaled approximately $34.5
   1-16  million, and this has had an enormous economic impact on the State
   1-17  of Texas; and
   1-18        WHEREAS, SVEC is now a major player in the field of science
   1-19  and research, bringing great acclaim not only to the University of
   1-20  Houston but to the city of Houston and the State of Texas as well;
   1-21  under Dr. Ignatiev's capable leadership, the SVEC has heightened
   1-22  the university's reputation in the international scientific
   1-23  community, and the University of Houston has assumed its place in a
   1-24  powerful league with other major research centers across the
    2-1  country; and
    2-2        WHEREAS, The Wake Shield Facility was developed by the SVEC
    2-3  in partnership with Space Industries, Inc., and it was the first
    2-4  NASA payload to come from the State of Texas; it consists of a
    2-5  stainless steel disk measuring 12 feet in diameter that, while
    2-6  traveling in orbit, should form in its wake a vacuum much better
    2-7  than any achieved on earth, and this will provide an environment in
    2-8  which high-quality thin film materials for the micro-electronics
    2-9  and communications industries can be grown without contamination;
   2-10  and
   2-11        WHEREAS, Scientists are pleased with results from the first
   2-12  Wake Shield Facility experiment, and they look forward to pursuing
   2-13  this important research aboard three more shuttle flights, the next
   2-14  of which is scheduled for July 1995; with a production cost of
   2-15  about $13 million, far less than the $50-$100 million cost normally
   2-16  expected for a NASA project, the Wake Shield Facility demonstrates
   2-17  the feasibility of commercial ventures in space, and this has
   2-18  opened up a new realm of scientific and industrial possibilities;
   2-19  and
   2-20        WHEREAS, The future of the Lone Star State will undoubtedly
   2-21  be determined by our ability to keep pace with the rapidly changing
   2-22  worlds of science and technology, and individuals such as Dr.
   2-23  Ignatiev are ensuring that our state will remain on the cutting
   2-24  edge of these important fields; his groundbreaking work at the
   2-25  Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center will be of tremendous benefit to all
   2-26  Texans, and he is indeed deserving of highest praise and
   2-27  recognition for his vital work; now, therefore, be it
    3-1        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the State of
    3-2  Texas hereby honor Dr. Alex Ignatiev and his colleagues at the
    3-3  University of Houston Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center for their
    3-4  remarkable scientific advances and extend to them best wishes for
    3-5  continued success in their work; and, be it further
    3-6        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
    3-7  prepared for Dr. Ignatiev as an expression of highest regard by the
    3-8  House of Representatives of the State of Texas.