Political Quotes

“I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable scientist, wife, and mother whose contributions to the American scientific community deserve our highest accolades and profound admiration. Although an accomplished scientist in her own right, Carol Kousnetz Sterkin will be most remembered as the legendary head of the Literature Search Function at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory [JPL] in Pasadena, CA, a position she held with distinction for the past 30 years. Ms. Sterkin's passions were in research and technical writing. At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Library, she combined the research skills of a librarian with the knowledge of a scientist. She was a pioneer in the development of global access to on-line scientific and technical data bases and was one of the original developers of on-line information systems that provide scientists worldwide with the capability to share and pool knowledge. Until the time of her death, she remained one of the world's ranking experts in this field. One of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's principal scientists said of Ms. Sterkin that "she knew so much it will be absolutely impossible to replace her." The truth of this statement is borne out by the fact that her position remains vacant. Her loss will be felt, not only by her family and community, but throughout the scientific world for a long time. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a truly great American, Carol Kousnetz Sterkin.”