It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dr.Kristina M. Johnson, Under-Secretary for Energy in the United States Government, to this joint meeting of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security and the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Some members of our committee met the Under-Secretary on a previous occasion and were hugely impressed with her mastery of her brief and her enthusiasm for her work. Our former Chairman, Deputy Barrett, has spoken a good deal about Dr. Johnson since that meeting. We are privileged to have her here today for a discussion on energy-related matters.
It is well known that Dr. Johnson has deep roots in Ireland through her grandparents and through her studies at Trinity College, Dublin, where she undertook a post-doctoral fellowship during a three-year stay in the early 1980s. I see from newspaper reports that during her current visit she went back to Trinity College to be conferred with an honorary doctorate in science. I congratulate her on that achievement. I understand that during her stint in Trinity College in the 1980s she was a member of the ladies football team which defeated Holland. Even after she completed her studies she was known to come back to Ireland to play in county tournaments. I understand she was asked in 1987 about her possible availability for the World Cup but she had to let the chance go. Here in Ireland we have just about recovered from our failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup due to the unfortunate energy shown by an opposition player when he used his hand, and the non-usage of technology.
Dr. Johnson has gone on to a very distinguished career in the fields of education, business and research. Among the awards she has received in recognition of her work are an induction into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame in 2003, the Society of Women Engineers lifetime achievement award in 2004, and the John Fritz medal in 2008, which is widely considered the highest award in the engineering profession, previous recipients of which include Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Orville Wright. I note that Dr. Johnson holds some 45 United States patents and has served on the boards of many large multinational companies.
It is a great honour for our joint committees that Dr. Johnson has taken the time from a very busy schedule to discuss energy-related matters of mutual interest to our two countries. It is a great pleasure for me and for my fellow Co-Chairman, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Nolan, to welcome her. I invite Dr. Johnson to address the committee.