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Carnegie Institution for Science

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Carnegie Institution for Science
Carnegie Science logo
FounderAndrew Carnegie
EstablishedJanuary 29, 1902; 124 years ago (1902-01-29)
MissionTo advance investigation, research, and discovery, and apply that knowledge for the improvement of humankind.
FocusScientific research in astronomy, Earth and planetary science, and biology
PresidentJohn Mulchaey
Location
5241 Broad Branch Road, N.W.
,
Washington
,
DC
,
USA
Websitewww.carnegiescience.edu

Carnegie Science, also known as Carnegie Institution for Science and formerly the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1902 to fund and perform scientific research. The institution is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its three interdisciplinary scientific divisions focus on life and environmental science, Earth and planetary science, and astronomy and astrophysics.[1]

In 2018, expenses for scientific programs and administration totaled $96.6 million.[2] As of June 30, 2020, the institution's endowment was valued at $926.9 million.[3] The current president is American astronomer and astrophysicist John Mulchaey, whose official term began in November 2024.[4]

Name

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In 2024, "Carnegie Institution for Science" officially adopted the name "Carnegie Science", a name which has been used informally since 2007 when they first changed the name from "Carnegie Institution of Washington" to "Carnegie Institution for Science". The institution's legal name remains "Carnegie Institution of Washington." [5]

The institution’s three scientific divisions are named (1) Carnegie Science Biosphere Science & Engineering, (2) Carnegie Science Earth & Planets Laboratory, and (3) Carnegie Science Observatories. [5]

More than 20 independent organizations were established through the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie and feature his surname. Carnegie Science is unaffiliated with these other organizations, including the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.[5]

History

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Andrew Carnegie
Vannevar Bush

It is proposed to found in the city of Washington, an institution which ... shall in the broadest and most liberal manner encourage investigation, research, and discovery [and] show the application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind.

—Andrew Carnegie, January 28, 1902[6]

Founded on January 29, 1902, through a $10 million endowment from industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Institution of Washington was established to promote original scientific research and discovery. The institution initially supported both individual investigators and institutional research. Over time, the institution shifted away from funding external researchers and focused on conducting research through its own laboratories and departments. Within its first decade, the institution had established ten major research departments, including the Desert Laboratory, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, the Geophysical Laboratory, and Mount Wilson Observatory, laying the foundation for its modern scientific programs.[7][8]

When the United States joined World War II, Vannevar Bush was president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Several months prior to June 12, 1940, Bush persuaded President Franklin Roosevelt to create the National Defense Research Committee (later superseded by the Office of Scientific Research and Development) to coordinate the nation's scientific war effort. Bush housed the new agency in the Carnegie Institution's administrative headquarters at 16th and P Streets, Northwest, in Washington, D.C., converting its rotunda and auditorium into office cubicles. From this location, Bush supervised multiple projects, including the Manhattan Project. Carnegie scientists assisted with the development of the proximity fuze and mass production of penicillin.[8]: 77–79 

Research

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Carnegie Science is composed of three scientific divisions on the East and West Coasts that center on life and environmental science, Earth and planetary science, and astronomy and astrophysics: Biosphere Sciences & Engineering, Earth & Planets Laboratory, and Observatories.[9] In addition to facilities in the United States, Carnegie Science manages the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.[10]

Life and Environmental Sciences

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Carnegie Science’s life and environmental science research activities are currently housed under the institution's Biosphere Sciences & Engineering Division located in Pasadena in association with Caltech.[11] Research areas at this division include global ecology, symbiosis and nested ecosystems, and plant and algal research.[12]

Life and environmental science research activities were historically housed under departments, including the Department of Embryology, located on the Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore, MD and the Department of Plant Biology and Department of Global Ecology, located on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, CA.[13]

The former Department of Plant Biology began as the Desert Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona 1903 to study desert plants in their natural habitats. The department employed early ecologists Forrest Shreve and Frederic Clements and the Desert Lab became a nexus for early work in ecology.[14][15] Over time and with the move to the Stanford campus, research at the department evolved to the study of photosynthesis.[16]

Among its notable staff members are Nobel laureates Andrew Fire, Alfred Hershey, and Barbara McClintock.[17]

Earth & Planetary Science

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In 2020, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and Geophysical Laboratory merged to become the Earth and Planets Laboratory, located on the organization's Broad Branch Road campus in Washington, D.C.[18] The Department of Terrestrial Magnetism was founded in 1904 and used two ships for magnetic observations around the world: the Galilee was chartered in 1905, but it was unsuitable; later, Carnegie was built in 1909 and completed seven cruises to measure the Earth's magnetic field before it suffered an explosion and burned.[8]: 133–136  The Geophysical Laboratory was founded in 1905 and originally conducted experimental research on rock and mineral formation and the Earth's interior.[8]

Research areas at the Earth & Planets Laboratory today include astrobiology, cosmochemistry, experimental petrology, extreme environments, extreme materials, geochemistry, geophysics & geodynamics, mineralogy & mineral physics, and exoplanets.[19]

Astronomy & Astrophysics

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Giant Magellan Telescope, artist's rendering

The Carnegie Science Observatories were founded in 1904 as the Mount Wilson Observatory. The institution funded the historic Hooker 100-inch telescope envisioned by George Ellery Hale on which Carnegie astronomer Edwin Hubble captured the famous “VAR!” plate in 1923, discovering that the universe extends far beyond the Milky Way Galaxy.[20][21] In 1929, Hubble went on to prove that the universe is continually expanding.[21]

As Los Angeles encroached more on Mount Wilson, day-to-day operations of the observatory there were transferred by Carnegie Science to the Mount Wilson Institute in 1986.[22] Today, Carnegie astronomers operate from offices in Pasadena and from the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile’s Atacama region established in 1969.[23] The Las Campanas Observatory is home to the twin 6.5-meter Magellan Telescopes, 2.5-meter Irénée du Pont telescope, and 1.0-meter Swope telescope.[24] It is also the site of the future Giant Magellan Telescope.[25][26]

Research areas at the Observatories today include cosmology, star and galaxy formation, transient objects, the Milky Way, exoplanets, and instrument development and engineering.[27]

Notable Scientists

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Nobel Prize Winners

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  • Thomas Hunt Morgan - Nobel Prize in Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 for discoveries elucidating the role that the chromosome plays in heredity.[28]
  • Alfred Hershey - Shared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1969 for work with bacteriophages.[29]
  • Barbara McClintock - Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for discovery of transposons, or “jumping genes”.[30]
  • Andrew Fire - Shared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2006 for the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi).[31]

National Medal of Science Winners

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Other Major Award Winners

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Administration

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Former administrative headquarters of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C.

The Carnegie Institution's administrative offices were located at 1530 P St., Northwest, Washington, D.C., at the corner of 16th and P Streets until 2020. The building housed the offices of the president, administration and finance, publications, and advancement. In 2020, the administrative building was sold to the government of Qatar to be used as its embassy.[50]

Since 2020 Carnegie Science's administrative offices have been located at its Broad Branch Road campus in Northwest D.C., which is also the home of the Earth & Planets Laboratory.[51]

Presidents

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John Mulchaey, an American astronomer and astrophysicist, is the institution's 12th president.[52] The following persons have served as president of the Carnegie Institution for Science:[53]

No. Image President Start End Notes
1 Daniel Coit Gilman 1902 1904
2 Robert S. Woodward 1904 1920
3 John C. Merriam 1921 1938
4 Vannevar Bush 1939 1955
5 Caryl P. Haskins 1956 1971
6 Philip Abelson 1971 1978
7 James D. Ebert 1978 1987
Acting Edward E. David, Jr. 1987 1988
8 Maxine F. Singer 1988 2002
Acting Michael E. Gellert January 2003 April 2003
9 Richard Meserve April 2003 August 31, 2014
10 Matthew P. Scott September 1, 2014 December 31, 2017 [54][55]
Interim John Mulchaey and Yixian Zheng January 1, 2018 July 1, 2018 Co-Presidents[56]
11 Eric D. Isaacs July 2, 2018 October 3, 2024 [57][58]
Interim John Mulchaey October 3, 2024 November 22, 2024 [58]
12 November 22, 2024 present [59]

Carnegie Academy for Science Education and First Light

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In 1989, Carnegie President Maxine Singer founded Carnegie Academy for Science Education and First Light (CASE), a free Saturday science program for middle school students. The program teaches hands-on learning in science.[60]

Partnerships

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Carnegie Science and Caltech formalized a partnership to advance life and environmental sciences research in Pasadena in 2023.[11]

Carnegie Science is a founding partner of the international consortium of research institutions constructing the Giant Magellan Telescope at the institution's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.[25][26]

Eugenics Record Office

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In 1910, the Eugenics Record Office was founded in Cold Spring Harbor, New York by Charles Davenport with funding from Mrs. E.H. Harriman, John Harvey Kellogg, and the American Breeders' Association. The Eugenic Records Office became a center for pseudoscientific research of eugenics. In 1918, the Eugenics Record Office was donated to Carnegie Institution of Washington, whose Station for Experimental Evolution founded in 1904 to “study heredity and evolution through breeding experiments with plants and animals” was also headed by Davenport and located in Cold Spring Harbor. The Carnegie Institution of Washington funded the Eugenics Records Office until 1939 when it closed the department. The department's records were retained in a university library.[61]

In 2020, Carnegie Institution for Science issued a statement acknowledging and apologizing for the institution's past involvement in eugenics research.[62]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "About Us". Carnegie Science. Archived from the original on April 15, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Flipbook". Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  3. ↑ As of June 30, 2020. U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 19, 2021. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Our Leadership". carnegiescience.edu. November 22, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 "Naming Conventions". Carnegie Science. Archived from the original on March 14, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  6. ↑ Carnegie Institution of Washington Year Book No. 1. Carnegie Institution of Washington. 1902. pp. xiii.
  7. ↑ Miller, Howard S. (1970). Dollars for research: science and its patrons in nineteenth-century America. Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-95058-7.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Trefil, James; Hazen, Margaret Hindle; Trefil, James S. (2002). Good seeing: a century of science at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1902 - 2002. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press. ISBN 978-0-309-08261-7.
  9. ↑ "Our Divisions".
  10. ↑ "Las Campanas Observatory". LCO. Retrieved July 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. 1 2 "Caltech and Carnegie Science Announce Partnership to Advance Life, Environmental Sciences Research". California Institute of Technology. July 19, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  12. ↑ "BSE Research". Carnegie Science. Archived from the original on April 13, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Biosphere Sciences & Engineering".
  14. ↑ Bowers, Janice E. (June 2010). "A Debt to the Future: Achievement of the Desert Laboratory, Tumamoc Hill, Tucson, Arizona". Desert Plants. 26 (1).
  15. ↑ McIntosh, Robert P. (February 1983). "Pioneer Support for Ecology". BioScience. 33 (2) – via JSTOR.
  16. ↑ Craig, Patricia Parratt (2012). The department of plant biology. Centennial history of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-1-107-41241-5.
  17. ↑ "Awards & Accolades". Carnegie Science. Retrieved July 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ↑ "EPL History". Carnegie Science. Archived from the original on April 13, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  19. ↑ "EPL Research". Carnegie Science. Archived from the original on March 17, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Hubble's Famous M31 VAR! Plate".
  21. 1 2 Christianson, Gale E. (1995). Edwin Hubble: mariner of the nebulae. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-14660-3.
  22. ↑ "Mount Wilson Observatory | Our History".
  23. ↑ "Las Campanas Observatory – las Campanas Observatory".
  24. ↑ "History". The Carnegie Observatories. Archived from the original on July 26, 2016.
  25. 1 2 "Founders". Giant Magellan Telescope. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  26. 1 2 "A Giant Telescope Grows in Chile (Published 2023)". April 18, 2023. Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Observatories Research". Carnegie Science. Archived from the original on March 17, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1933". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1969". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1983". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2006". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  32. ↑ "Vannevar Bush". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Allan R. Sandage". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Philip H. Abelson". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Maxine F. Singer". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  36. ↑ "Vera C. Rubin". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  37. ↑ "George W. Wetherill". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Nina V. Fedoroff". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Sean Solomon". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  40. ↑ Admin, Lasker. "Founder of modern cell biology". Lasker Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  41. ↑ "2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize | Gruber Foundation". gruber.yale.edu. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  42. ↑ "Recipients Of The 2015 Breakthrough Prizes In Fundamental Physics And Life Sciences Announced | Breakthrough Prize". breakthroughprize.org. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  43. ↑ "2009 Gruber Cosmology Prize | Gruber Foundation". gruber.yale.edu. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  44. ↑ Admin, Lasker. "Fundamental biomolecular techniques". Lasker Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  45. ↑ "2013 medals and awards of the Geological Society of America". www.eurekalert.org. Retrieved July 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  46. 1 2 "V.M. Goldschmidt Award". Geochemical Society. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  47. ↑ Dimes, March of. "Allan C. Spradling Receives 2018 March of Dimes Prize for Pioneering Genetic Research". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  48. ↑ "The Japan Prize Foundation". The Japan Prize Foundation. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  49. ↑ "Kavli Prize Laureate Sara Seager". www.kavliprize.org. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  50. ↑ Wadman, Meredith (April 16, 2021). "Uproar over sale of iconic Carnegie institution headquarters to Qatar exposes deeper tensions". Archived from the original on May 25, 2023.
  51. ↑ "Broad Branch Road Campus". Carnegie Science. Retrieved July 8, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  52. ↑ Science, Carnegie (November 10, 2014). "John Mulchaey – Director". Carnegie Institution for Science. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  53. ↑ "Carnegie Institution of Washington Administration Records, 1890-2003". Carnegie Science.
  54. ↑ "Dr. Matthew P. Scott Named 10th President of the Carnegie Institution for Science" (PDF). Carnegie Science. Summer 2014. p. 10.
  55. ↑ "Carnegie Institution for Science Announces Retirement of President". Carnegie Science. November 3, 2017.
  56. ↑ "John Mulchaey and Yixian Zheng named interim co-presidents". Carnegie Science. December 22, 2017.
  57. ↑ "Eric Isaacs Named 11th President of the Carnegie Institution for Science". Carnegie Science. July 2, 2018.
  58. 1 2 "Carnegie Science Announces Leadership Transition as President Eric Isaacs Steps Down". Carnegie Science. October 3, 2024.
  59. ↑ "Carnegie Science appoints John Mulchaey as its 12th President". Carnegie Science. November 22, 2024.
  60. ↑ "CASE - Hands-on science learning opportunities in DC". CASE. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  61. ↑ Farber, Steven A. (December 2008). "U.S. Scientists' Role in the Eugenics Movement (1907–1939): A Contemporary Biologist's Perspective". Zebrafish. 5 (4): 243–245. doi:10.1089/zeb.2008.0576. ISSN 1545-8547. PMC 2757926. PMID 19133822.
  62. ↑ "Statement on Eugenics Research". Carnegie Science. August 12, 2020. Archived from the original on April 13, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
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