Carnegie Institution

The Carnegie Institution for Science, also known as Carnegie Science and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an organization established to fund and perform scientific research in the United States. This institution is headquartered in Washington, D.C. , the Institution's endowment was valued at $926.9 million. In 2018, the expenses for scientific programs and administration were $96.6 million. American astrophysicist John Mulchaey is the current president of the institution.

Name

More than 20 independent organizations were established through the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie and feature his surname.

In 2024, the "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".

History

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 ndshow the application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind.

—Andrew Carnegie, January 28, 1902

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to June 12, 1940, Bush persuaded President Franklin Roosevelt to create the National Defense Research Committee (later superseded by the Office of Scientific Research and Development) to coordinate the nation's scientific war effort.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.

Research

John Mulchaey, an American astrophysicist, is the institution's 12th president. 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. Additionally, Carnegie Science manages the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

Life and Environmental Sciences

Among its notable staff members are Nobel laureates Andrew Fire, Alfred Hershey, and Barbara McClintock.In addition to the Department of Embryology, BioEYES is located at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Monash University in Melbourne, Australia; the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah; and the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The Department of Global Ecology was established in 2002.

The Department of Plant Biology began as a desert laboratory in 1903 to study plants in their natural habitats. Over time, the research evolved to the study of photosynthesis. The department develops bioinformatics.

Space studies

The Observatories were founded in 1904 as the Mount Wilson Observatory. Carnegie astronomers operate from offices in Pasadena and from the Las Campanas Observatory established in 1969. As Los Angeles encroached more on Mount Wilson, day-to-day operations there were transferred to the Mount Wilson Institute in 1986. The newest additions at Las Campanas was a twin 6.5-meter reflectors.

In 2020, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and Geophysical Lab merged to become the Earth and Planets Laboratory, located on the organization's Broad Branch Road campus in Washington. The Laboratory is a member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute. 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.

History

In 1920, the Eugenics Record Office, founded by Charles Davenport in 1910 in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, was merged with the Station for Experimental Evolution to become the Carnegie Institution's Department of Genetics. The Institution funded that laboratory until 1939; it employed Morris Steggerda, an American anthropologist who has collaborated with Davenport. The Carnegie Institution closed the department in 1944. The department's records were retained in a university library.

Carnegie Academy for Science Education and First Light

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.

Administration

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.

Partnerships

Carnegie Science and Caltech formalized a partnership in Pasadena. The Carnegie Institution partnered with several other organizations in constructing the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Presidents

The following persons had served as president of the Carnegie Institution for Science:

See also

* Kurt Adelberger

References

External links

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20th century publications of the Carnegie Institution for Science
from HathiTrust
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{{Authority control

1902 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Carnegie
Historic American Engineering Record in Washington, D.C.
Scientific organizations established in 1902
Scientific foundations based in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
501(c)(3) organizations