Carnegie Institution for Science facts for kids

Carnegie Science, also known as the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is an organization that helps fund and perform scientific research in the United States. Its main office is in Washington, D.C.. As of mid-2020, the organization had a large fund of money, about $926.9 million, to support its work. In 2018, it spent $96.6 million on science programs and running the organization. The current president of Carnegie Science is John Mulchaey, who is an American astronomer.

What's in a Name?

Many different organizations were started by a generous person named Andrew Carnegie. More than 20 of these groups use his last name.

In 2024, the "Carnegie Institution for Science" officially changed its name to "Carnegie Science." People had been using "Carnegie Science" informally since 2007, when the name first changed from "Carnegie Institution of Washington."

A Look Back at Carnegie Science

Andrew Carnegie, who started Carnegie Science.

Vannevar Bush, a former president of Carnegie Science.

Andrew Carnegie wanted to create an organization in Washington, D.C. that would "encourage investigation, research, and discovery" and "show the application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind." He said this on January 28, 1902.

During World War II, Vannevar Bush was the president of the Carnegie Institution. He convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to create a special committee to help with the nation's science efforts for the war. This committee was based at the Carnegie Institution's main building in Washington, D.C. From there, Bush helped manage many important projects, including the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb. Carnegie scientists also helped create the proximity fuze (a device that makes bombs explode near their target) and helped produce a lot of penicillin, a life-saving medicine.

Exploring Science at Carnegie

John Mulchaey is the 12th president of Carnegie Science. The organization has three main science divisions. These divisions are located on the East and West Coasts of the United States. They focus on life and environmental science, Earth and planetary science, and astronomy. These divisions are called Biosphere Sciences & Engineering, Earth & Planets Laboratory, and Observatories. Besides its facilities in the U.S., Carnegie Science also runs the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

Life and Environmental Sciences

The former main building of Carnegie Science in Washington, D.C.

Carnegie Science's research into life and the environment is now part of its Biosphere Sciences & Engineering Division. In the past, this research was done by departments like the Department of Embryology in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Department of Global Ecology in Palo Alto, California.

The former Department of Plant Biology started in 1903 as a desert laboratory. Scientists there studied plants in their natural homes. Over time, their research changed to focus on photosynthesis, which is how plants make their own food. This department also helps develop bioinformatics, which uses computers to understand biological information. Some very famous scientists who worked here include Nobel Prize winners Andrew Fire, Alfred Hershey, and Barbara McClintock.

Astronomy and Space

An artist's drawing of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

The Carnegie Science Observatories began in 1904 as the Mount Wilson Observatory. Andrew Carnegie provided money for the famous Hooker 100-inch telescope. On this telescope, scientist Edwin Hubble made a key discovery that led to finding the Andromeda Galaxy. As the city of Los Angeles grew closer to Mount Wilson, the daily operations there were moved in 1986.

Today, Carnegie astronomers work from offices in Pasadena, California. They also work from the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, which was built in 1969. This observatory is in the Atacama Desert. It has two large 6.5-meter Magellan Telescopes, a 2.5-meter Irénée du Pont telescope, and a 1.0-meter Swope telescope.

Earth and Planets

In 2020, two departments, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and the Geophysical Lab, joined together. They became the Earth and Planets Laboratory. This lab is located on the organization's campus in Washington, D.C. The Laboratory is also a part of the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

The Department of Terrestrial Magnetism started in 1904. It used two ships to study the Earth's magnetic field around the world. The first ship, the Galilee, was used in 1905 but wasn't quite right. Later, the Carnegie was built in 1909. This ship completed seven trips to measure the Earth's magnetic field before it was destroyed by an explosion and fire.

Learning for Kids

In 1989, Carnegie President Maxine Singer started the Carnegie Academy for Science Education and First Light (CASE). This is a free Saturday science program for middle school students. The program teaches science through hands-on activities.

How Carnegie Science is Run

The main offices for Carnegie Science used to be at 1530 P Street, Northwest, in Washington, D.C. This building held the offices for the president, finance, publications, and fundraising. In 2020, this administrative building was sold to the government of Qatar to be used as their embassy.

Working with Others

Carnegie Science and Caltech have a formal partnership in Pasadena. The Carnegie Institution has also worked with several other organizations to build the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Leaders of Carnegie Science

Here are the people who have served as president of the Carnegie Institution for Science:

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
Interim		John Mulchaey and Yixian Zheng	January 1, 2018	July 1, 2018	Co-Presidents
11		Eric D. Isaacs	July 2, 2018	October 3, 2024
Interim		John Mulchaey	October 3, 2024	November 22, 2024
12			November 22, 2024	present

See also

In Spanish: Instituto Carnegie para niños

• Kurt Adelberger