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Andrew Carnegie founded the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1902 as an organization for scientific discovery. His intention was for the institution to be home to exceptional individuals—men and women with imagination and extraordinary dedication capable of working at the cutting edge of their fields. more »

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Unfrozen mystery: H2O reveals a new secret

Ancient Earth crust stored in deep mantle

No Redoubt: Volcanic Eruption Forecasting Improved

Where on Earth Did the Moon’s Water Come From?

Dense Hydrogen in a New Light

Carnegie Announces New Science Education Programs

The Carnegie Academy for Science Education (CASE) was awarded a grant to run two special career exploration programs for students who attend public schools in the District of Columbia. The program is called SciLife™-DC.

Carnegie’s Chris Field Elected to Harvard Board of Overseers

Christopher Field, the founding director of Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology, has been elected to the Harvard Board of Overseers. Field, who received his bachelors in biology from Harvard in 1975, has been a pioneer in developing new approaches to understand the large-scale function of the Earth system for more than 20 years.

Carnegie’s Richard Meserve Awarded Nuclear Statesman Honor

Carnegie president Richard Meserve was awarded the 2013 Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award at the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C., May 14, 2013.

Geophysicist Lyman Thomas Aldrich Dies

Lyman Thomas Aldrich, 95, who worked as a geophysicist and geochemist at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (DTM) for 34 years, including a stint as its acting director, died Wednesday, May 1, at a retirement community in Mitchellville, MD.

Carnegie’s Greg Asner Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Carnegie staff scientist Greg Asner has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He is one of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 14 countries elected “in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” The total number of active members now stands at 2,179.

Two Solar System Puzzles Solved

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How did icy comets obtain particles that formed at high temperatures, and how did the particles acquire rims with different compositions? Carnegie scientists are the first to model the trajectories of refractory particles in the unstable disk that formed the Solar System. They found particles could have been processed in the hot inner disk, and then traveled to the frigid outer regions to end up in icy comets. Their meanderings could help explain the different rims.

Exoplanet Formation Surprise

A team of researchers has discovered evidence that an extrasolar planet may be forming quite far from its star—about twice the distance Pluto is from our Sun. The planet lies inside a dusty, gaseous disk around a small red dwarf TW Hydrae, which is only about 55% of the mass of the Sun. The discovery adds to the ever-increasing variety of planetary systems in the Milky Way.

Unfrozen mystery: H2O reveals a new secret

Using revolutionary new techniques, a team led by Carnegie’s Malcolm Guthrie has made a striking discovery about how ice behaves under pressure, changing ideas that date back almost 50 years. Their findings could alter our understanding of how the water molecule responds to conditions found deep within planets and could have implications for energy science.

Cliffs on Mercury Named for Carnegie Research Ship

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) names celestial bodies and formations on planets. The IAU naming theme for cliffs, called “rupes,” on Mercury is "ships of discovery." On June 3 the IAU approved ten new names for rupes on the innermost planet. One in Mercury's northern hemisphere was named for the research vessel Carnegie that mapped the Earth’s magnetic field across the oceans in the early part of the last century.

Dense Hydrogen in a New Light

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. The way it responds under extreme pressures and temperatures is crucial to our understanding of matter and the nature of hydrogen-rich planets. New work from Carnegie scientists using intense infrared radiation shines new light on this fundamental material at extreme pressures and reveals the details of a surprising new form of solid hydrogen.

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