Staff Excellence

Carnegie’s Ana Bonaca wins AAS Warner Prize

Carnegie’s Ana Bonaca was awarded the American Astronomical Society’s Helen B. Warner Prize in recognition of her work, which uses our own Milky Way as a cosmological laboratory to explore the evolution of the universe. Each year, the organization selects an astronomer within eight years of completing a Ph.D. who is significantly advancing theoretical or observational astronomy research.

Bonaca specializes in stellar dynamics and aims to uncover the structure and evolution of our Milky Way galaxy and the dark matter halo that surrounds it.

Carnegie’s Anna Michalak honored by Max Planck Society

Carnegie’s Anna Michalak has been named an External Scientific Member of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society in recognition of her scientific excellence and leadership.

Over the course of her career, Michalak has developed novel approaches for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and for characterizing how climate change impacts the biosphere’s ability to sequester carbon. She has also advanced our knowledge of how a warming planet and shifting precipitation patterns impact coastal, lake, and river water quality around the world. This work has positioned Michalak as a thought leader for policymakers, for example leading the development of the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan and serving on multiple committees for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Peter Gao awarded Scialog grant for biosignature research

Peter Gao is one of 19 researchers from across the U.S. and Canada who were awarded a $50,000 Scialog grant. The initiative was launched by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Kavli Foundation, and NASA to advance interdisciplinary research that will advance the search for life beyond Earth by deploying a basic science approach. The Scialog program, short for “science + dialog” was created in 2010 by RCSA to support new research directions by stimulating intensive interdisciplinary conversations and community building around a globally important scientific theme.

Together with Renyu Hu of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Chenguang Sun of the University of Texas at Austin, Gao will use a combination of modeling and observations to better understand how geologic processes happening in the interiors of exoplanets could be detected and understood from studying their atmospheres.

Carnegie’s Ryan Hulett recognized by HHMI for early career excellence

Postdoc Ryan Hulett was selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for the 2023 cohort of Hanna Gray Fellows, a group of 25 outstanding early career researchers in the biomedical sciences. The Hanna Gray program was designed to give fellows “the freedom to explore new scientific territory and follow their curiosity, while seeking answers to challenging scientific questions.”

Working in Phillip Cleves’ lab at Carnegie, Hulett’s research focuses on how climate change is impacting interactions between animals and microbes. He uses symbiotic marine invertebrates, like anemones and corals, which take up algae into their own cells, to understand how intracellular microbes reprogram their host cell’s responses to heat stress conditions. This work will illuminate fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying animal resilience in response to global warming.

Carnegie’s Lorenzo Rosa recognized for early career excellence

Carnegie Staff Associate Lorenzo Rosa was recognized by the Leonardo da Vinci Society for his contributions to science and society in the field of engineering. The Leonardo da Vinci Award was created in 2019 to honor Italian and Italian American early career researchers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

His work aims to analyze environmental challenges and solutions in our food, water, and energy systems.

Alycia Weinberger has been appointed as Associate Division Director by EPL. Weinberger works closely with EPL Director Michael Walter to set and execute the Division’s overall scientific and cultural vision. She also manages the postdoctoral fellowship program and oversees the Division’s colloquia and internship programs, serving as a mentor to the next generation of researchers and helping to maintain a long-standing legacy of scientific excellence.

Donald Brown

Carnegie Science developmental biologist Donald Brown died in May 2023 at the age of 91. His pioneering molecular biology research advanced our understanding of the fundamental nature of genes and led to early breakthroughs in genetic engineering. Brown served as the director of Carnegie’s former Department of Embryology from 1976 through 1994. He is widely recognized for his role in spearheading and championing the ability to manipulate genes in a laboratory environment. His work played a leading role in transforming biology from a primarily observational pursuit, in which researchers relied on microscopic observations of processes, to a mechanistic discipline in which investigators used novel techniques to study the interlocking functions of genes and cellular components.

Paul Kokulis

Paul Kokulis was a prominent Washington, D.C.-area patent attorney with a background in chemical engineering. Over the course of an impressive career, he represented many clients in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and textile industries, and worked on products ranging from pantyhose to home pregnancy tests, and flu medication to permanent press fabric. A longtime friend of Carnegie Science, Paul Kokulis represented the institution’s IP interests for many years, including patents and licensing for critical Carnegie-led breakthroughs like RNAi and the chemical vapor deposition process associated with the fabrication of diamonds. He was also a regular attendee of the popular Capital Science Evenings public lecture series and an enthusiastic advocate for Carnegie among his social circles.