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In Memoriam: Don Brooks

With more than a half-century of employment under his belt, Carnegie Building Maintenance Specialist Don Brooks’ career traced the path of the institution’s modern administrative history. He died of complications related to the coronavirus in October 2020, just months shy of retirement. He was 75.  

Brooks worked for Carnegie for 52 years, advancing through several positions over the course of seven presidential administrations at the institution, often interacting closely with leadership.

His first job was to help President Caryl Haskins to care for the ants and fish he housed in Carnegie’s downtown Washington, DC administrative building. Prior to his tenure at Carnegie, Haskins, a biophysicist, had written a popular science book on ants and continued working on several species, even converting more than one of the P St. building’s original classically designed rooms for research purposes.

Don's work played a vital role in our ability to open Carnegie's doors to the DC community and welcome everyone in for our various programs. Not only was he an outstanding employee for more than half a century, he was also a devoted friend for many years.
Don Brooks

“Oh yes, all those fish,” said his wife, Gloria Brooks, laughing as she reminisced about how Brooks would meet Haskins at the airport when he was returning from a fieldwork trip, so that he could collect new fish samples and bring them straight to the office.

Brooks loved to engage a crowd of colleagues from across the institution’s administrative and scientific staff with tales of Carnegie culture in different eras and of the drastic changes to the building’s Logan Circle neighborhood since Haskins hired him.  But one person stands out as Don’s most cherished relationship; he spoke often of his high esteem for President Emerita Maxine Singer, the National Medal of Science-winning molecular biologist. 

“During my tenure as president, one of my priorities was to advance the accessibility of science—to our neighbors and to school children and teachers throughout the District. Don’s work played a vital role in our ability to open Carnegie’s doors to the DC community and welcome everyone in for our various programs,” she said. “Not only was he an outstanding employee for more than half a century, he was also a devoted friend for many years.” 

In recent years, Brooks’ long experience with the historic building and relentlessly positive attitude helped Carnegie’s facilities team accomplish a remodeling project that modernized and optimized the health of our office spaces.

“I’ve never seen an employee as universally beloved as Don,” said Chief Operating Officer Timothy Doyle. “In moments of stress, he lightened everyone’s mood. And in moments of cheer, he was at the center of a crowd, telling a story and laughing with his signature chuckle.”

In 1966, Brooks and his wife's cousin moved to the District from Natchez, Mississippi, where he grew up with eight siblings picking cotton and vegetables.

His younger brother, Leroy Brooks, reminisced about how he, Don, and two of their brothers participated in Civil Rights marches and rallies in the area—on one memorable occasion all four being arrested on the same night.

Brooks also took odd jobs at the local stockyard, bowling alley, and golf club. The latter is where he developed a lifelong love affair with the sport, often spending his weekends at a local course right up until the start of the covid-19 pandemic.

“The entire Carnegie Community mourns Don’s untimely passing.  He will be remembered as a dedicated friend and colleague. I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Gloria, and their family,” said Carnegie President Eric D. Isaacs.

Brooks was survived by his wife, 4 children, 14 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren, as well as by two sisters and three brothers.

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Departments 

Honors

Earth and Planets Laboratory

Honors 

Earth and Planets Director Richard Carlson Receives Geochemical Society's Highest Honor

In January 2020, Richard Carlson, Director of Carnegie’s Earth and Planets Laboratory, was chosen to receive the Geochemical Society’s highest honor, the Victor Moritz Goldschmidt Award, in recognition of his forefront research into the formation of the Solar System and the geologic history of the Earth.

Richard Carlson

Alycia Weinberger Selected Inaugural American Astronomical Society Fellow

In February 2020, Carnegie astronomer Alycia Weinberger was selected for the inaugural class of Fellows of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in recognition of their “extraordinary achievement and service” to the field.

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Alycia Weinberger

Scott Sheppard Shares Farinella Prize

In September 2019, Carnegie’s Scott Sheppard and his long-time colleague Chad Trujillo of Northern Arizona University received the Europlanet Society’s 2019 Paolo Farinella Prize for “outstanding collaborative work for the observational characterization of the Kuiper belt and the Neptune-Trojan population.”

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Scott Sheppard

Embryology

Honors 

Steve Farber and BioEYES Recognized for Excellence in Science Education

The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) recognized Carnegie’s Steven Farber and the University of Pennsylvania’s Jamie Shuda in July 2020 with its Bruce Alberts Award for Excellence in Science Education, which honors “innovative and sustained contributions” to the field. 

Steve Farber - Image courtesy Matt Roth

Kamena Kostova awarded NIH Director’s Early Independence Award

In October 2019, Carnegie biologist Kamena Kostova was selected for the National Institutes of Health Director’s Early Independence Award; this award is designed to provide “exceptional junior scientists” with the opportunity to “skip traditional post-doctoral training and move immediately into independent research positions.”

Kamena Kostova

Observatories

Honors 

John Mulchaey’s Outreach Honored with Humanitarian Award

In March 2020, John Mulchaey, director and Crawford H. Greenewalt Chair of the Carnegie Observatories, was presented with a Humanitarian STAR Award by the honor’s founding body—the Rotary Club of Sierra Madre—for “outstanding scientific and technological achievements with significant humanitarian benefit.” The award acknowledged his long-standing efforts at promoting outreach events and activities to share astronomy with enthusiasts of all ages throughout the Los Angeles area.

John Mulchaey

Steve Shectman Selected Inaugural American Astronomical Society Fellow

In February 2020, Carnegie astronomer Steven Shectman was selected for the inaugural class of Fellows of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in recognition of their “extraordinary achievement and service” to the field.

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Steve Schectman

Decker French Receives Prestigious Award for Early Career Astronomers

In July 2019, Carnegie’s K. Decker French was recognized by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific with its Robert J. Trumpler Award, which is presented to a recent Ph.D. graduate “whose research is considered unusually important to astronomy.” French was a Hubble Fellow at the Carnegie Observatories from 2017 to 2020 and is now an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Decker French

Plant Biology

Honors 

Moises Exposito-Alonso Recognized for Early Career Excellence by American Society of Naturalists and Max Planck Society’s Otto Hahn Medal, Plus Forbes 30 Under 30

In February 2020, evolutionary geneticist Moises Exposito-Alonso was one of four recipients of the American Society of Naturalists’ Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Award in recognition of “outstanding and promising work” by individuals who are within three years of completing their Ph.D. or in their final year of graduate school. In March, he was named a member of the 2020 class of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe list in science and healthcare. In July, the Max Planck Society’s Otto Hahn Medal also awarded him for early career excellence.

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Moises Exposito-Alonso

Departmental Staff

Departments

Department of Embyrology

Genetics and Developmental Biology

 

Carnegie Investigators
Staff Scientists

Alex Bortvin 

Donald D. Brown, Director Emeritus 

Chen-Ming Fan 

Steven A. Farber 

Joseph G. Gall1

Marnie E. Halpern2

William Ludington

Allan C. Spradling 

Yixian Zheng, Director

 

Staff Associates

Kamena Kostova

Zhao Zhang3

 

1Retired June 30, 2020
2To December 31, 2019, Title change to visiting scientist from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020
3To August 1, 2019

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    Alex Bortvin

    Staff

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    Donald D. Brown

    Director Emeritus

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    Chen-Ming Fan

    Staff

  • emb_farber_2018.jpg

    Steven A. Farber

    Staff

  • emb_gall.jpg

    Joseph G. Gall

    Staff

  • emb_ludington_current.jpg

    William Ludington

    Staff

  • emb_spradling_2018.jpg

    Allan C. Spradling

    Staff

  • emb_zheng_current.jpg

    Yixian Zheng

    Director

  • EMB_KamenaKostova250x250.jpg

    Kamena Kostova

    Staff Associate

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    Zhao Zhang

    Staff Associate

Departments

Department of Global Ecology

Global Ecology

Carnegie Investigators
Research Staff Members

Anna Michalak1, Director

Joseph A. Berry2, Acting Director

Kenneth Caldeira3

Emeritus Staff Members

Joseph A. Berry, Emeritus2

Kenneth Caldeira, Emeritus3

 

1Interim Director from March 18, 2020, and Director from July 31, 2020
2Acting Director to December 31, 2019, Emeritus from January 1, 2020
3Research Staff Member to March 23, 2020, Emeritus from March 4, 2020

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    Anna Michalak

    Director

  • dge_berry_current.jpg

    Joseph A. Berry

    Acting Director

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    Kenneth Caldeira

    Staff Scientist

Departments

Department of Plant Biology

Plant Science

Carnegie Investigators
Research Staff Members

David Ehrhardt

Moises Exposito-Alonso1

Arthur R. Grossman

Andrey Malkovskiy,2 Research Scientist

Seung Y. Rhee

Shouling Xu, Director of Proteomics Facility

Zhi-Yong Wang, Acting Director

 

Adjunct Staff

Devaki Bhaya

Matthew Evans

Senior Investigator

Theodore Raab

1From September 1, 2019
2From October 14, 2019

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    David Ehrhardt

    Research Staff

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    Moises Exposito-Alonso

    Research Staff

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    Arthur R. Grossman

    Research Staff

  • dpb_malkovskiy_current_0.jpeg

    Andrey Malkovskiy

    Research Scientist

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    Seung Y. Rhee

    Research Staff

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    Shouling Xu

    Director of Protemics Facility

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    Zhi-Yong Wang

    Acting Director

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    Devaki Bhaya

    Adjunct Staff

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    Matthew Evans

    Adjunct Staff

 

Departments

Earth and Planets Laboratory

Earth and Planetary Science 

Carnegie Investigators
Research Staff Members

Conel M. O'D. Alexander

Alan P. Boss

R. Paul Butler 

Richard W. Carlson, Director

John E. Chambers

George D. Cody

Ronald E. Cohen 

Peter E. Driscoll

Yingwei Fei 

Alexander F. Goncharov 

Robert M. Hazen 

Alan T. Linde, Emeritus

Hélène Le Mével

Bjørn O. Mysen 

Larry R. Nittler

Diana C. Roman

Douglas Rumble III1, Emeritus

I. Selwyn Sacks, Emeritus

Anat Shahar

Scott S. Sheppard 

Steven B. Shirey

Andrew Steele

Timothy A. Strobel 

Viktor V. Struzhkin2

Fouad Tera, Emeritus

Sally J. Tracy 

Peter E. Van Keken

Lara S. Wagner

Michael J. Walter, Deputy Director

Alycia J. Weinberger

 

Research Scientists

Pamela Conrad

Dionysis Foustoukos

Zackary Geballe

Amol Karandikar 

Shaunna Morrison

Craig Schiffries3

 

1To January 1, 2020
2 To August 31, 2019
3 To January 31, 2020

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    Conel M. O’D. Alexander

    Research Staff Member

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    Alan P. Boss

    Research Staff Member

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    R. Paul Butler

    Research Staff Member

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    Richard W. Carlson

    Director

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    John E. Chambers

    Research Staff Member

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    George D. Cody

    Research Staff Member

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    Yingwei Fei

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Alexander F. Goncharov

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Robert M. Hazen

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Alan T. Linde

    Emeritus

  • EPL_LeMevel_2019_250x250.jpg

    Hélène Le Mével

    Research Staff Member

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    Bjørn O. Mysen

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Larry R. Nittler

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Diana C. Roman

    Research Staff Member

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    Douglas Rumble III

    Emeritus

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    I. Selwyn Sacks

    Emeritus

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Anat Shahar

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Scott S. Sheppard

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Steve B. Shirey

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Andrew Steele

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Timothy A. Strobel

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Viktor V. Struzhkin

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Fouad Tera

    Emeritus

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Sally J. Tracy

    Research Staff Member

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    Peter E. Van Keken

    Research Staff Member

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    Lara S. Wagner

    Research Staff Member

  • emb_bortvin_current.jpg

    Michael J. Walter

    Deputy Director

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    Alycia J. Weinberger

    Research Staff Member

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    Dionysis Foustoukos

    Research Scientist

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    Zachary Geballe

    Research Scientist

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    Amol Karandikar

    Research Scientist

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    Shaunna Morrison

    Research Scientist

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    Craig Schiffries

    Research Scientist

Departments

The Observatories

Astronomy

Carnegie Investigators
Staff Scientists

Andrew Benson

Rebecca Bernstein

Alan Dressler, Staff Member Emeritus

Juna Kollmeier

Nicholas Konidaris

Patrick McCarthy

Andrew McWilliam

John Mulchaey, Director

Andrew Newman

Augustus Oemler, Jr., Director Emeritus

Eric Persson, Staff Member Emeritus

Anthony Piro

George Preston, Director Emeritus

Michael Rauch

Gwen Rudie

François Schweizer, Staff Member Emeritus

Stephen Shectman

Joshua Simon

Ian Thompson

Ray Weymann, Director Emeritus

Research Associates

Christopher Burns, Research Associate

Jeffrey Crane, Staff Associate

Dan Kelson, Staff Associate

Barry Madore, Senior Research Associate Emeritus

Las Campanas Research Staff

Leopoldo Lira Infante, Director, Las Campanas Observatory

David Osip, Associate Director, Las Campanas Observatory

Mark Phillips, Director Emeritus, Las Campanas Observatory

Las Campanas Resident Astronomer

Nidia Morrell, Resident Astronomer

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    Andrew Benson

    Staff Scientist

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    Alan Dressler

    Staff Scientist

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    Juna Kollmeier

    Staff Scientist

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    Nicholas Kondaris

    Staff Scientist

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    Patrick McCarthy

    Staff Scientist

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    Andrew McWilliam

    Staff Scientist

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    John Mulchaey

    Director

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    Andrew Newman

    Staff Scientist

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    Augustus Oemler, Jr.

    Director Emeritus

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    Eric Persson

    Staff Member Emeritus

  • obs_piro_2018.jpg

    Anthony Piro

    Staff Scientist

  • obs_preston_2006.jpg

    George Preston

    Director Emeritus

  • obs_rauch_2007.jpg

    Michael Rauch

    Staff Scientist

  • obs_rudie_2015.jpg

    Gwen Rudie

    Staff Scientist

  • obs_schweizer_2018.jpg

    François Schweizer

    Staff Member Emeritus

  • obs_shectman_2006.jpg

    Stephen Schectman

    Staff Scientist

  • obs_simon_2015.jpg

    Joshua Simon

    Staff Scientist

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    Ian Thompson

    Staff Scientist

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    Ray Weymann

    Director Emeritus

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    Christopher Burns

    Research Associate

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    Jeffrey Crane

    Staff Associate

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    Dan Kelson

    Staff Associate

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    Barry Madore

    Senior Research Associate Emeritus

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    Mark Phillips

    Director Emeritus, Las Campanas Observatory

 

Departmental Contact Information

 

Contact Us

Earth and Planets Laboratory

5241 Broad Branch Road, NW
Washington, DC 20015-1305
202.478.8820

Department of Embryology

3520 San Martin Drive
Baltimore, MD 21218
410.246.3001

Department of Global Ecology

260 Panama Street
Stanford, CA 94305-4101
650.462.1047

The Carnegie Observatories

813 Santa Barbara Street
Pasadena, CA 91101-1292
626.577.1122

Las Campanas Observatory

Casilla 601
La Serena, Chile

Department of Plant Biology

260 Panama Street
Stanford, CA 94305-4101
650.325.1521