Homegrown Excellence
7 minutes
Everyone starts somewhere. And many of our best and brightest started right here!
Cultivated at Carnegie
Many of our scientists and research technicians—even our President—first joined Carnegie Science as postdocs. Some left and came back again, others found a home here early and moved into Carnegie positions as soon as their postdoctoral fellowships were completed. We're celebrating the richness that the depth of their dedication and experience brings to our community.
"Being a postdoc at Carnegie gave me the freedom and resources to work on projects I had always wanted to pursue, but could not as a graduate student. It changed the course of my scientific career completely. This led me to push to expand our postdoc program when I became Observatories Director and it remains a top priority for me in my role as President." - John Mulchaey, President
"What made my Carnegie postdoc experience so impactful was the culture of respect and freedom. Moving away from a top-down academic hierarchy and being embraced as a true colleague gave me the space to think bigger, take creative risks, and truly thrive as an independent scientist. That shift in perspective completely shapes how I mentor today. I view the postdocs in my group not as people to manage, but as colleagues to empower—giving them the freedom, ownership, and confidence to drive their own vision." - Anat Shahar, Vice President for Research
"I remember vividly the sense of joy and excitement I felt when I got a phone call from then-Associate Director of Carnegie Observatories John Mulchaey, letting me know that I had gotten a Carnegie Fellowship. As a senior graduate student at the moment, this felt like an enormous privilege, and a huge honor. The four transformative years I spent as a postdoc in Pasadena allowed me to thrive as a researcher and forged a deep sense of admiration for the mission of Carnegie Science, which I learned to appreciate as a unique haven for creativity, excellence, and initiative in the world of astronomy." - Guillermo Blanc, Director, Las Campanas Observatory
My two years as a Carnegie postdoc gave me the time and opportunity to grow my network, develop collaborations, take on new leadership roles, and build the confidence I needed to go out and start my own independent research group. I had the opportunity to work on and help lead an iconic field project, coordinate dozens of researchers, and present my results in scientific and public forums. My Carnegie mentor was an incredible role model. I left with the tools I needed to succeed in science, and now that I’m back at Carnegie I hope I can help the postdocs in my group develop the tools they need to advance their own careers. - Jeffrey Dukes, Senior Staff Scientist, Biosphere Sciences & Engineering
Being a postdoc is both a liberating and terrifying time in an academic career, or at least it was for me. You leave the nest of graduate school with some practice and rough plans, but are expected to not only fly on your own, but chart your own new course and find new members to join your flock. The postdoctoral experience at Carnegie gave me the right balance of freedom, challenge, and support to explore lots of new pathways, both in research and in the practice of science and mentoring. I also found a great sense of community, and recognized how much of a positive difference that can make in how I approach research—when you know the people you're working with care about you as a whole person. I feel like psychological safety is the secret sauce to good science! So, I try to bring that to my current mentorship. - Johanna Teske, Staff Scientist, Earth & Planets Laboratory and Observatories
"My time as a postdoc at Carnegie Science was instrumental in my professional development. The people and resources at Carnegie Science are second to none and I was allowed to pursue my research with full support and virtually no worries at a time when I was just starting out in my career. The freedom and ability to do the interesting science I wanted to do allowed me the time and flexibility to discover some of the most distant objects known in our Solar System, pushing our knowledge of our distant Solar System to new boundaries." - Scott Sheppard, Staff Scientist, Earth & Planets Laboratory
"Being a postdoc at Carnegie Observatories gave me the opportunity to convince the staff both that I would be a good fit at Carnegie long-term and that I could make scientific contributions at the level Carnegie expects of its scientists. The in-depth experience I gained with the Magellan Telescopes as a Carnegie Fellow was invaluable for developing the scientific plans I wanted to carry out when I was hired permanently. I'm very glad I got that chance, and I do my best to make sure that we continue to provide similar opportunities for our fellows today, whether they are aiming to stay at Carnegie or move on to astronomy jobs elsewhere!" - Josh Simon, Staff Scientist, Carnegie Science Observatories
As a fellow I got to explore my own ideas and research directions. It was an important part of my career towards evolving to an independent researcher and thinker. - Dionysis Foustoukos, Research Scientist, Earth & Planets Laboratory
My 13 years of presence at Carnegie comprises a series of positions—a doctoral student, a postdoc, a research scientist, and currently, a lab manager. As a postdoc, the closely knit social life and supportive sentiment prevalent on the campus, irrespective of people's positions, their diverse personalities and varied subjects of interests have shaped me over the years. I quite cherish it, and try to contribute in my own way to nurture it. - Amol Karandikar, Laser Heating & Spectroscopy Lab Manager, Earth & Planets Laboratory
"When I joined Carnegie as an LCO Magellan Fellow in 2009, I expected it to be a temporary experience before returning to my previous job in Italy. Apparently, my original plan didn't quite work out! The opportunities I found at Carnegie brought me back to LCO in 2013 and shaped both my career and my family's life. What I have valued most is the freedom to grow professionally and the people I have met along the way, especially at the mountain, where the sense of community is something truly special. All these years later I'm still happy and excited to be part of Carnegie/LCO, and I hope early-career researchers have the chance to experience that same sense of opportunity and belonging." - Francesco Di Mille, Technical Manager, Las Campanas Observatory
My postdoctoral experience at Carnegie was truly the beginning of my career. The knowledge, skills, and training I received here laid the foundation for the work I do today and shaped how I am able to contribute back to this community. At the same time, this community has continued to nurture and support me in so many ways, giving me the opportunities and environment I needed to grow both professionally and personally. I am deeply grateful for my experience as a postdoc and, now, for the opportunity to continue working here and contributing to the community that has played such an important role in my career. - Jing (Jill) Yang, High-Pressure Research Technician, Earth & Planets Laboratory
