People-powered Discovery
Carnegie scientists are pioneers, shaping new frontiers of exploration with bold curiosity and innovative research. From unraveling the complexities of genomes to uncovering the secrets of the cosmos, they are addressing some of the most profound questions of our time. Discover their recent achievements and meet the newest members of our team.
Honors & Awards
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, 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. Together with Renyu Hu of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Chenguang Sun of the University of Texas at Austin, Gao will study how geologic processes in the interiors of exoplanets may help us detect and determine their atmospheres.
Full StoryCarnegie mineralogist Shaunna Morrison was awarded the American Geophysical Union’s Ronald Greeley Early Career Award in Planetary Sciences, which recognizes significant contributions from researchers within six years of receiving their Ph.D. Morrison combines her expertise in crystallography and crystal chemistry with cutting-edge machine learning and data visualization methods. As a co-investigator on NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover mission, Morrison applied her expertise to predict the location of previously unknown mineral deposits and Mars analog environments on Earth, and to uncover mineralogical signs of life.
Full StoryCarnegie Research Scientist Anirudh Prabhu was recognized for early career excellence in Earth and space science informatics by the European Geosciences Union. The EGU selects one researcher in the Earth and Space Science Informatics (ESSI) division to honor with the annual Outstanding Early Career Scientists Award. Prabhu's research focuses on advancing data science by developing and applying analytics and machine learning techniques to answer some of the biggest questions in science.
Full StoryFour alumni of the Carnegie Astrophysics Summer Internship (CASSI)program were recognized by the American Astronomical Society for exemplary undergraduate student research. The Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Awards and Honorable Mentions are given to undergraduate and graduate students who present posters at one of the society’s meetings.
The 2024 AAS awardees include Theodore Chawla of Evergreen Valley College (2023 CASSI); Tiffany Liou of the University of California San Diego (2022); and Kendra Nguyen of Pomona College (2021); Domani Sharkey of Caltech (2023) also received an honorable mention.
Full StoryAllan Spradling, whose research pioneered major advances in stem cell science and reproductive biology, is one of three recipients of the 2024 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Science. The three investigators are recognized for their discovery of the stem cell niche—a micro-environment that controls stem cell identity.
Full StoryArthur Grossman was selected as one of 120 new members of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. This is one of the highest honors bestowed within the scientific community.
Full StoryAdrien Burlacot was one of five early career scientists selected to give spotlight presentations at the American Society of Plant Biologists’ (ASPB) centennial annual meeting in the summer of 2024. The ASPB Scholars program honors future leaders in the field who are advancing novel science directions. The recognition highlights those whose work focuses on topics that are unique to plant science, including photosynthesis, plant cell biology, plant genomics, plant cell wall formation, and more.
William Ludington is co-leading one of eight research teams from across the U.S. and Canada that were awarded a $50 thousand Scialog grant. Together with Karthik Shekhar of UC Berkeley, Ludington investigates how signals from the gut can activate glial cells, which support healthy neuron function, into an inflammatory and neurotoxic state. In order to better understand this phenomenon, they will probe the gut-brain axis using a variety of molecular and computational tools.
Full StoryRyan 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 fellowship provides financial support of up to $1.5 million for up to eight years, which is intended to extend from postdoctoral training through the early period of a faculty position. Working in Phillip Cleves’ lab at Carnegie, Hulett’s uses symbiotic marine invertebrates, like anemones and corals, which take up algae into their own cells, to understand how intracellular microbes reprogram their host cells’ responses to heat stress conditions.
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Carnegie’s 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 on the 500th anniversary of the famous scientist and artist’s death to honor Italian and Italian American early career researchers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rosa’s work aims to analyze environmental challenges and solutions in our food, water, and energy systems.
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Carnegie Science proudly announces the recipients of the 2023 Service to Science Award, honoring individuals in administrative, technical, or support roles who play a pivotal part in advancing the institution's scientific mission. This year, the award acknowledges the contributions of Timothy D. Mock, the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory Manager at Carnegie’s Earth and Planets Laboratory, and Lynne Hugendubler, a Lab Technician at the Baltimore campus of Carnegie’s Biosphere Sciences and Engineering division.
For 26 years, Mock has been instrumental in managing the array of cutting-edge instrumentation at Carnegie’s D.C.-based mass spectrometry facility. His expertise has solidified the organization’s global leadership in the chemical analysis of geologic and cosmic samples. Further, Mock’s mentorship and training of generations of scientists ensures the lab's continued success well into the future.
Hugendubler, a cornerstone of Staff Scientist Yixian Zheng’s lab for more than 12 years, excels in meticulous lab management and the care of the lab's diverse array of animals— including innovative new model species like the Xenia genus of soft coral. Her dedication to ensuring the lab runs smoothly fosters a positive research environment and empowers scientists to confidently explore bold questions about life on our planet.
The honorees will receive a recognition package, including an engraved medallion, a $2,500 cash award, a future website spotlight, and an invitation to the Board of Trustees dinner in May.
Full StoryArthur Grossman is a plant scientist with expertise ranging from plant biology to marine biology and from microbiology to eukaryotic genomics. He was recognized by the American Society of Plant Biologists with The Bograd Award as one of more than 18 prizes presented by the ASPB in honor of “meritorious research and service in plant biology.” It was established in 2005 to honor its namesake’s pioneering photosynthesis research.
Full StoryMIT Professor and previous Carnegie Science EPL Staff Scientist Sara Seager is a recipient of the 2024 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics. She shares the award with Harvard University’s David Charbonneau. They were selected for their groundbreaking work on the discovery and characterization of exoplanets and their atmospheres.
The Kavli Prize is a partnership among The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation (USA). Three one-million-dollar prizes are awarded every other year in each of the three fields.
Full StoryLeadership
- Craig R. Barrett, Chairman
- David W. Thompson, Vice Chairman
- Anne Bonaparte
- John F. Crawford
- Michael A. Duffy
- Sandra M. Faber
- Stephen P. A. Fodor
- Rush Holt
- Tom Korzenecki
- Katherine N. Lapp
- Michael T. Long
- Mary E. Maxon
- Christine M. McCarthy
- Stephen Quake
- Ray Rothrock
- Cristián T. Samper
- David Spergel
- Christopher T. S. Stone
- Marshall Wais
- Michael G. Wilson
- Philip H. Abelson, 1978–2004
- Alexander Agassiz, 1904–1905
- Robert O. Anderson, 1976–1983
- Lord Ashby of Brandon, 1967–1974
- J. Paul Austin, 1976–1978
- Euan Baird, 1998–2014
- George G. Baldwin, 1925–1927
- Remi Barbier, 2006–2015
- Thomas Barbour, 1934–1946
- Daniel N. Belin, 2000–2009
- James F. Bell, 1935–1961
- John S. Billings, 1902–1913
- Charles F. Bolden Jr., 2019–2022
- Robert Woods Bliss, 1936–1962
- Samuel W. Bodman, 2009–2013
- John C. Botts, 2004–2016
- Amory H. Bradford, 1959–1972
- Lindsay Bradford, 1940–1958
- Omar N. Bradley, 1948–1969
- Lewis M. Branscomb, 1973–1990
- Michael Brin, 2006–2009
- Robert S. Brookings, 1910–1929
- James E. Burke, 1989–1993
- Vannevar Bush, 1958–1971
- John L. Cadwalader, 1903–1914
- William W. Campbell, 1929–1938
- John J. Carty, 1916–1932
- Whitefoord R. Cole, 1925–1934
- John T. Connor, 1975–1980
- Tom Cori, 1999–2010
- Edward E. David, Jr., 1960–2017
- Frederic A. Delano, 1927–1949
- John Diebold, 1975–2005
- Cleveland H. Dodge, 1903–1923
- William E. Dodge, 1902–1903
- William T. Coleman, Jr., 1997–2017
- James D. Ebert, 1987–2001
- Gerald M. Edelman, 1980–1987
- W. Gary Ernst, 1990–2017
- Charles P. Fenner, 1914–1924
- Michael Ference, Jr., 1968–1980
- Bruce Ferguson, 1993–2020
- Homer L. Ferguson, 1927–1952
- Simon Flexner, 1910–1914
- W. Cameron Forbes, 1920–1955
- James Forrestal, 1948–1949
- William N. Frew, 1902–1915
- Lyman J. Gage, 1902–1912
- William K. Gayden, 2002–2019
- Michael E. Gellert, 1995–2018
- Walter S. Gifford, 1931–1966
- Carl J. Gilbert, 1962–1983
- Cass Gilbert, 1924–1934
- Frederick H. Gillett, 1924–1935
- Daniel C. Gilman, 1902–1908
- Robert G. Goelet, 1980–2014
- William T. Golden, 1969–2007
- Hanna H. Gray, 1974–1978
- Crawford H. Greenewalt, 1952–1984
- David Greenewalt, 1992–2003
- William C. Greenough, 1975–1989
- Patrick E. Haggerty, 1974–1975
- Caryl P. Haskins, 1949–1956; 1971–2001
- John Hay, 1902–1905
- William R. Hearst III, 1992–2017
- Richard Heckert, 1980–2010
- Barklie McKee Henry, 1949–1966
- Myron T. Herrick, 1915–1929
- Abram S. Hewitt, 1902–1903
- William R. Hewlett, 1971–2001
- Henry L. Higginson, 1902–1919
- Ethan A. Hitchcock, 1902–1909
- Henry Hitchcock, 1902
- Herbert Hoover, 1920–1949
- William Wirt Howe, 1903–1909
- Freeman A. Hrabowski III, 2002–2004
- Charles L. Hutchinson, 1902–1904
- Kazuo Inamori, 1990–2002
- Walter Isaacson, 2015–2018
- Walter A. Jessup, 1938–1944
- Frank B. Jewett, 1933–1949
- George F. Jewett, Jr., 1983–1987
- Antonia Axson Johnson, 1980–1994
- Suzanne Nora Johnson, 1997–2022
- William F. Kieschnick, 1985–1991
- Mary-Claire King, 2007–2019
- Samuel P. Langley, 1904–1906
- Kenneth G. Langone, 1993–1994
- Gerald D. Laubach, 1985–2009
- Ernest O. Lawrence, 1944–1958
- Charles A. Lindbergh, 1934–1939
- William Lindsay, 1902–1909
- Henry Cabot Lodge, 1914–1924
- Alfred L. Loomis, 1934–1973
- Robert A. Lovett, 1948–1971
- Seth Low, 1902–1916
- Wayne MacVeagh, 1902–1907
- John D. Macomber, 1981–2014
- William McChesney Martin, 1967–1983
- Keith S. McHugh, 1950–1974
- Steven L. McKnight, 2000–2014
- Burton J. McMurtry, 1996–2004
- Jaylee Mead, 1999–2008
- Andrew W. Mellon, 1924–1937
- John C. Merriam, 1921–1938
- Richard A. Meserve, 1992–2003; 2015–2019
- J. Irwin Miller, 1988–1991
- Margaret Carnegie Miller, 1955–1967
- Roswell Miller, 1933–1955
- Darius O. Mills, 1902–1909
- S. Weir Mitchell, 1902–1914
- Andrew J. Montague, 1907–1935
- Henry S. Morgan, 1936–1978
- William W. Morrow, 1902–1929
- Seeley G. Mudd, 1940–1968
- Franklin D. Murphy, 1978–1985
- William I. Myers, 1948–1976
- Garrison Norton, 1960–1974
- Paul F. Oreffice, 1988–1993
- William Church Osborn, 1927–1934
- Walter H. Page, 1971–1979
- James Parmelee, 1917–1931
- William Barclay Parsons, 1907–1932
- Stewart Paton, 1916–1942
- Robert M. Pennoyer, 1968–1989
- George W. Pepper, 1914–1919
- Richard S. Perkins, 1959–2000
- John J. Pershing, 1930–1943
- Henning W. Prentis, Jr., 1942–1959
- Frank Press, 1995–2009
- Henry S. Pritchett, 1906–1936
- Gordon S. Rentschler, 1946–1948
- Sally K. Ride, 1989–1994
- David Rockefeller, 1952–1956
- Elihu Root, 1902–1937
- Elihu Root, Jr., 1937–1967
- Deborah Rose, 2001–2018
- Julius Rosenwald, 1929–1931
- William M. Roth, 1968–1979
- William W. Rubey, 1962–1974
- William J. Rutter, 1994–2014
- Martin A. Ryerson, 1908–1928
- Howard A. Schneiderman, 1988–1990
- Robert C. Seamans, 1974–2008
- Henry R. Shepley, 1937–1962
- Maxine F. Singer, 2003–2017
- Theobald Smith, 1914–1934
- John C. Spooner, 1902–1907
- Frank Stanton, 1963–2006
- David Swensen, 1991–2014
- William Benson Storey, 1924–1939
- Richard P. Strong, 1934–1948
- Charles P. Taft, 1936–1975
- William H. Taft, 1906–1915
- William S. Thayer, 1929–1932
- Charles H. Townes, 1965–1998
- Juan T. Trippe, 1944–1981
- William I.M. Turner, Jr., 1990–2015
- Hatim A. Tyabji, 2002–2004
- Thomas N. Urban, 1992–2003
- James W. Wadsworth, 1932–1952
- Charles D. Walcott, 1902–1927
- Frederic C. Walcott, 1931–1948
- Henry P. Walcott, 1910–1924
- Lewis H. Weed, 1935–1952
- Sidney J. Weinberg, Jr., 1983–2010
- William H. Welch, 1906–1934
- Gunnar Wessman, 1984–1987
- Andrew D. White, 1902–1916
- Edward D. White, 1902–1903
- Henry White, 1913–1927
- James N. White, 1956–1979
- George W. Wickersham, 1909–1936
- Robert E. Wilson, 1953–1964
- Robert S. Woodward, 1905–1924
- Carroll D. Wright, 1902–1908
- Mary Lou Zoback, 2008–2015
- John Mulchaey
President
- Stephanie Hampton
Deputy Director, Biosphere Sciences and Engineering
- John Mulchaey
Director and Crawford H. Greenewalt Chair, The Observatories
- Michael Walter
Director, Earth and Planets Laboratory
- Alycia Weinberger
Associate Division Director, Earth and Planets Laboratory
- Daniel C. Gilman, 1902–1904
- Robert S. Woodward, 1904–1920
- John C. Merriam, 1921–1938
- Vannevar Bush, 1939–1955
- Caryl P. Haskins, 1956–1971
- Philip H. Abelson, 1971–1978
- James D. Ebert, 1978–1987
- Edward E. David, Jr., Acting President, 1987–1988
- Maxine F. Singer, 1988–2002
- Michael E. Gellert, Acting President, January–April 2003
- Richard A. Meserve, 2003–2014
- Matthew P. Scott, 2014–2017
- John Mulchaey & Yixian Zheng, Interim Co-Presidents, January–July 2018
- Eric D. Isaacs, 2018–2024
Scientists
- Brittany Belin, Staff Scientist
- Devaki Bhaya, Staff Scientist
- Aleksey Bortvin, Staff Scientist
- Adrien Burlacot, Staff Associate
- Mengyi Cao, Staff Associate
- Phillip Cleves, Staff Scientist
- Jeffrey Dukes, Senior Staff Scientist
- David Ehrhardt, Senior Staff Scientist
- Matthew Evans, Staff Scientist
- Moises Exposito-Alonso, Staff Associate
- Chen-Ming Fan, Staff Scientist
- Arthur Grossman, Senior Staff Scientist
- Kamena Kostova, Staff Scientist
- Elena Litchman, Senior Staff Scientist
- William Ludington, Staff Scientist
- Margaret McFall-Ngai, Senior Staff Scientist
- Anna Michalak, Staff Scientist, Founding Director, Carnegie Climate and Resilience HUB
- Lorenzo Rosa, Staff Associate
- Zhiyong Wang, Staff Scientist
- Emily Zakem, Staff Associate
- Yixian Zheng, Senior Staff Scientist
- Conel Alexander, Staff Scientist
- Alan Boss, Staff Scientist
- Robert Butler, Staff Scientist
- John Chambers, Staff Scientist
- George Cody, Staff Scientist
- Ronald Cohen, Staff Scientist
- Peter Driscoll, Staff Scientist
- Yingwei Fei, Staff Scientist
- Peter Gao, Staff Scientist
- Alexander Goncharov, Staff Scientist
- Jennifer Kasbohm, Staff Scientist
- Helene Le Mevel Staff Scientist
- Anne Pommier, Staff Scientist
- Diana Roman, Staff Scientist
- Anat Shahar, Staff Scientist
- Scott Sheppard, Staff Scientist
- Steven Shirey, Staff Scientist
- Andrew Steele, Staff Scientist
- Timothy Strobel, Staff Scientist
- Johanna Teske, Staff Scientist
- Sally Tracy, Staff Scientist
- Peter Van Keken Staff Scientist
- Lara Wagner, Staff Scientist
- Andrew Benson, Staff Scientist
- Rebecca Bernstein, Staff Scientist
- Ana Bonaca, Staff Scientist
- Daniel Kelson, Staff Scientist
- Juna Kollmeier, Staff Scientist
- Nicholas Konidaris, Staff Scientist
- Nicholas McWilliam, Staff Scientist
- Andrew McWilliam, Staff Scientist
- Andrew Newman, Staff Scientist
- Anthony Piro, Staff Scientist
- Michael Rauch, Staff Scientist
- Gwen Rudie, Staff Scientist
- Stephen Shectman, Staff Scientist
- Joshua Simon, Staff Scientist
- Ian Thompson, Staff Scientist