Carnegie Science
Promoting scientific discovery & supporting exceptional individuals in an atmosphere of independence. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C. Isaacs.
The Carnegie Institution for Science empowers visionary investigators to challenge conventional ideas, pursue novel research pathways, and define new fields of study. Since its founding, Carnegie has fundamentally changed how we understand the universe, our planet, and the synergy of molecules that make life possible. From genomes to ecosystems and from planets to the cosmos, Carnegie Science is an incubator for cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research that is expanding our knowledge of all that is around us. On a scale encompassing the entire natural world, and operating at a variety of disciplinary intersections, our investigators are tackling the biggest scientific mysteries and greatest human challenges of our time. They seek answers to questions about the structure of the universe; the formation of our Solar System and other planetary systems; the behavior and transformation of matter when subjected to extreme conditions; the origins of life; the effects of climate change on forests, oceans, and other habitats; the function of plant, animal, and microbial genomes; the molecular basis of relationships between organisms within an ecosystem; and the development of single-celled eggs into adults. Andrew Carnegie founded our organization in 1902 as a place 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. and have three scientific divisions split between the coasts, as well as observatories in Chile. We are an endowed, independent, nonprofit institution. Significant additional support comes from federal grants and private donations. A board of trustees, consisting of leaders in business, the sciences, education, and public service, oversees Carnegie’s operations. Each of the divisons has its own scientific director who manages day-to-day operations under the leadership of President Eric D.
09/25/2026
Object 23 | The ping-pong table 🏓
Not every rivalry goes through peer review. 👀
Across Carnegie Science, if you give our scientists a patch of grass, a few game pieces, a friendly face-off is not far behind. At the Earth and Planets Laboratory, that often happens around this ping-pong table.
Enjoy our special object for and learn all about the tournament that started it all. 👇
https://carnegiescience.edu/object-23-ping-pong-table?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=carnegie125&utm_content=ping-pong-table
Object 23 | The Ping Pong Table For years, a ping-pong table has been quietly bringing people together at the Earth and Planets Laboratory. This object was specially chosen for Postdoc Appreciation Week.
09/25/2026
"It's our honor and privilege to call you colleagues." - Carnegie President John Mulchaey
As wraps up, we want to say it one more time. Thank you to our postdocs! Your curiosity, drive, and talent energize research and communities across all of Carnegie Science's campuses.
09/23/2026
The telescopes at Las Campanas may stay in the mountains, but this lab is built to move! Meet Object 22 of .
LabMóvil Conciencia Astronomía is a mobile astronomy laboratory that visits schools and communities across northern Chile, bringing hands-on science to students who may live near Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) but have never been inside a professional observatory.
Instead of lectures, students work directly with models and experiments to explore light, eclipses, constellations, and spectroscopy. The program also uses tactile materials, including 3D-printed Magellan Telescope models, to teach astronomy to people who are blind or have low vision.
Operated since 2022 by LCO and the Giant Magellan Telescope, LabMóvil is now one of the main education and outreach initiatives associated with Las Campanas in Chile.
https://carnegiescience.edu/object-22-labmovil-conciencia-astronomia?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=carnegie125&utm_content=lab-movile
Object 22 | LabMóvil Conciencia Astronomía Las Campanas Observatory’s LabMóvil takes science out on a roadshow. It is the 22nd object in our campaign.
09/22/2026
Congratulations to astronomer Guillermo Blanc, the new Director of Carnegie Science's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, home of the twin Magellan telescopes and future site of the Giant Magellan Telescope.
Blanc joined Carnegie in 2011 as a postdoctoral fellow and has held several leadership roles since, including Head of Scientific Technical Development and Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives. He has served as interim director since the start of the year, succeeding Emeritus Director Leopoldo Infante. He holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin Department of Astronomy and Universidad de Chile, where he is an Adjunct Professor.
"Guillermo has a deep understanding of every facility and instrument at the LCO site, as well as of the observatory's importance to the international astronomical community and the prominence of astronomy in Chile's national identity," said Carnegie Science President John Mulchaey.
09/17/2026
Happy ! If you took a breath this morning, you have ✨microorganisms✨ to thank.
Microorganisms cycle nutrients through and between dynamic ecosystems. And billions of years ago they made Earth’s atmosphere oxygen-rich, reshaping our planet's mineralogy and setting the stage for a biodiversity explosion.
Meet the star of our Microorganism Day logo: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii ("Chlamy" to its friends). This single-celled green alga gets around with two tiny flagella. For decades, Carnegie plant scientists like Arthur Grossman and Adrien Burlacot have used it to probe big questions about photosynthesis that could help farmers feed more people, grow efficient biofuel crops, and pull more carbon pollution out of the atmosphere to fight climate change.
Chlamy has plenty of company. Across Carnegie, researchers study microbes in the ocean, microbes living in partnership with animals, and microbes thriving in Yellowstone's scalding hot springs and seafloor vents. That work helps reveal how life shapes a planet, and what signs of life we might someday spot on worlds beyond Earth. 👾 🦠 🔬 🌍
Your turn: What's your favorite microorganism? Lab workhorse, hot spring extremophile, the yeast in your sourdough: all answers welcome!
09/15/2026
In October, Moh El-Naggar joins Carnegie as the director of Biosphere Sciences & Engineering (BSE), leading the division from its new labs on the Caltech campus while keeping his professorship at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
09/08/2026
Carnegie Science has named biophysicist Mohamed "Moh" El-Naggar as the second director of our Biosphere Sciences & Engineering division.
El-Naggar joins in October from USC, where he is a Dean's Professor of Physics and Astronomy and has served as divisional dean in Natural Sciences and Mathematics and interim dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He will retain his USC faculty appointment and continue advising graduate students and postdocs there.
His appointment lands as BSE completes the final stage of its consolidation in Pasadena, deepening a research alliance with Caltech that already includes joint faculty appointments, two postdoctoral fellowship programs in astronomy, and shared outreach through Pasadena's City of Astronomy.
"His interdisciplinary background perfectly aligns with our strategic vision for maintaining Carnegie's longstanding leadership within the scientific enterprise," says Carnegie Science President John Mulchaey.
Object 21: Beneath the Carnegie Observatories’ historic Pasadena building, two ruling engines and the diffraction gratings they produced offer a glimpse into the precision engineering that helped make 20th-century astrophysics possible.
08/26/2026
🖖 This just in! Philip Plait—astronomer, author, and "The Bad Astronomer"—will be moderating the panel at our upcoming celebrating sixty years of Star Trek!
Free and open to the public. RSVP required: bit.ly/3SsjCRO.
Strange New Worlds: The Science of Star Trek Boldly go where no Carnegie Science Neighborhood Lecture has gone before as we explore the science of Star Trek. Free and open to the public. Registration required.
08/20/2026
Set phasers to science! On Sept. 9—the day after Star Trek turns 60—Carnegie astrobiologist Mike Wong will give a special to celebrate the show's anniversary. A Star Trek podcaster in his free time, he'll hold the franchise's imagined worlds up against the real exoplanets we're finding now. What did the writers get right? What did they get wrong? You'll have to come along for the ride to find out!
A selection of Carnegie scientists will join Wong on the stage to share how their own work intersects with the Trek universe. The talk will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A.
🖖 Wednesday, Sept. 9
📍 Greenewalt Auditorium, Broad Branch Road campus, NW DC
🕕 Doors 6 p.m., talk 6:30 p.m.
🎟️ This lecture is free and open to the public. We have finite auditorium space, so please RSVP early—bit.ly/4gH7wNH
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