CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON

PROGRAM SERVICE ACTIVITY #1 CARNEGIE SCIENCE IS A WORLD-RENOWNED CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY, EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, AND BIOLOGY. CARNEGIE RESEARCHERS EMPLOY INTERDISCIPLINARY EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE HOW THE UNIVERSE WAS FORMED, HOW LIFE EVOLVED ON THIS PLANET, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR LIFE TO EXIST ELSEWHERE IN THE COSMOS. CARNEGIE OBSERVATIONAL AND THEORETICAL ASTRONOMERS COLLABORATE TO TRACE THE EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE FROM THE SPARK OF THE BIG BANG THROUGH STAR AND GALAXY FORMATION; EXPLORE THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE; AND PROBE THE MYSTERIES OF DARK MATTER, DARK ENERGY, AND THE EVER-ACCELERATING RATE AT WHICH THE UNIVERSE IS EXPANDING. UNLIKE MOST IN THEIR FIELD, CARNEGIE OBSERVATIONAL ASTRONOMERS DESIGN AND BUILD THEIR OWN INSTRUMENTS TO CAPTURE THE SECRETS OF SPACE. CARNEGIE OPERATES TELESCOPES AT LAS CAMPANAS OBSERVATORY IN CHILE, WHERE MUCH OF OUR ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED. WE ARE FOUNDING PARTNERS IN A CONSORTIUM THAT IS WORKING TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT, AND OPERATE THE GIANT MAGELLAN TELESCOPE, ONE OF THE NEW CLASS OF EXTREMELY LARGE TELESCOPES, WHICH WILL BE AMONG THE WORLD'S LARGEST GROUND-BASED OPTICAL/INFRARED FACILITIES WHEN IT IS COMPLETED. CARNEGIE EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENTISTS POSSESS EXPERTISE IN PETROLOGY, HIGH-PRESSURE AND HIGH-TEMPERATURE PHYSICS, AND NOVEL MATERIAL SYNTHESIS, AMONG OTHER CORE AREAS. SOME CARNEGIE SCIENTISTS ARE DISCOVERING PLANETS ORBITING DISTANT STARS; PROBING THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF EARTH, THE MOON, AND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM; AND STUDYING THE CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANOES, AND OTHER GEOLOGIC PHENOMENA. CARNEGIE BIOLOGISTS ARE EMPLOYING INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING THE INTERCONNECTED NATURE OF LIFE ON EARTH. WORKING ACROSS SCALES FROM GENOMES TO ECOSYSTEMS, CARNEGIE BIOLOGISTS ARE PROBING FUNDAMENTAL PLANET-SHAPING PROCESSES LIKE PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND GLOBAL NUTRIENT CYCLES, AS WELL AS THE MICROBIAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT UNDERPIN NEARLY EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE ON OUR PLANET. THEIR EFFORTS CAN INFORM AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY, ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE, AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE, AS WELL AS INFORM THE SEARCH FOR BIOSIGNATURES ON DISTANT WORLDS.