The 2005-2006 Annual Fund

        We are seeking gifts in support of the Carnegie Institution’s Annual Fund. For more than 100 years of scientific discovery, the Carnegie Institution has maintained a reputation as a place where gifted scientists can work unencumbered and thereby open new horizons in science. It is a place where the progress is measured in both nanometers and light years. Whether it is the life, space or planetary sciences, Carnegie researchers work at the forefront of their fields:

        Paul Butler, an astronomer at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, leads a team that has discovered more than half of the 160 planets found outside our own solar system. Dr. Butler is credited with perfecting a novel analytical technique that enables scientists to detect planets by the gravitational pull they exert on the stars they orbit.

        Gregory Asner of the Department of Global Ecology has developed new spectroscopic remote-sensing techniques to quantify chemical and structural changes in semi-arid regions caused by climate change, cattle ranching, and other human activities. Such measurements are notoriously difficult using traditional methods. Dr. Asner’s results have attracted the attention of the United Nations Environment Program and other agencies seeking to assess the extent, degree, and consequences of land use and climate change.

        Patrick McCarthy of the Carnegie Observatories surveyed 100,000 galaxies using instruments at Carnegie’s Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. He and his colleagues identified 300 galaxies that date from a time when the universe was just a few billion years old. They were stunned by what they found: massive galaxies more mature than scientists previously thought possible already populated the young universe. Astronomers are now taking a fresh look at galaxy formation as a result.

        This is just a sampling of the many exciting discoveries made by Carnegie scientists. But cutting-edge research requires state-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities, and our endowment cannot cover all of the needs. By making a gift to the Carnegie Institution’s Annual Fund, you will help to pave the way to future fundamental scientific advances at the frontiers of human knowledge.

Sincerely yours,
                                         
Richard A. Meserve                                                   Michael E. Gellert
President                                                                    Chairman