Carnegie Institution of Washington

Carnegie Institution

News

April 8, 2004

Contact Dr. Christopher Field at Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology, 650-462-1047 x 201; cfield@globalecology.stanford.edu

http://globalecology.stanford.edu/DGE/CIWDGE/CIWDGE.HTML

Carnegie dedicates environmentally innovative building

Stanford, CA. On April 12, 2004, the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology will dedicate its new, environmentally innovative facility on the Stanford University campus. “Our new building sets an example, showing that an ecologically sound complex can be beautiful, economical, safe, and efficient,” remarked Christopher Field, director of Global Ecology.

The facility, designed by EHDD of San Francisco, embodies the department’s integrated approach to the study of the Earth’s ecosystems. The 11,000 square-foot research center maximizes energy efficiency, minimizes waste, and uses recycled materials, including old wine barrels for the redwood siding and crumbled concrete from previous structures for foundations. Rumsey Engineers designed and modeled a very low-energy heating and cooling system for the building, with innovations including night-sky cooling, radiant cooling, natural ventilation, and a cooling tower. Heat-reflecting coatings, wood that is certified sustainably harvested, and all-native plants reinforce the department’s goal to establish a foundation that will lead to a sustainable future for the planet. “Constructing this energy-efficient, environmentally friendly research facility is an important step toward fulfilling the department’s mission to develop the new science of global ecology,” said Richard Meserve, Carnegie Institution president.

The Department of Global Ecology was formally established in July 2002 to pioneer a new kind of integrated science. It is adjacent to Carnegie’s Department of Plant Biology on the campus of Stanford University and grew out of a century of ecological research at the Carnegie Institution. The interdisciplinary Global Ecology team uses a wide range of powerful tools—from satellites to molecular biology—to understand the complicated interactions among Earth’s land, atmosphere, and oceans. They tackle issues such as the global carbon cycle, the role of land and oceanic ecosystems in regulating climate, the interaction of biological diversity with ecosystem function, and much more. The scientists also play an active role in the public arena—from presenting Congressional testimony on global warming to using satellite imagery to sense environmental “hotspots.”

Speakers at the dedication will include Donald Kennedy, president emeritus of Stanford and editor-in-chief of Science; Sharon Long, Dean of Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences; Michael Gellert, chairman of the Carnegie Board of Trustees; Richard Meserve, president of the Carnegie Institution; and Christopher Field, the department’s director. Attendees will include Carnegie researchers, trustees and friends, colleagues from Stanford, and representatives of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which made a generous grant in support of the project. The dedication and tour of the building will take place at 4:00 p.m., Monday April 12, 2004, at 260 Panama St., Stanford, CA. A reception will follow the ceremony.

The Carnegie Institution of Washington (www.CarnegieInstitution.org) has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit organization with six research departments in the U.S.: Embryology, in Baltimore, MD; the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism and the Geophysical Laboratory in Washington, DC; The Observatories in Pasadena, CA, and Chile; and Plant Biology and Global Ecology in Stanford, CA.

EHDD has offices in San Francisco and Chicago. It was founded in 1946 and has become a leader in designing academic buildings, aquariums, museums, civic buildings and more. See http://www.ehdd.com/ for additional information.