Carnegie Institution of Washington

Carnegie Institution

September 1, 2004

For further information contact Shaun Hardy at 202-478-7960, email hardy@dtm.ciw.edu;

Charles Hargrove at 202-478-7963, email c.hargrove@gl.ciw.edu.

Old seafaring scientists come to life in an Internet exhibition

Washington, D.C. The Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism announces the opening of a new Internet exhibition, J. P. Ault: A Scientist at Sea, featuring the life and times of seafarers and scientists at the turn of the last century. These men with a mission explored the world’s seas gathering data about Earth’s magnetic field. James Percy Ault typified the magnetic “observers” who sailed to places as exotic and different as Antarctica and Easter Island on the institution’s vessels from 1905 to 1929. Photos, artifacts, and stories bring the rigor, romance, and reward of their life and work at sea to the Internet. The exhibition is located at http://carnegieinstitution.org/legacy/exhibits/ault_exhibition/

Just two years after the Carnegie Institution of Washington was established in 1902, the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism was founded to chart the magnetic field of the entire planet. Observers baked in the desert, froze in the Arctic, and used every means of conveyance possible to measure the fluctuations of Earth’s magnetic field. Geophysicist Ault commanded the specially designed, non-magnetic research vessel Carnegie until it, and he, were lost in a tragic explosion in 1929. In addition to photographs, newspapers clippings, and other archival records, the collection behind the exhibition includes hundreds of pieces of correspondence between Ault, his family, colleagues, and friends.

The exhibition was developed by the Carnegie Legacy Project staff, with support from the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism as part of its centennial activities, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) under their grant to preserve and provide access to the historical records of the Carnegie Institution.

A companion Web site about the founding of the department and the history of its ocean magnetic survey is available at http://www.ciw.edu/library/ocean/. Included are original reports and illustrations for its ten circumnavigational sailing expeditions.

A centennial symposium about the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism (http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/) will be open to the public from 1:00 to 5:00 pm, October 8, 2004, at Carnegie headquarters, 1530 P Street, NW, Washington, DC. For further information contact Alexis Clements at Clements@dtm.ciw.edu or 202-378-8830.

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 throughout the U.S. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, earth and planetary science, materials science, and global ecology.