National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)

Established in 1910, the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) has grown to become the Smithsonian’s largest museum and research unit. The NMNH is one of the world’s premier scientific institutions, as well as one of the most visited museums in the world—attracting more than six million visitors a year, with millions more visiting online. The Museum’s mission is to increase knowledge and inspire learning about nature and culture through outstanding research, collections, exhibitions, and education, in support of a sustainable future.

Steward of the largest natural history collections in the world, the NMNH holds more than 148 million specimens and cultural objects that document the history and formation of Earth, the diversity and evolution of life on the planet, and our shared human heritage. These collections are an unparalleled resource for the study and understanding of the natural world and our place in it. Every year, we welcome thousands of national and international researchers to our headquarters in Washington, DC and to our satellite facility—the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD—where researchers use the collections to address a variety of research questions pertaining to geology, paleontology, biology, and anthropology, as well as other interdisciplinary fields. At any given time, over two million specimens are on loan to universities and research centers worldwide. Cited in more than 1,200 scientific publications annually, the Museum’s collections are the foundation of our research and educational programs. Their relevance to science and society continues to grow as new technologies are applied to their study and analysis. Broadening access to the collections is a key priority for the Museum, and several digitization efforts are underway to make them more readily available online to the international science community, policymakers and the public at large. Currently, a total of over 11.1 million specimen records have been made available to the public from ten museum collection units. Nearly 292,000 of these records describe all of the Museum’s extant primary type specimens.

The Museum’s research activities focus on three broad themes: (i) the Formation and Evolution of the Earth and Similar Planets, (ii) the Discovery and Understanding of Life’s Diversity, and (iii) Human Diversity and Cultural Change. Within these themes, the scope of our work is as varied as the interests of our scientists, whose explorations and inquiries take place on every continent, in more than 110 countries, and range from the depths of the ocean to the outer regions of space. The Museum is organized into seven departments: Anthropology, Botany, Entomology, Invertebrate Zoology, Mineral Sciences, Paleobiology and Vertebrate Zoology. We work on questions and issues often too complex for any one institution to solve alone and therefore collaborate with museums, universities and research centers across the United States and around the world, as well as with federal government agencies such as the United States Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Commerce, the Interior, and the Federal Aviation Administration, among others. We also support a large and vibrant academic community, including scientists from affiliated government agencies based at the Museum, external researchers, interns and fellows. The results of our research—as well as that of others using our collections—are made available not only through scholarly papers and books, but also through exhibitions, symposia, courses, lectures, workshops, and numerous websites.

In addition to advancing its core research themes, the Museum is also working to advance seven priority initiatives, which integrate our research, collections and outreach activities. Each represents an area that has special relevance and urgency to society, where the Museum has a comparative advantage, and where we are poised to make substantial progress over the next decade. Designed to be long-term and transformational for the Museum, these initiatives build on our strengths and will expand our partnerships within the Smithsonian and with external collaborators.

Aligned with our efforts to expand and preserve our natural history collections and make them more broadly accessible, and to continue making fundamental contributions to our knowledge and understanding of nature and culture, is our commitment to the training of future generations of scientists and Museum professionals. Every year we offer several professional development and training opportunities for national and international students and researchers—from internships for high school and undergraduate students to conduct research under the mentorship of Museum scientists, to fellowships for pre-and postdoctoral students, as well as other professionals, to pursue independent research topics. By cultivating and supporting a vibrant, diverse and inclusive academic community, we aim to play a critical role in building scientific capacity to deepen our understanding of Earth processes, biodiversity and evolution, as well as our origins and cultural diversity, and to advance knowledge that can help us to make more informed decisions about the management of our planet.

Office of the Director

Research Staff

Hayek, Lee-Ann, Research Statistician. A.B. (1965) Emmanuel College; Ph.D. (1978) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Mathematical statistical modeling and scientific problem solution for complex biological and environmental systems. Subspecialties in quantitative and statistical field ecology / paleoecology / biological diversity, especially marine. Contact: HayekL@si.edu

Johnson, Kirk, Sant Director. A.B. (1982) Amherst College; M.S. (1985) University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. (1989) Yale University. Research specialties: Cretaceous-Paleogene; paleobotany, stratigraphy, geochronology. Contact: JohnsonKR@si.edu

Johnson, Rebecca. Associate Director for Science and Chief Scientist. B.S. (1996) University of Sydney; Ph.D. (2000) La Trobe University. Research specialties: animal molecular genetics, wildlife forensic science, koala genome. Contact: JohnsonRN@si.edu

NMNH Signature Initiatives

Earth and Planetary Sciences: Our Unique Planet

As a long-time leader in Earth and Planetary Science research, the museum pushes back the boundaries of our knowledge of our planet and solar system and inspires public audiences with new discoveries in this rapidly evolving field. It also offers exciting opportunities to amplify our reach and impact through collaboration with other Smithsonian museums and research centers, NASA, and others engaged in the pursuit of space exploration. The centerpiece of Our Unique Planet is the analysis of a sample from the asteroid Bennu currently slated to arrive on Earth in September 2023 as part of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. Equally critical to this project is the focus on training of early-career scientists by the museum’s Mineral Sciences team in the key scientific elements of the initiative:

• What was the source of the Earth’s oceans?
• How did silica-rich continental crust first form?
• What was the role of minerals in the origin of life?

The research will be in two phases – from 2021-2023 and 2023-2025 – which correspond to the time before and after the arrival of a key sample retrieved from the Bennu asteroid. Insights from the Bennu samples will be enhanced by analyses of the oldest rocks on Earth and by samples from the museum’s extensive meteorite collection. These new discoveries will result in two new public-facing programs: A “Time Machine” virtual reality experience, giving audiences the opportunity to experience the early Earth; and enhancements to the museum’s Hall of Gems and Minerals. On a longer timeframe, the project will provide the foundational scientific knowledge and inspiration for a brand-new exhibition about the origins of our solar system, Earth, and life itself that we expect to part of the next strategic plan. Contact: Tim McCoy McCoyT@si.edu, Mike Ackerson ackersonm@si.edu, Cari Corrigan CorriganC@si.edu; Ioan Lascu LascuI@si.edu.

Marine Science and Conservation: The Ocean Science Center

Earth’s ocean covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface and is essential for humanity’s survival, but it faces unprecedented human-mediated impacts from habitat destruction, pollution, over-fishing, industrialization, acidification and climate change. Warming of the ocean is driving more destructive storms and increasing the rate of sea level rise. Our ability to mitigate these threats relies on our ability to characterize what lives in any part of the ocean at any given time, and to identify the conditions necessary for their survival. New approaches, including environmental DNA and machine learning, promise to deliver real-time assays of marine biodiversity. The museum has a unique set of ocean-related collections, field stations, scientific research programs, educational assets, expertise and exhibitions that are of broad value and utility to the scientific community, policy makers, and the public. To maximize these assets, we will establish the Ocean Science Center to convene, expand, and highlight the relevance of our diverse portfolio of marine expertise. The Ocean DNA project will lead the global effort to develop a genomic toolkit to rapidly assess ocean health, and curate a DNA reference library to enable large-scale surveys of marine life, especially of undiscovered “dark taxa” that may play acritical role in ecosystems. We will develop this toolkit which can be applied to discover new species, detect invasive species, monitor change, assess the effectiveness of marine reserves and management practices, and inform priorities for conservation. Contact: Christopher Meyer MeyerC@si.edu, Ellen Strong StrongE@si.edu.

Big Ideas Incubator

Genomics and Informatics

Natural history specimens collected decades or even over a century ago are increasingly critical elements in understanding the biological, geological, and cultural diversity of our planet. Access to these specimens through digital, genomic, and analytical technologies continues to revolutionize how collections and their data are used in our own science and shared across the global research community—arguably making them more valuable than ever. The Informatics and Data Science Center (IDSC) is responsible for genomics and informatics strategies that leverage our unique strengths. Working with national and international partners to scope for a coordinated national infrastructure for genomic and digital collections and their associated information platforms could look like. This will require significant investment in digitization of specimens, the development of facilities for new environmental collections, and the data science capacity required to aggregate and share these resources. Contact: Vanessa Gonzalez GonzalezV@si.edu, Rebecca Snyder SnyderR@si.edu.

Community Science

Community science is increasingly showing its power to both engage the public as citizen scientists as well as scale and revolutionize how we collect data on the natural world. By providing people with access to scientific tools and results, museums can vastly increase their reach and impact while also growing their constituencies. This is particularly true when community science is combined with digital platforms that allow the collection and analysis of data at a continental scale. Our ambition is to develop a scientific project that harnesses the scale and breadth of community science at a national scale. We will work with partners to empower individuals to explore nature and answer questions only possible with the scale of data collection made possible by community science. Contact: Carla Easter EasterC@si.edu, Robert Costello CostelloR@si.edu.

Digital Education and Outreach

Digital technologies make it possible for the museum to make its scientific knowledge and public programs available to classrooms and homes across the nation. The COVID pandemic has rapidly accelerated our use of these technologies and has shown us what is possible, especially in the realm of education, virtual tours, and live interactions with our experts. Our challenge now is to determine the right balance between our digital programming and our on-site and community programs. This is an area where there are huge opportunities for collaboration across the Smithsonian that make full use of pan-institutional platforms and partnerships. Contact: Carla Easter EasterC@si.edu, Maggy Benson BensonM@si.edu.

Other Initiatives

Deep Time Initiative

From the planet’s early beginnings to the age of humans, our rich fossil record reveals how our planet has changed over millions of years and how life has adapted to change. Armed with this knowledge, we have new ways to understand our natural world and our place in it, now and into the future. A single species—our own—is changing the Earth, and our impact on climate, ecosystems and biodiversity will be evident for thousands of generations to come. Paleontology gives us a long-term, “Deep Time” view of Earth’s history, helping us make sense of the kinds of global-scale changes that have been large, slow and rare—until now. The Museum has the largest fossil collection in the world with over 40 million specimens, representing the history of life on Earth over the last 2.5 billion years, and a team of expert scientists studying the evolution of the Earth and its biological communities over time. Our goal is to mobilize this knowledge of the history of life and encourage society to learn from the past to better understand the changes that are shaping our future. Contact: Kay Behrensmeyer BehrensA@si.edu, Matt Carrano CarranoM@si.edu, Scott Wing WingS@si.edu

Human Origins Initiative

Our origin and evolution as humans is a compelling scientific question. Where did we come from and how have we changed over time? What are the main characteristics that make us human? The Human Origins Initiative addresses these and other challenging questions and expands our understanding of human evolution. Our researchers are investigating the evolution of human ancestors in Africa and Asia, focusing particularly on how human adaptations relate to environmental change over millions of years. The initiative has strengthened the human origins research program in collaboration with institutions and scientists from developing countries, established the Peter Buck Chair in Human Origins, and designed and completed the renovations for the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins. Contact: Richard Potts PottsR@si.edu

Q?rius Education Initiative

Public museums represent a virtually untapped resource for increasing scientific literacy. They are a perfect venue for inspiring awe and wonder about science, nature, and culture and can complement our formal educational system. NMNH is transforming the public’s connection to science by creating opportunities for young people to participate in the wonders of scientific discovery that go on behind the scenes. At the heart of our efforts is the Q?rius Initiative, which is focused around a 10,000 sq. ft. evolving learning-laboratory for experimental and innovative methodologies in the Museum and beyond. Teens and pre-teens can participate in activities rooted in real-world research, examine 6,000 authentic objects (digital and physical), interact with scientists, and experiment with field techniques and laboratory technology. Q?rius follows an “agile development” model, so that offerings are refined based on real input from our key audiences. Q?rius relies on interactive, web-based technologies to connect onsite and online experiences, expand access, and personalize the content. Its digital field books, digital collections browser, badge system, and distance-learning tool are the building blocks of an infrastructure to test and improve innovative methodologies that engage learners of all ages, wherever they are. Contact: Carla Easter EasterC@si.edu

Recovering Voices Initiative

It is estimated that at least half of the world’s 7,000 languages will cease to be spoken by the end of this century. The silencing of the world’s languages—and the associated loss of traditional knowledge and culture—is universally regarded as one of the 21st century’s key global societal challenges. Fully utilizing the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives, the Human Studies Film Archives, and the vast ethnological and natural history collections at NMNH, Recovering Voices executes community-based research efforts to document, preserve, and revitalize language and knowledge. Working with Indigenous communities, particularly in the Smithsonian collections, facilitates the revitalization and documentation of many of the world’s dormant and endangered languages and assists global efforts to sustain linguistic and knowledge diversity. Through diverse outreach efforts, such as the annual Mother Tongue Film Festival, the Recovering Voices helps raise awareness about cultural and linguistic diversity. Contact: Gwyneira Isaac IsaacG@si.edu

NMNH Central and Satellite Facilities

Ancient DNA Lab

The newly-installed BioBubble ancient DNA lab, located at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD, is a 17’ by 17’ soft wall containment lab and connected ante-rooms, designed for the collection of genomic data from ancient specimens, potentially as old as 1 million years. Featuring HEPA-filtration and positive air pressure to reduce DNA contamination and built to provide next-generation sequencing (NGS) data collection capability, the ancient DNA clean lab provides researchers with a sterile facility to examine ancient molecular data from specimens ranging from mummified tissues and archaeological remains to ancient sediments and diverse museum specimens. The ancient DNA lab holds great potential to investigate critical questions related to biodiversity conservation, anthropological history, genomic evolution, and more. Contact: Logan Kistler KistlerL@si.edu

Biomedical Imaging Research Center

The Smithsonian Institution Bio-Imaging Research (SIBIR) Center is an inter-departmental and cross-disciplinary entity at NMNH that is in the Department of Anthropology. At the heart of the SIBIR center is a Siemens SOMATOM Emotion 6, a multi-slice spiral computed tomography (CT) scanner that can visualize objects of varying size, composition, and structural complexity (69 cm gantry aperture, 0.6 mm slice width). By revealing the fine interior architecture of an object without any physical damage to it, these images can be used to address critical questions in evolutionary biology, paleontology, archaeology, biological anthropology, environmental health and conservation science. The SIBIR Center also includes computer facilities for CT data processing and analysis. Contact: Sabrina Sholts SholtsS@si.edu

Biorepository

Located at the Museum Support Center (Pod 3), this cutting-edge facility is designed to provide long term care for the Museum’s frozen, non-human, biological collections. The biorepository facility has the capacity to house more than 4.2 million items at temperatures of -20˚, -80˚, or -190˚ C and primarily includes specimens from Botany, Entomology, Invertebrate Zoology, and Vertebrate Zoology. Contact: NMNHbiorepository@si.edu

Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program

Carrie Bow Cay Field Station, Belize. The Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems (CCRE) Program was formally established in 1985, although the program has its roots in a collaborative mangrove and reef research project from 1972. CCRE is dedicated to field and laboratory research in all science disciplines contributing to our knowledge of Caribbean coral reef and related ecological systems, present and past. Carrie Bow Cay, a 0.4 hectare (1 acre) sand island on top of the southern Belize barrier reef, serves as a field laboratory for scientific investigators from NMNH and co-investigators from other Smithsonian units. The facilities at Carrie Bow Cay can accommodate up to 6 scientists and staff for 1-3 weeks at a time. The laboratory building houses a wet lab with flow-through seawater, and dry lab spaces with stereo and compound microscopes and limited lab supplies. Three outboard skiffs (15-25 ft.) and full SCUBA amenities are available for use. A station manager and a cook are always on duty. Contact: Valerie Paul Paul@si.edu

Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History

The Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History holds a world-class collection of rare materials in the history of anthropology and the natural sciences, with approximately 20,000 rare books dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Opened in 2002, the facility brings together subject-specific collections previously scattered across twelve separate locations in three buildings. The Library provides cross-disciplinary strengths in the narratives and reports of early voyages of exploration and scientific expeditions (including 19th-century archival material in the Russell E. Train Africana collection), taxonomic works on plants and animals from all geographic areas, catalogues of natural history collections from the Renaissance into the modern era, and publications on field-collecting and museum-preservation techniques in the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, the Cullman Library holds the personal library of founder James Smithson, the Deshayes card file on molluscan taxonomy, and the Wheldon & Wesley (natural history booksellers) card index 1950-2000. Contact: Leslie Overstreet OverstreetL@si.edu

Laboratories of Analytical Biology

The Laboratories of Analytical Biology (LAB) serve the research community of the NMNH and other SI units in the pursuit of focused, first class science with an experienced staff, shared instrumentation, support and training. The aim of LAB is to enhance the research environment and contribute to general scientific literacy by providing current technological resources in the areas of genomics, molecular biology, bioinformatics and scientific computing. Two main facilities of the LAB comprise over 20,000 sq.-feet of laboratory, computational and office spaces. LAB provides the capability of performing a full range of comparative modern molecular methods and includes separate pre- and post-PCR facilities, next generation genome sequencers, automated DNA extractors, automated library preparation instrumentation, capillary DNA sequencing instruments, scores of PCR machines (including real-time), microfluidic separation technology for DNA, RNA and proteins, automated robotic liquid handlers, and cloning areas. Computer facilities include labs with Mac, Linux and Windows workstations, including systems with increased memory for large datasets and large screens for data visualization. Support is available from LAB, NMNH, and OCIO staff for running analyses on Smithsonian’s computing cluster. LAB provides access to molecular analytical software including licensed programs like Geneious and Sequencher. All NMNH researchers and affiliated staff, with the approval of their department chair, can request LAB access, bench space, and computer facilities and equipment. Contact: Lee Weigt WeigtL@si.edu, Amy Driskell DriskellA@si.edu

Natural History Libraries

The NMNH Library was formed as an administrative entity in 1981 and is one of 21 libraries within the Smithsonian Libraries. It consists of a main library (on the first floor and basement of the NMNH East Court) plus 13 specialized collections. We offer weekly orientations to these sciences libraries, or you can stop by the main branch at any time for a quick overview and a library card application. Most of these library collections are near corresponding departments in the NMNH building (including the Botany & Horticulture and John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology branch libraries, which, along with the main location, are staffed full time). Along with abundant collaborative workspace, including two training rooms, the main library features scholarly, highly-technical and research-oriented materials in cross-disciplinary topics within the general areas of interest to the NMNH. It contains over 120,000 items on general science, biology, ecology, evolution, biodiversity, geology, paleontology, conservation, genomics and other subjects. The library offers over 500 print and/or online journal subscriptions and a number of journals received on exchange. The NMNH main library also contains the Museum Studies Research Library (MSRL) collection. All locations have strong collections of 19th- and 20th-century scientific literature. The Smithsonian Libraries participates in sharing resources with some of the most important libraries in the nation, including the National Agricultural Library, the Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine, and the Geological Survey (USGS) Library. These libraries make the Washington, D.C. area one of the best in the country for bibliographic research. Contact: Jane Quigley QuigleyJM@si.edu

Photography and Media

Digital media is key to achieving the Smithsonian’s goal of reaching 1 billion people a year. The NMNH Office of Photography and Media directly supports this strategic initiative through digital photography of the Museum’s collections, research, exhibitions, programs, events, people, and facilities. Our professionally trained photographers have substantial experience working in a variety of photographic styles, including scientific, forensic, fine art, portrait, documentary, and candid. As well as working on location, the NMNH Photo and Media team operates two studios equipped with the latest technology and gear at the Natural History Museum building in Washington, DC, and at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD. In addition to creating new photography of NMNH subjects, NMNH Photo and Media also maintains an archive of over 200,000 digital images that we are responsible for distributing to requestors around the world. NMNH Photo and Media also offers film digitization and digital printing services to the NMNH community. Contact: James Di Loreto DiLoreto@si.edu, Kristen Quarles QuarlesK@si.edu

Scientific Imaging Laboratory

The Scientific Imaging (Scanning Electron Microscope) Lab supports the research interests and conservation efforts of NMNH scientists by providing state-of-the-art instrumentation, training, and assistance in preparing samples for microscopic study. At the heart of the Lab are the three low-vacuum-capable Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM). Each instrument has unique capabilities such as large area automated tiling, EDS elemental analysis, or extreme magnification, ensuring that virtually any sample can be studied. In addition to the electron beam instruments, the lab provides a high-quality, well-equipped compound fluorescent microscope, a stereo zoom microscope, and the free-angle, opto-digital zoom microscope. The lab also provides for the capture of spatially and colorimetrically accurate 3D models via a photogrammetry workstation and laser scanning workstations. Rounding out the facility is the micro-computed tomography (µCT) scanner with submicron spatial resolution for non-destructive 3D X-Ray imaging of samples and internal structures. Volume reconstructions and analysis is performed on high performance HP workstations running Volume Graphics 3D Studio Max software. The Scientific Imaging Lab is well-equipped to prepare samples for examination including a full wet lab with chemical fume hoods and ancillary support equipment such as a vacuum evaporator, high-resolution sputter coater, critical point dryer, freeze dryer, cut-off saws and polishers. Any NMNH researcher, with the approval of their NMNH department chair, can train to use the facility and instrumentation in support of NMNH research interests. Contact: Scott Whittaker WhittakS@si.edu, Jennifer Hill HillJJ@si.edu

Department of Anthropology

The mission of the Department of Anthropology is to study the biological and cultural diversity of humankind around the globe. Our staff members record, study, collect and preserve artifacts representative of world societies and disseminate that knowledge widely through publications, exhibits, lectures, teaching, and by providing opportunities for research and study within the department. The Department’s top priority is to address the difficult legacies of the field through working to decolonize the Anthropology collections, many of which were collected during a time of power imbalance. Repatriation to Native American tribes, international repatriation, ethical stewardship and ethical returns are all being implemented or explored as ways to address the difficult legacy of the field.

Research

Research in the Department of Anthropology encompasses the entire range of human development, from the earliest traces of our distant ancestors, more than five million years ago, to the challenges facing society today Our researchers explore the effects of humans on the environment and the impacts of the environment on humans—learning how our responses may have shaped our evolution. Our archaeologists trace environmental change in marine environments through 10,000-year-old marine shells, document the role of people in domesticating plants through the analysis of ancient DNA, explore the connections between seventeenth-century Basque whalers and the Indigenous people of Quebec. Our ethnologists work in partnership with IIndigenous communities around the world, examining the role of objects in the creation of identity and heritage, and they collaborate with communities to document their endangered languages and knowledge systems. Our biological anthropologists study historic period populations, engage in cutting-edge forensic work and seek clues to help modern populations deal with real-time issues by studying the effects of environmental pollutants on the human skeleton.

Collections

The Department of Anthropology preserves diverse collections relating to world cultures and the history of anthropological study and makes them accessible to Indigenous and other communities for a wide variety of research, education, and enrichment activities. The Anthropology collections are comprised of three main collections units: Archaeology, Ethnology and Biological Anthropology Collections; National Anthropological Archives; and Human Studies Film Archives.

Archaeology

The archaeology collections consist of 3 million objects derived primarily from Smithsonian-sponsored excavations. Much of this work has focused on North America. There are, however, significant collections from other world areas, including artifacts from the first excavations at many locations in Central and South America and rare materials from the Old World Paleolithic and Mesolithic. Among the significant archaeology collections are the Division of Mound Explorations by Cyrus Thomas in the Eastern United States (1800s); the River Basin Survey collections (1946-1969) that include prehistoric and historical materials from the Missouri River Basin and WPA surveys from the Southeastern United States; as well as the southwest archaeological materials excavated by Neil Judd from Chaco Canyon. Contact: Carrie Beauchamp beauchac@si.edu

Ethnology

The ethnology collections are comprised of over 200,000 objects representing 19th and 20th century cultures from around the globe. Exploring expedition collections document periods of early contact worldwide, while the Bureau of American Ethnology materials represent the results of large-scale, systematic collecting.. The collections include Japanese material collected by Matthew Perry in the 1850s and several thousand items from the Pacific islands assembled by the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-42. The collection is particularly strong in materials from North America, but there are also significant collections from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, Oceania, and South America. Contact: Carrie Beauchamp beauchac@si.edu

Biological Anthropology

The biological anthropology collections at NMNH consist primarily of human skeletal remains that originate from dozens of countries and span the last several millennia of human history. Many of these remains have been used by researchers for a broad range of studies in biological anthropology and forensic science, resulting in hundreds of theses, dissertations, scientific articles, and monographs, as well as the resolution of casework and professional training in these fields. The human remains that make up these collections were mostly acquired by the NMNH through archaeological excavations during the 20th century. Others came to the NMNH through additional means, such as forensic investigations. Contact: Sabrina Sholts SholtsS@si.edu

Research on human remains in the biological anthropology collections occurs through a process of internal approval, with strict adherence to current ethical guidelines including consultation with and permission from descendant communities as appropriate. Not all the human remains at NMNH are available for scientific study, however, and research access is restricted for those that are subject to repatriation or under interval review. Contact: Carrie Beauchamp beauchac@si.edu

National Anthropological Archives

The National Anthropological Archives collects and preserves historical and contemporary anthropological materials that document the world’s cultures and the history of the discipline. Its collections represent the four fields of anthropology—ethnology, linguistics, archaeology, and biological anthropology—and include manuscripts, field notes, correspondence, photographs, maps, sound recordings, film, and video created by Smithsonian anthropologists and other preeminent scholars. The collections include the Smithsonian’s earliest attempts to document North American Indian cultures and the research reports and records of the Bureau of American Ethnology (1879-1964), the U.S. National Museum’s Division of Ethnology, its Division of Biological Anthropology, and River Basin Survey archaeology.

The NAA also maintains the records of the Smithsonian’s Department of Anthropology and of dozens of professional organizations, such as the American Anthropological Association, the American Ethnological Society, and the Society for American Archaeology. Among the earliest ethnographic collections are the diaries of John Wesley Powell, which recount his exploration of the Colorado and study of the region’s Indians, and the pictographic histories of Plains Indians collected by U.S. military officers and BAE ethnographers. Other significant manuscript collections include the ethnographic and linguistic research of Franz Boas, Frances Densmore, Albert S. Gatschet, John Peabody Harrington, and J.N.B. Hewitt, as well as the expedition logs, photographs, and film record produced on Matthew Stirling’s explorations in New Guinea (1926-29). The Smithsonian’s broad collection policy and support of anthropological research for over 150 years have made the NAA and HSFA unparalleled resources for scholars interested in the cultures of North America, Latin America, Oceania, Africa, Asia and Europe. Although North American materials remain one of the collection’s strengths, for the past 40 years the NAA has collected and preserved anthropological materials that document cultures from around the world.

All told, the archives curates 17,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 1,000,000 ethnological and archaeological photographs (including some of the earliest images of Indigenous people worldwide), 21,000 works of native art (mainly North American, Asian, and Oceanic), and 5,000 sound recordings. Contact: NAA@si.edu.

Human Studies Film Archives

The Human Studies Film Archives was established in 1981 to collect, preserve, and make available for research use anthropological film and video records. The collection includes historic and contemporary, both edited and unedited, black-and-white, color, silent and sound film, and video documents from around the world. The growing collection totals approximately 34,000 holdings including 15,000 rolls of original and preservation film (totaling over 8 million feet), 5,500 rolls of reference film, over 10,000 sound recordings and 3,200 videocassettes. These audiovisual records were created by a diverse group of people including anthropologists, archaeologists, Peace Corps volunteers, missionaries, teachers, travelers, and commercial and independent filmmakers. Supplementary materials such as annotations, sound recordings, field notes, photographs, and dissertations, accompany many of the film projects. An active preservation program ensures that the Film Archives’ moving image records are safe-guarded from format obsolescence and age-related deterioration and degradation. Contact: HSFA@si.edu

Facilities

The Department of Anthropology maintains conservation laboratories and a collection processing laboratory. The Department has advanced x-ray equipment including a Siemens Somatom CT scanner. The CT scanner is used extensively to study objects in a nondestructive and noninvasive manner. Recently studied objects and specimens include human skeletal remains, mummies, ethnographic objects, forensic objects, and archaeological items. The CT scanner is available to other departments and organizations within the Smithsonian and collaborations related to scanner use include institutions worldwide. Fieldwork equipment includes Ashtec/Magellan GPS (Global Positioning Sys-tem), Topcom electronic total station, and Geonics electromagnetic equipment. Use of the CT scanner and surveying equipment may be offered to researchers and advanced students when available.

Fieldwork

Department of Anthropology scientific staff members conduct extensive field research throughout the world including archaeological, ethnological, linguistic, and biological anthropological research on a global level. in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, Greenland, Greece, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Mali, Mexico, and Polynesia, Peru, as well as in various parts of the United States, including California’s Channel Islands and the Chesapeake Bay.

Publications

Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, the encyclopedic Handbook of North American Indians, the Arctic Studies Newsletter and Contribution to Circumpolar Anthropology.

Education and Outreach

Anthropology Department staff engage in outreach and education with community-based archaeology programs for at-risk Indigenous students in Labrador, in providing forensic expertise to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, in hosting interns and fellows, in giving public lectures, and in working with Native American tribes in various parts of North America. Each summer the Department also hosts the Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA), a research training program for anthropology graduate students to gain hands-on experience and learn broader and more effective uses of museum collections in anthropological research.

Libraries

The Anthropology Library, officially known as the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology, consists of approximately 85,000 volumes, including more than 400 serials, a large amount of microfilm, and smaller collections of CDs, audiocassettes, etc. The core of the collection is the library of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) established by Congress in 1879 within the Smithsonian to conduct “anthropologic researches among the North American Indians”. In 1965, when the BAE was abolished, its library was joined with those of the NMNH Anthropology divisions.

The coverage of today’s library collection is broad, including all four subfields of American anthropology, and is research-oriented with an emphasis on material culture. Holdings are especially strong in Native American culture, history, and linguistics for all of North America and the Arctic Rim, with additional materials focusing on Indigenous cultural development in Central and South America. The history of anthropology, especially during its early years in the United States, is also well represented. The last several decades have seen significant growth in Asian cultural history. A diverse body of literature supports research in biological anthropology, especially in skeletal biology, paleopathology, forensics, human origins, and human variation and biocultural adaptation. In addition, the Anthropology Library has research materials on the Near East, Oceania, Africa and the New World diaspora.

Programs and Partnerships

Arctic Studies Center

The Arctic Studies Center (ASC) was organized in 1988 to establish programs in Arctic and Subarctic anthropology, archaeology and biology. The ASC explores cultures, history and environments of the northern part of the globe, and conducts research throughout the circumpolar region. ASC anthropologists specialize in archaeology, ethnology, ethnohistory and aspects of human-environmental interactions from the Ice Age to modern times. The ASC also investigates modern processes of culture contact and transformation from the perspectives of history, contemporary affairs, demography, geography and ecology. Contact: William W. Fitzhugh Fitzhugh@si.edu

Arctic Studies Center – Alaska Office

In 1993, a branch office of the Arctic Studies Program was opened at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art in Anchorage, AK. The NMNH cares for many thousands of items that represent the cultural heritage of Alaska’s diverse Native peoples, including clothing, tools, basketry, carvings and ceremonial art. The Alaska Office was opened to make these resources more accessible to Alaskan scholars, artists, educators, students, and the general public. In addition to exhibitions and field studies, the Alaska office works with the University of Alaska and with Alaskan museums and culture centers to offer lectures, workshops and courses in cultural research and museum skills. Contact: Aron L. Crowell CrowellA@si.edu

Human Origins Program

The Human Origins Program was established in 1985 to investigate the evolution, paleoecology, and behavior of early humans. The program is based on field excavation of hominin sites in Africa and Asia, and seeks to test the effects of ancient environmental variation on hominin activities and geographic distribution. Through international collaboration, data on paleontological and archaeological sites worldwide are brought together to better understand the ecological factors involved in human evolution. An excellent collection of hominid fossil casts and Paleolithic artifacts are maintained for study. Contact: Richard Potts PottsR@si.edu

Repatriation Office

The Repatriation Office was established in 1991 in response to the National Museum of the American Indian Act. This legislation mandates that the Smithsonian inventories its Native American and Hawaiian collections for human remains, including certain categories of objects, and return them to culturally affiliated groups. Staff members document the physical remains and objects in order to assess their origin, identity and affiliation, and provide recommendations for action. An amendment to the NMAI Act in 1996 broadened the repatriation mandate to include sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony (as defined in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act passed in 1990). Much of the Native American material now held by the museum was collected as a part of archaeological excavations or anthropological expeditions around the U.S. Remains and objects were also transferred to the Smithsonian from other institutions, including the former U.S. Army Medical Museum. A small number of human remains were collected by private individuals, and large numbers of ethnographic objects were acquired from Native people throughout the 19th and 20th centuries by private collectors and Smithsonian anthropologists. To date, over 6,000 sets of remains have been offered for repatriation, and of these 4,400 have been repatriated. Contact: Eric Hollinger HollingerE@si.edu and Dorothy Lippert Lippertd@si.edu. 

Research Staff

Bell, Joshua A., Curator of Globalization and Director, Recovering Voices Program. B.A. (1992) Brown University; M.Phil (1998), D.Phil (2006) Oxford University. Research specialties: shifting local and global network of relationships between persons, artifacts and the environment; materiality, transforming political economies and ecologies, cultural and intellectual property, indigenous knowledge systems, history and the role of objects. Contact: BellJA@si.edu

Fitzhugh, William W., Senior Scientist, Curator of North American Archaeology and Director, Arctic Studies Center; B.A. (1964) Dartmouth College; M.A. (1967), Ph.D. (1970) Harvard University. Research specialties: Archeology and ethnology of northern Canada and United States, circumpolar regions, and Mongolia; Arctic material culture; Arctic social science policy; cultural ecology of the North; ethnographic and prehistoric maritime adaptations; culture and climatology. Contact: Fitzhugh@si.edu

Isaac, Gwyneira, Curator of North American Indigenous Culture. BFA (1990) University of Michigan; M.Phil (1995) Oxford University; Ph.D. (2000) Oxford University. Research specialties: Anthropology, Zuni and Southwest Pueblos, knowledge systems, material culture, photography. Contact: IsaacG@si.edu

Kistler, Logan, Curator of Archaeobotany and Archaeogenomics. B.A. (2007) University of Kentucky, M.A. (2009) and Ph.D. (2012) Pennsylvania State University. Research specialties: Ancient DNA; genomics; plant domestication; evolutionary ecology; environmental archaeology; human-environment interactions; molecular anthropology; archaeogenomics. Contact: KistlerL@si.edu

Krupnik, Igor I., Chair of Anthropology and Curator of Circumpolar Ethnology. M.A. (1973) University of Moscow; Ph.D. (1977) Moscow Institute of Ethnography; Ph.D. (1990) Institute of Ecology and Morphology, Moscow. Research specialties: Arctic ethnology, indigenous knowledge, social systems, modern cultures; Arctic environment and climate change; cultural heritage and heritage preservation; history of Arctic/North Pacific ethnological research. Contact: KrupnikI@si.edu

Owsley, Douglas W., Curator of Biological Anthropology. B.A. (1973) University of Wyoming; M.A. (1975), Ph.D. (1978) University of Tennessee. Research specialties: skeletal biology; forensic anthropology; historic populations in North America; North American Plains Indians; Polynesia. Contact: OwsleyD@si.edu

Potts, Richard, Curator of Biological Anthropology, Peter Buck Chair of Human Origins Director. B.A. (1975) Temple University; Ph.D. (1982) Harvard University. Research specialties: Paleoecology and evolution of early hominids; excavation and analysis of hominid sites (late Miocene through Pleistocene). Contact: PottsR@si.edu

Rick, Torben, Curator of North American Archaeology. B.A. (1997) University of California, Santa Barbara; M.S. (1999) University of Oregon; Ph.D. (2004) University of Oregon. Research specialties: Interactions of ancient people with coastal and terrestrial ecosystems. Contact: RickT@si.edu

Sholts, Sabrina, Curator of Biological Anthropology.  B.A. (2003)  University of Chicago; M.A. (2005) University of Chicago; M.A. (2008) University of California, Santa Barbara; Ph.D. (2010) University of California, Santa Barbara. Research specialties:  Integrative approaches with human ecology, biochemistry, and toxicology and in particular, the effects of environmental pollutants on human skeletal morphology. Contact: SholtsS@si.edu

Taylor, Paul Michael, Curator of European, Near Eastern, and Asian Ethnology. B.A. (1975) University of California; M.Phil. (1977), Ph.D. (1980) Yale University. Research specialties: Cultural anthropology and linguistics of Southeast Asia; ethnobiology; kinship and social organization; art and material culture; ecological anthropology; ethnography and languages of Indonesia, especially Maluku and Irian Jaya; digital museums. Contact: TaylorP@si.edu

Affiliated Research Staff

Arnoldi, Mary Jo, Curator of African Ethnology Emerita. B.F.A. (1970) Bowling Green State University; M.A. (1975) Michigan State University; Ph.D. (1983) Indiana University. Research specialties: African ethnography with emphasis on visual, material, and performing arts; post-colonial public culture, museum history and museology. Contact: ArnoldiM@si.edu

Billeck, William, Research Associate. B.A. (1976) Queens College; M.S. (1980) University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Ph.D. (1993) University of Missouri. Research specialties: Repatriation, North American Archaeology, Historic Archaeology, Glass Trade Bead Studies. Contact: BilleckB@si.edu

Bishop, Ronald, Curator of Mexican and Central American Archaeology Emeritus. B.A. (1965) San Francisco State University; Ph.D. (1975) Southern Illinois University. Research specialties: Archaeology of Meso and Central America; ancient materials characterization; exchange systems; quantitative methods. Contact: BishopR@si.edu

Burgess, Laurie, Research Associate. B.A. (1985) Pennsylvania State University; M.A. (1999) University of Maryland, College Park. Research Specialty: historical archaeology of North America, material culture and glass trade bead research. Contact: BurgessL@si.edu

Crowell, Aron, Alaska Director, Arctic Studies Center. M.A. (1988) George Washington University; Ph.D. (1994) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Arctic archaeology and anthropology, museum anthropology. Contact: CrowellA@si.edu

Emmelhainz, Celia. Supervisory Research Anthropologist, National Anthropological Archives. B.A. (2005) Ohio Dominican; M.A. (2011) Texas A&M University; MLIS (2014) Kent State University. Research specialties: cultural anthropology; ethnography of Post-Soviet Eurasia; data archiving; circulation of people and ideas; knowledge and naming structures; intersections between libraries, archives, and museums. Contact: EmmelhainzC@si.edu

Goddard, Ives, Senior Linguist Emeritus. A.B. (1963) Harvard College; Ph.D. (1969) Harvard University. Research specialties: Linguistics and North America; general linguistics including descriptive, historical, and theoretical; textual analysis, discourse, philology; Algonquian linguistics and ethnohistory. Contact: GoddardI@si.edu

Greene, Candace S., Research Associate. B.A. (1971) University of Texas; M.A. (1976) Brown University, Ph.D. (1985) University of Oklahoma. Research specialties: Native North American art, material culture, and ethnology, especially Plains Indian drawings; museum anthropology; issues in collection-based research. Contact: GreeneC@si.edu

Homiak, John P., Research Associate. B.A. (1969) Franklin and Marshall College; M.A. (1975) U.S. International University; Ph.D. (1985) Brandeis University. Research specialties: Caribbean ethnology, diaspora studies, Rastafari, visual anthropology and ethnographic film. Contact: HomiakJ@si.edu

Loring, Stephen, Arctic Archaeologist. B.A. (1973) Goddard College; M.A. (1984), Ph.D. (1991) University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Research specialties: Arctic and sub-Arctic ethnohistory and archaeology; Labrador; public policy in the circumpolar north; repatriation philosophy, community archaeology, indigenous property rights. Contact: LoringS@si.edu

Pobiner, Briana, Research Scientist and Education Specialist. B.A. (1997) Bryn Mawr College; M.A. (2002), Ph.D. (2007) Rutgers University. Research specialties: hominin-carnivore interactions. Contact: PobinerB@si.edu

Piperno, Dolores R., Senior Scientist Emeritus, Archaeology and Archaeobiology. B.A. (1971) Rutgers University; M.A. (1979), Ph.D. (1983) Temple University. Research specialties: Tropical archaeology, archaeobotany, and paleoecology; agricultural origins; prehistoric human ecology. Contact: PipernoD@si.edu

Rogers, J. Daniel, Curator of North American Archaeology Emeritus. B.A. (1976); M.A. (1982) University of Oklahoma; Ph.D. (1987) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Great Plains, Southeastern U.S., Mexico, Mongolia archaeology and ethnohistory, development of empires, culture contact. Contact: RogersD@si.edu

Ubelaker, Douglas H., Senior Scientist and Curator of Biological Anthropology. B.A. (1968), Ph.D. (1973) University of Kansas. Research specialties: New World human skeletal biology; and forensic anthropology. Contact: UbelakeD@si.edu

Department of Entomology

The mission of the Department of Entomology is to describe and understand the phylogenetic and biological diversity of insects and other terrestrial arthropods through global field and laboratory research, to care for and improve the world’s largest accessible and most comprehensive terrestrial arthropod collection, and to disseminate these discoveries. The Department consists of staff from four government agencies: the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Systematic Entomology Laboratory (SEL), Department of Agriculture, National Identification Services, APHIS-PPQ and the U.S. Department of Defense, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (WRBU). This combined community represents, by far, the greatest concentration of entomological expertise in the world.

Research

Research in the Department of Entomology is primarily collections-based and focused on systematics in the broadest sense, including basic taxonomy, comparative morphology, and life history of insects, as well as evolutionary and population biology, phylogenetics and phylogenomics, biogeography, biodiversity, ecology, behavior, comparative genomics, and molecular genetic studies.

Collections

The U.S. National Entomological Collection at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) ranks as probably the largest accessible insect collection in the world with approximately 34 million specimens including over 120,000 primary types plus secondary types. With specimens from worldwide locations, the collections are second to none in coverage for the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. Specimens from the Old World are also well represented, especially from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, China, and Papua New Guinea. Although the bulk of the collection is kept dry, various groups—such as spiders, adult aquatic insects, and insect larvae—are stored in ethanol. There is also an extensive slide collection of aphids, scales, mealybugs, and thrips. The collections are typically arranged taxonomically. Lower taxonomic levels (family, genus, species) are generally arranged alphabetically, and for select orders, e.g. Lepidoptera, further organized by country of origin. For some groups, collections are currently housed off-site as part of the collaborative Off-Site Enhancement Program with other institutions. All families have been recently profiled by storage unit (drawer, jar, slide box) as to their curatorial health. There is an ever expanding image library being built for many groups, especially for the primary type specimens. The collections are supplemented by the Entomological Illustration Archives, totaling over 10,000 illustrations created to support the research publications of Department entomologists and to be available to the external scientific and public communities, as well as the Entomology Original Documents Archives, which are important correspondence, field notes, unpublished research, etc., that are directly tied to specimens in the collection.

The collections include a very large ectoparasite collection, worldwide in coverage and with important medical and veterinary entomology components: the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) collections of Anoplura and Siphonaptera; the Carriker collection of Mallophaga (containing 650 type specimens of Neotropical species); the K.C. Emerson collection of Mallophaga; the Jellison collection of ectoparasites; the Dalgleish lice collection (including many primary types); and projects sampling mammals in Panama, Venezuela, and Africa have produced large additions to the ectoparasite collections. Contact: Floyd Shockley ShockleyF@si.edu

Arachnid Collections – mites, ticks, spiders

Among the arachnid collections, the largest and most significant is the Acari (mite) Collection, currently housed at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Maryland. It is the finest in existence for mites parasitizing humans, animals and plants. The collection includes over 332,000 slides, 14,000 vials and 1,925 primary types. Some of the most important type components include: the collection of H.E. Ewing and I. M. Newell; nearly complete collection of E.W. Baker, C. E. Yunker and A.P. Jacot; important specimens of N. Banks; and type specimens representing all of the new species described by A. Fain from the Congo. The myriapod holdings rate second only to the Acarina, with special strength in New World specimens. The collection contains nearly all of the types of C.H. Bollman, R.V. Chamberlin, O.F. Cook, R.E. Crabill, R.L. Hoffman, H.F. Loomis, and J. McNeill. The Tick Collection (1 million) was acquired by F.C. Bishopp and later combined with the collection of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory of the National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MO, and contains 222 holotypes (26% of the know species in the world). The Tick collection is housed off-site (Georgia Southern University) through the cooperative Off-site Enhancement Program. The Spider Collection counts over 200,000 specimens, mostly from the New World, and has over 300 types. Notable collectors include: N. Banks, R.V. Chamberlin, H. Exline, I. Fox, E.V. Keyserling, G. Marx, A. Petrunkevitch, and E. Simon.

Coleoptera Collections – beetles, weevils

The Coleoptera Collection, numbering about 12 million specimens including 26,000 types, includes adult and immature beetles and is the largest accessible beetle collection in the New World. The NMNH Coleoptera holdings include the historic T.L. Casey Collection, comprised of almost 117,000 specimens representing over 20,000 species, including 9,200 types. Other important material comes from the historic collections of G.H. Dieke and R. Korschefsky (Coccinellidae); F. Monros, D. Blake, I. Lopatin (Chrysomelidae); J.D. Sherman (aquatic Coleoptera); F.F. Tippman (Cerambycidae); O.L. Cartwright (Scarabaeidae and Cicindelinae); and P. Spangler (aquatic Coleoptera). SI and USDA-SEL staff have added significant specimens, including well over 5 million specimens collected from the canopy of Neotropical rain-forests by T. L. Erwin. The collection of beetle larvae and pupae, acquired through the efforts of A.G. Boving, is worldwide in representation and one of the largest in existence. Most Scarabaeidae are housed at the University of Nebraska, State Museum through a cooperative Off-site Enhancement Program. In 2009 the S. L. Wood Bark Beetle collection of over 80,000 specimens, including about 1,200 primary types, was added.

Diptera Collections – flies, mosquitoes

The collections of Diptera rank among the most extensive in the world, with more than 53,000 species, 3.2 Million pinned specimens, 600,000 slide-mounted specimens, 3,238 jars of vials of specimens in alcohol, and some 26,000 primary type specimens. Several large acquisitions, such as the collections of C.P. Alexander (1,600,000 specimens in 1981), P.H. Arnaud, Jr. (700,000 in 2000), A.L. Melander (250,000 in 1961), J.N. Belkin (250,000 in 1980), S.W. Bromley (35,000 in 1955), A.E. Pritchard (27,000 in 1962), J.P. Duret (14,000 in 1990), L.E. Rozeboom (12,000 in 1998) as well as the collections of C.H.T. Townsend (Oestroidea), R.H. Painter (Bombyliidae) and C.F. Baker (1928, Philippine Diptera) greatly expanded coverage and added a considerable number of specimens. The collection is part of active research globally and holds important collections, especially in Tipulidae, Culicidae, Cecidomyiidae, Stratiomyidae, Bombyliidae, Asilidae, Empididae, Syrphidae, Tephritidae, Chloropidae, Sciomyzidae, Lauxaniidae, Coelopidae, Aulacigastridae, Canacidae, Ephydridae, Tachinidae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, and Calliphoridae. The Department serves as the world center for mosquito research through study by WRBU, who have described well over 100 new species of mosquitoes. The Mosquito Collection counts more than 750,000 pinned specimens including 1,200 primary types located at the MSC in Suitland, MD. The Bombyliidae, Pipunculidae, and Lauxanoidea are currently taken care of by other researchers in the Off-site Collection Enhancement Program (Bishop Museum, Canadian National Collection, and California Department of Food and Agriculture, respectively).

Hemiptera Collections – true bugs, cicadas, aphids, whiteflies, psyllids

The Hemiptera Collection (Heteroptera plus Homoptera) is the largest in the world and is located at the NMNH (NHB and MSC) and at BARC (USDA). Although New World holdings predominate, the Old World holdings are rapidly expanding. The collection incorporates many important private collections including: A.C. Baker, H.G. Barber, C.K. Brian, T.D.A. Cockerell, C.J. Drake (including the H. Hacker, M.S. Pennington, C.E. Reed collections), A. Fitch, W.D. Funkhouser, F.W. Goding, H.M. Harris, F.C. Hottes, H.H. Knight, N.A. Kormilev, W.L. McAtee, T. Pergande, P.R. Uhler, R. A. Poisson, and, more recently, the J.T. Polhemus collection of aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera, the J. Maldonado collection of Miridae and Reduviidae, a large part of the R. M. Baranowski collection of Lygaeoidea and the W. Ullrich collection. The Whitefly Collection (Aleyrodidae) is one of the world’s best collections, with over 32,500 microscope slide-mounts representing more than 1,100 species, and an extensive collection of dry preserved material. The collection includes more than 300 primary types. The Psyllid Collection includes both pinned (more than 20,000) and slide-mounted (more than 5,000) specimens which include more than 300 primary types. The Aphidoidea Collection contains more than 90,000 slides representing over 2,400 species. The subset Aphid Collection contains primary type material for 747 species which includes 1,380 primary type slides. The Coccoidea Collection (scale insects) consists of over 146,000 slides and has more than 280 primary types as well as a large collection of unmounted dry material containing several million specimens.

Hymenoptera Collections – ants, bees, wasps

The Hymenoptera collection numbers over 4 million specimens, mostly from the Western Hemisphere but with increasing representation from Africa and Asia. Currently, over 15,700 primary types are deposited here. The Hymenoptera collection contains about 95% of described hymenopteran families and about 75% of described genera. Notable collectors include W. Brodie, A. W. Stelfox, D.R. Smith, M.R. Smith, W.M. Mann, T. Pergande, and W. Ashmead, but a more comprehensive list can be found in the 1976 “The United States National Entomological Collections.” Recent notable acquisitions include the collections of M. Wing (ants), M. Talbot (ants), A. Van Pelt (ants, general), J.F. Watkins (army ants), R. Copeland (African Hymenoptera), and J. Shorthouse (rose gall wasps and their parasitoids), as well as large numbers of specimens generated by the coordinated field work of the current cohort of research entomologists. Currently the most actively researched groups are the Aculeata (ants, bees, stinging wasps), Symphyta (sawflies), Ichneumonoidea, and Proctotrupomorpha.

Isoptera, Orthoptera, Thysanoptera Collections – termites, grasshoppers & crickets, thrips

The Termite (Isoptera) Collection has 240,000 specimens and is the second largest in the world, including 1,150 of the known 2,000 species, and 943 types. The Grasshoppers, Katydids, Crickets (Orthoptera) have about 400,000 specimens—perhaps the 3rd largest collection in the world, about 3,000 species, and with 793 types. The Thrips (Thysanoptera) have 108,722 slides, and 1,118 types. These collections are located at the MSC in Maryland.

Lepidoptera Collections – butterflies, moths

The Lepidoptera Collection has 2.9 million pinned and labeled specimens, including about 25,000 primary types. There are about 3,000 alcohol jars with immature stages. The collection has the most complete representation of both larvae (123,000 specimens) and adults in the Western Hemisphere. Included are about 100,000 microscope slides, mainly of moth genitalia. The collection is particularly rich in Nearctic and Neotropical species as well as Palearctic material for most families. The Microlepidoptera collection contains excellent coverage of Far Eastern species. Important holdings include: W. Barnes (450,000 pinned specimens), A. Blanchard (60,000), A.E. Brower (115,000), P. Dognin (50,000), D.C. Ferguson (50,000), M. Gentili (12,000), S. Issiki (16,000), E. Jackh (55,000), F. M. Jones (10,000), A. Kawabe (22,000), S. Nicolay (100,000), J. Robert (40,000), and G. B. Small (25,000). Other important Insecta order holdings include Trichoptera, Plecoptera, Neuroptera, Mecoptera, Odonata.

Facilities

Both dry and wet collections are housed in new, airtight, pest-proof, metal specimen cabinets, about half of which are on electric compactors. The collections are enhanced by specially constructed alcohol (wet collection) storage rooms and facilities for housing reprint libraries. Modern chemical storage facilities, equipment and supplies are stored in compactor systems, walk-in and reach-in freezers, critical point dryers, and ventilated sorting center all support state-of-the-art collections care. The Department has state-of-the-art digital photographic stations for use by staff, researchers and visitors. The Entomology Molecular Systematics Laboratory, a shared facility managed by WRBU at the Museum Support Center, is also available for research investigations, in addition to the molecular facilities of the Smithsonian’s Laboratory of Analytical Biology.

Fieldwork

Field studies are conducted in many parts of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, the Asia-Pacific region, and, to a lesser extent, in Europe, Africa, and Australia. Museum entomologists currently participate in long-term biodiversity survey projects in Costa Rica (Arthropods of La Selva), Dominican Republic, Leaf Litter Arthropods of Mesoamerica, Peru, Guyana, Papua New Guinea, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Kenya, among others. Past and present major projects in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Peru, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea have yielded millions of specimens for research. A series of canopy-fogging projects in Central and South America, initiated in 1974, has produced nearly 9 million specimens.

Publications

Members of the Department traditionally serve as officers of the Entomological Society of Washington, which publishes the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington and the Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Washington. Departmental staff also serve as editors of the Journal of the International Society of Hymenopterists, Insect Conservation and Diversity, ZooKeys, etc., as well as on editorial boards of many other journals around the world.

Education and Outreach

The Department of Entomology has a proven history of training postdoctoral researchers as well as graduate and undergraduate students with special partnerships through the Smithsonian-USDA-University of Maryland MCSE (Maryland Center for Systematic Entomology) program. Members of the Department participate in Bioblitzes locally and elsewhere in the country.

Library

The Entomology Library contains over 23,000 volumes, including 120 journal subscriptions on insect systematics, ecology, behavior, and related areas. The collection is especially rich in the areas of taxonomy and anatomy of insects and related arthropods, especially arachnids.

Programs and Partnerships

Maryland Center for Systematic Entomology (MCSE)

Founded in 1981, the MCSE is a consortium for research and training in the systematics of insects and allied groups. Graduate students are enrolled in the Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, with a Smithsonian or USDA-SEL scientist as co-advisor. Research focus includes tropical biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, behavior, molecular systematics, and systematic methods, in addition to the systematics and biogeography of virtually all the major groups of terrestrial arthropods. Contact: Ted Schultz SchultzT@si.edu

Research Staff

Brady, Seán G., Chair of Entomology, Research Entomologist and Curator of Hymenoptera. B.A. (1990) California Polytechnic University, Pomona; M.A. (1993) California State University, Fullerton; Ph.D. (2002) University of California, Davis. Research specialties: Phylogenomics, systematics, evolution, biogeography, and comparative genomics of aculeate Hymenoptera (bees, ants, stinging wasps); phylogenetic methodology; social insect biology; evolution of pollinators. Contact: BradyS@si.edu

Coddington, Jonathan A., Senior Research Entomologist and Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda. B.A. (1975) Yale; M.A. (1978), Ph.D. (1984) Harvard University. Research specialties: Systematics and behavior of spiders; species richness estimation; theory and design of biological inventories.  Genomics and curation of genomic collections. Contact: Coddington@si.edu

Dikow, Torsten, Research Entomologist and Curator of Diptera. M.S. (2002) Universitaet Rostock, Germany; Ph.D. (2007) Cornell University. Research specialties: Phylogeny of asiloid flies (Apioceridae, Asilidae, Mydidae) and Diptera in general using morphological and molecular evidence; revisionary taxonomy applying cybertaxonomic tools; application of specimen occurrence data to biodiversity studies; theory and methods of phylogenetic analysis. Contact: DikowT@si.edu

Miller, Scott E., Senior Research Entomologist and Curator of Lepidoptera. B.A. (1981) University of California, Santa Barbara; Ph.D. (1986) Harvard University. Research specialties: Systematics of Lepidoptera (moths); biogeography of Pacific Basin, New Guinea, and Africa; plant-insect community ecology. Contact: MillerS@si.edu

Robbins, Robert K., Research Entomologist and Curator of Lepidoptera. B.A. (1969) Brown University; Ph.D. (1978) Tufts University. Research specialties: Systematics of Lycaenidae, evolutionary biology of butterflies, patterns of butterfly diversity. Contact: RobbinsR@si.edu

Schultz, Ted R., Research Entomologist and Curator of Hymenoptera. B.A. (1988) University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D. (1995) Cornell University. Research specialties: Evolution and systematics of ants, especially the fungus-growing ants (subtribe Attina, tribe Attini, subfamily Myrmicinae); phylogenetics of fungus-farming ants and their cultivated fungi; symbiotic evolution and coevolution; the evolution of agriculture; phylogenetic theory and practice. Contact: SchultzT@si.edu

Wood, Hannah M., Research Entomologist and Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda. B.A. (1999) University of California, Berkeley; M.A. (2005) San Francisco State University; Ph.D. (2011) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Systematics and phylogenetics of palpimanoid spiders, functional morphology, trait evolution, biogeography. Contact: WoodH@si.edu

Affiliated Research Staff

Buffington, Matthew, Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.S. (1997) University of California, Riverside; M.S. (2000) Texas A&M; Ph.D. (2005) University of California, Riverside. Research specialties: Systematics of parasitic Hymenoptera, specifically the Cynipoidea, Proctotrupoidea and Platygastroidea; molecular systematics; digital imaging techniques involving small insects. Contact: Matt.Buffington@ars.usda.gov

Burns, John M., Curator of Lepidoptera Emeritus. A.B. (1954) Johns Hopkins University; M.A. (1957), Ph.D. (1961) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Systematics and evolutionary biology of butterflies (chiefly skippers, Hesperiidae) at and around the species level, with special attention to genitalia, foodplants, and DNA barcodes; biological poetry. Contact: BurnsJ@si.edu

Chamorro, Lourdes, Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.S. (1998) Ohio State University; Ph.D. (2009) University of Minnesota, St. Paul. Research specialties: Systematics of Curculionoidea, specifically Dryophthorinae (palm weevils) and Eustylini (Entiminae) (broad nose weevils). Contact: Lourdes.Chamorro@ars.usda.gov

Davis, Donald R., Curator of Lepidoptera Emeritus. B.A. (1956) University of Kansas; Ph.D. (1962) Cornell University. Research specialties: Systematics and phylogeny of the basal families of Lepidoptera including the superfamilies Tineoidea and Gracillarioidea; biology of leaf-mining and cave-dwelling moths. Contact: DavisD@si.edu

Gates, Michael W., Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.A. (1992) Hendrix College; M.S. (1995) Oklahoma State University; Ph.D. (2000) University of California, Riverside. Research specialties: Taxonomy and systematics of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera), especially Eurytomidae and Eulophidae; collecting techniques, rearing and diversity of Chalcidoidea; digital imaging and image databasing. Contact: Michael.Gates@ars.usda.gov

Goldstein, Paul Z., Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.A. (1991) Harvard University; Ph.D. (1999) University of Connecticut. Research specialties: Phylogenetic systematics, life history evolution, and host plant associations of moths, especially Noctuoidea; faunal change and comparative faunistics; phylogenetic theory, molecular systematics, and species diagnostic tools. Contact: Paul.Goldstein@ars.usda.gov

Henry, Thomas J., Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.A. (1971) Purdue University; M.S. (1980) Pennsylvania State University; Ph.D. (1995) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Systematics of Heteroptera (Hemiptera), especially Berytidae and Miridae. Contact: Thomas.Henry@ars.usda.gov

Konstantinov, Alexander S., Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. M.A. (1981) Byelorussian State University; Ph.D. (1988) Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg. Research specialties: Systematics, comparative morphology, biogeography, and host plants relationships of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) with particular emphasis on flea beetles, worldwide.  Contact: Alex.Konstantinov@ars.usda.gov

Kula, Robert, Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.S. (1998) Peru State College; M.S. (2001) Texas A&M University; Ph.D. (2006) Kansas State University. Research specialties: Systematics of Ichneumonoidea, particularly parasitoids of cyclorrhaphous flies. Contact: Robert.Kula@ars.usda.gov

Linton, Yvonne-Marie, Research Entomologist.  B.S. Zoology (1995) University of Aberdeen, Scotland; Ph.D. (1999) University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Research specialties: Phylogenetics, integrated systematics, biogeography, evolution, bionomics and vector incrimination of global Culicidae (mosquitoes), sand flies and ticks; DNA barcoding; bio- and xeno-surveillance for novel and emerging pathogens of human interest. Contact: LintonY@si.edu

McKamey, Stuart H., Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.S. (1985) University of California, Berkeley; M.S. (1989) North Carolina State University; Ph.D. (1994) University of Connecticut. Re-search specialties: Biosystematics of Auchenorrhyncha, principally Membracoidea (leafhoppers and treehoppers). Contact: Stuart.McKamey@ars.udsa.gov

Metz, Mark A., Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.S. (1988) UCLA; M.S. (1995) California State University, Northridge; Ph.D. (2002) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Research specialties: Evolutionary biology, systematics, and comparative morphology of Microlepidoptera; computer and information systems and quantitative methodologies in biology. Contact: Mark.Metz@ars.usda.gov

Norrbom, Allen L., Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.A. (1980) Drexel University; M.S. (1983), Ph.D. (1985) Pennsylvania State University. Research specialties: Systematics (taxonomy, nomenclature, identification) and natural history of true fruit flies (Insecta: Diptera: Tephritidae) and related families. Contact: Allen.Norrbom@ars.usda.gov

Solis, M. Alma, Research Entomologist, Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS-USDA. B.A. (1978), M.A. (1982) University of Texas, Austin; Ph.D. (1989) University of Maryland. Research specialties: Systematics of snout moths (Pyraloidea); Pyraloidea of Neotropical areas, particularly Costa Rica. Contact: Alma.Solis@ars.usda.gov

Department of Mineral Sciences

The mission of the Department of Mineral Sciences is to seek answers to questions about the origin of the solar system, planetary differentiation, the debate about possible traces of ancient extraterrestrial life, insights into crustal and mantle processes that are linked to understanding volcanism, earthquakes and plate tectonics and improve knowledge of interactions of minerals with the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

Research

Broad, long-term research now underway in the Department of Mineral Sciences includes studies of rocks dredged and drilled from the deep oceans; field and laboratory investigations of active volcanoes; systematic investigations of major mineral groups, including crystallographic and structural examination; analysis of global volcanic patterns for the past 10,000 years; chemical and mineralogical and physical analysis of meteorites; geochemistry of metamorphic rocks and fluids; the tectonic evolution of high pressure low temperature metamorphic terrains; fluid-mineral-microbe interaction and biomineralization. Research strengths include meteoritics, mineralogy, petrology, and volcanology.

Collections

The Department of Mineral Sciences curates collections of minerals, gems, rocks, ores, meteorites, tektites, and volcanic data/images that are among the largest and most complete in the world. The ever-expanding collections constitute large reservoirs of source material for a great variety of research questions in meteoritics, mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, and economic geology.

National Gem and Mineral Collection

The National Gem and Mineral Collection is one of the greatest collections of its kind in the world with highly prized objects as well as comprehensive mineralogical reference material. The collection traces its origins to the minerals that were bequeathed by James Smithson, along with the money to establish the Smithsonian Institution, over 150 years ago. The collection adds specimens through gifts, purchases using private endowments established for that purpose, field collection, and exchange. In particular, the gem collection has been built almost entirely by gifts from individuals. There are approximately 262,000 mineral specimens and over 17,000 gems, making it one of the largest of its kind in the world including such famous pieces as the Hope Diamond and the Star of Asia Sapphire. Contacts: Russell Feather FeatherR@si.edu, Paul Pohwat PohwatP@si.edu, Ioan Lascu LascuI@si.edu

National Rock and Ore Collection

The National Rock and Ore Collection is divided into over 40 sub-collections. These collections together number about 346,500 catalogued and computer inventoried specimens. Large and very well-documented collections of mantle xenoliths, ocean basin lavas, ores and edifice and eruption keyed volcanic rocks have worldwide coverage. Additional highlights include historically significant collections, especially of the United States Geological Survey specimens, island rocks, petrologic features, petrographic and lithological reference collections, building stones, and impactites. Important collections available for study but not yet catalogued include but are not limited to the research collections of Joe Boyd, Erik Hauri and Stephen Haggerty. 

Most of the rocks and ores are part of the Locality Collection. This collection is organized into small suites of rocks from the same locality, such as a particular quadrangle or geological setting. These are typically petrogenetically related and usually described in at least one reference. The Volcanological Reference Collection includes specimens from approximately 300 different volcanoes or volcanic fields. Many are from dated eruptions. This collection, organized by eruption year, includes a large suite from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of eruptive material from Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. The collection also includes drill cores from the Kilauea Iki and Makaopuhi lava lakes. The Ore Collection is a systematic collection of metallic ores and mineral commodities. The collection includes metal-bearing minerals and massive ore-bearing material (primarily from major U.S. mines opened prior to 1930), as well as some non-metallic minerals and commodities such as pigments, abrasives, salts, clays, and hydrocarbons. The Sea Floor Rock Collection includes dredged and cored specimens from mid-ocean ridges, seamounts, and fracture zones, as well as a large manganese nodule collection. The Impactite Collection includes shocked rocks from impact structures around the world. Often the corresponding meteoritic material is also represented in the National Meteorite Collection. The Building Stones Collection features rocks utilized for building and ornamentation, and is composed primarily of material received from the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876 and from the Tenth Census at the close of an investigation into the quarrying industries of the U.S. in 1880. Most specimens are from domestic quarries, with some foreign varieties represented. Contacts: Leslie Hale HaleL@si.edu, Elizabeth Cottrell CottrellE@si.edu, Michael Ackerson AckersonM@si.edu

National Meteorite Collection

The National Meteorite Collection houses meteorites ranging from the building blocks of the early Solar System to volcanological processes on Mars in the relatively recent geologic past. Meteorites were first collected by Smithson, and the current collection dates to the earliest days of the Institution. The collection is currently represented by more than 62,500 specimen lot catalog records. While representing the full range of chondritic and achondritic meteorites, the collection is particularly strong in irons. Regular additions to the collection come from both endowment-enabled purchases and, importantly, the US Antarctic Meteorite Program (discussed below). Researchers working on the collection range in interests from the timing of processes in the solar nebula through the accretion, aqueous alteration and impact history of chondritic asteroids to the differentiation of both asteroidal and planetary bodies. While petrography is a central aspect of that research, scientists in the Div. of Meteorites utilize complementary isotopic data and involvement in spacecraft missions. Contact: Tim McCoy McCoyT@si.edu, Cari Corrigan CorriganC@si.edu, Julie Hoskin HoskinJ@si.edu

Facilities

The Department of Mineral Sciences is well equipped for the study of rocks and minerals. Instrumentation includes a state of the art electron microprobe and analytical scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffraction facilities. Also available are an infrared microscope/spectrometer, Raman microscope/spectrometer, CCD imaging and spectroscopy with a cathodoluminescence microscope, and numerous optical microscopes. A well-equipped shop for preparation of thin and polished sections provides supporting services to the scientific staff. The facilities include a room-size rock saw to section exceptionally large rocks as well as meteorites. At the Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland, the Department maintains a clean room modeled on the facility used for Moon rocks at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Fieldwork

Geologists from the Department conduct fieldwork in person at sites around the world and, using robotic spacecraft, across the Solar System. Research areas have included: the California Coastal range to understand island arc accretion onto continents; the Aleutian Islands to understand the formation of silicic magmas in oceanic terranes; volcanic eruptions in Central America to understand plume dynamics during Plinian eruptions; study of volcanic deposits in Hawaii to decipher explosive volcanism in an otherwise quiescent volcano; study of cave deposits to understand the magnetic history of the Earth during their formation; fresh and salt water environments to understand biomineralization; and study of small bodies in the Solar System to understand their origin and evolution.

Publications

The Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network is published monthly by the Department’s Global Volcanism Program. The departmental newsletter, NMNH Geoscience, is published quarterly and is accessible on the web.

Library

The Mineral Sciences library contains about 15,000 volumes and 100 journal titles and focuses on mineralogy, gemology, volcanology, meteorites, petrology, and geochemistry.

Programs and Partnerships

Global Volcanism Program

The Global Volcanism Program (GVP) is the hub of an international network for monitoring, reporting, and maintaining data related to volcanic activity around the world. The GVP plays a leadership role in global volcano information—tracking events as they happen, building the database of critical information, and using these resources both for NMNH research projects and for answering questions about volcanology from other scientists, the media, and the public. The large and growing database contains information for more than 1,500 active volcanoes from around the world and more than 10,000 of their known eruptions in the last 10,000 years. Most of these data are now available on our website, along with our systematic monthly and weekly volcanic activity reports, the latter in collaboration with the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. The GVP also maintains extensive collections of maps, images, and other resources for Earth’s active volcanoes. The GVP collaborates with non-Smithsonian scientists and organizations concerned with volcano hazards, airline safety, geothermal energy, and global climate change, including the USGS, the Department of Energy, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Contact: Ben Andrews AndrewsB@si.eduEd Venzke VenzkeE@si.edu

Antarctic Meteorite Program

The Antarctic Meteorite Program was established in 1976. Cooperatively administered by the Smithsonian Institution, the National Science Foundation, and NASA, the focus of the Program is the collection, curation, and long-term storage of meteorites recovered from the Antarctic ice sheets. Curators in the Department of Mineral Sciences classify each of the meteorites returned and publish these results in the Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter, issued twice a year by NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The Smithsonian also curates Antarctic meteorites, where the entire collection will eventually reside. Of the 17,000 distinct meteorites in the National Meteorite Collection, more than 15,000 come from Antarctica. Contact: Catherine Corrigan CorriganC@si.eduTim McCoyMcCoyT@si.edu

Research Staff

Ackerson, Michael, Geologist.  M.S. (2011) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Ph.D. (2015) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Research specialties: evolution of continental crust (spatially and temporally) through natural and experimental observations; to date, my primary geochemical tools have been trace and minor elements in minerals and melts. Contact: AckersonM@si.edu

Andrews, Benjamin, Geologist, Director of Global Volcanism Program, and Associate Curator of Rocks and Ores. B.A. (2002) University of Oregon; M.S. (2004) University of Alaska; Ph.D. (2009) University of Texas, Austin. Research specialties: Volcanic processes and hazards ranging from magmatic storage and recharge conditions, through eruption, to deposition; rates of mass, momentum, and energy transfer in different volcanic and geologic processes; analog modeling, optical flow velocimetry, turbulence analysis, sample grain size and component analysis, experimental petrology, electron microscopy, and crystal isotope stratigraphy. Contact: AndrewsB@si.edu

Corrigan, Catherine, Geologist. B.S. (1995) Michigan State University; M.S. (1998) Michigan State University; Ph.D. (2004) Case Western Reserve University. Research specialties: Meteorites. Contact: CorriganC@si.edu

Cottrell, Elizabeth, Chair of Mineral Sciences and Curator of Antarctic Meteorites, Research Geologist;   Curator of Rocks. B.S. (1997) Brown University, Ph.D. (2004) Columbia University. Research specialties: experimental geochemistry and petrology, volcanology.  Contact: CottrellE@si.edu

Farfan, Gabriela, Coralyn W. Whitney Endowed Curator of Gems and Minerals.  B.S. (2013) Stanford University, Ph.D. (2018) MIT – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.  Research specialties: Understanding how mineral structures interact with life and the environment, especially pertaining to organisms biomineralizing their skeletons under shifting environmental conditions.  Contact: FarfanG@si.edu

Lascu, Loan,  Geologist and Curator of Minerals and Gems. B.S. (2003) Babes-Bolyai University; M.S. (2005) Mississippi State University; Ph.D. (2011) University of Minnesota.  Research specialties:  Iron biomineralization by bacteria using magnetic methods, imaging, and modeling. Contact: LascuI@si.edu

Macpherson, Glenn J., Senior Scientist and Curator of Meteorites. B.S. (1972) University of California, Santa Cruz; Ph.D. (1981) Princeton University. Research specialties: Origin of the solar system using geochemical studies of meteorites and comets; origin of the continental margin of North America using geochemical studies of ancient volcanic rocks. Contact: Macphers@si.edu

McCoy, Timothy J., Geologist, and Curator of Meteorites. B.S. (1986) Eastern Illinois University; M.S. (1990) University of New Mexico; Ph.D. (1994) University of Hawaii, Manoa. Research specialties: Meteorites; igneous evolution of small bodies in the early solar system; Martian volcanological history derived from meteorites. Contact: McCoyT@si.edu

AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF

Post, Jeffrey E., Research Associate. B.S. (1976) University of Wisconsin, Platteville; Ph.D. (1981) Arizona State University. Research specialties: Environmental mineralogy; single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction; electron microscopy; manganese oxide minerals; clay minerals; computer modeling of mineral structures, Rietveld analysis; gemology. Contact: POSTJ@si.edu

Department of Vertebrate Zoology

The mission of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology is to discover, describe and classify the world’s species of vertebrates and interpret the evolutionary history of this high-profile diversity to meet the needs of science and society.

Research

Research in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology is organized into four divisions: Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds, Fishes, and Mammals. Research studies extend across the spectrum of systematics, morphology, molecular biology, biogeography, life history, behavior, and ecology of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals with strengths in phylogeny and revisionary studies within these groups. Geographical areas of particular research interest include North, Central and South America; western Atlantic and Caribbean region; Africa; and the Indo-Pacific region and adjoining areas in southern Asia.

Collections

Worldwide collections of preserved specimens and extensive osteological collections are the basis for monographic studies of vertebrate species and their higher taxa, and for related studies focused on the evolution and ecology of vertebrates. The vertebrate collections trace their origin to the two boxcars of specimens that Spencer Fullerton Baird, one of the first Secretaries of the Smithsonian, brought with him in 1850. Since that time, the Department of Vertebrate Zoology has grown with responsibility to maintain the foremost international collections of vertebrate animals, comprising the world’s largest collections of fishes (approximately 6 million specimens), mammals (590,000 specimens), and amphibians and reptiles (587,000 specimens), plus the world’s third largest collection of birds (600,000 specimens). The research value of each Division’s holdings is amplified by many historically important series including 15,803 primary type specimens. Accordingly, the department is recognized internationally for the systematic and geographic comprehensiveness of its collections and for its influential, high profile research programs in systematic biology and associated fields.

Division of Amphibians and Reptiles

Research in the Division covers a wide spectrum of biological topics and geographic areas. Most research is collections based and emphasizes the evolution, biogeography and systematics of selected groups of frogs, lizards, snakes and turtles from North America, tropical America, Africa, Oceania and adjacent western Pacific Rim countries. Staff scientists in the Division use a variety of approaches, including general morphology, morphometry, and molecular techniques. Biodiversity surveys and monitoring population and community structure are regular features of the staff’s fieldwork.

The Amphibian and Reptile Collection is the largest and among the most important in the world, numbering over 587,000 specimens organized alphabetically by taxonomy, and then numerically within a species. Each year about 2,000 new specimens are added to the collection and about 1,200 specimens are sent on loan to other researchers. The oldest documented specimen dates back to 1817. The collection is composed of over 159,000 frogs, 232,000 salamanders, 380 caecilians, 800 crocodilians, 16 tuatara, 119,000 lizards, 55,000 snakes, and 19,300 turtles. Of these, approximately 14,000 are type specimens, with highest representation of North and Latin American taxa. The majority of specimen records, 562,000, in the Amphibian and Reptile collection are stored in 70% ethanol. The Division also maintains 13,400 dry collections, mostly skeletal material but also including flat skins and stuffed specimens. The glycerin-stored cleared and stained collection counts about 4,500 specimens and mainly includes preparations of small specimens that would be damaged or deformed during the process of making traditional skeletal preparations. The Division has 245,000 formalin-stored specimens (8,325 catalog records), primarily consisting of amphibian larvae, particularly tadpoles. The histological slide collection of ca. 100,000 slides (about 1,600 catalog records) features slides from Ernest Wever’s research on amphibian and reptile ears but also includes important representative slides from aging, reproductive, and amphibian disease studies. The Division has a sound archive that includes both the original and archival copies of audiotapes, primarily of frog vocalizations, as vouchers of published works and species reference. The tapes have been digitized. Images, including print and digital photographs as well as radiographs are also included in the Division’s collections. Tissue samples are routinely collected and a sizable number representing a variety of taxa are available for research and study. Contact: Esther M. Langan langane@si.edu, Addison Wynn WynnA@si.edu

Division of Birds

Research in the Division of Birds is oriented toward the evolution, biogeography, and systematics of birds. Particular interests include functional anatomy, structural adaptation, phylogeny, distribution and systematics of Neotropical birds, conservation biology of North American migrants, forensic ornithology, and paleontology and evolution of birds and of island avifaunas. Recent field sites include southeastern United States, Texas, California, Jamaica, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Korea, Burma and Gabon. In cooperation with the U.S. Armed Forces and Federal Aviation Administration, specialized research is currently underway in microscopic feather identification applying forensic methodologies to determine species of birds from fragmentary evidence, especially in relation to bird strikes on aircraft.

The Division of Birds maintains the third largest bird collection in the world, with approximately 600,000 specimens including many historical specimens, such as a Charles Darwin specimen that may be the only one in a North American museum—one of the few existing specimens to bear Darwin’s original field label. There are also specimens collected by Alfred Russel Wallace, William Henry Hudson, and other notables. The National Collection, known in the ornithological literature by the acronym USNM (referring to the old name of United States National Museum), has representatives of about 80% of the approximately 10,500 known species in the world’s avifauna. The first group of specimens originated from the private collection of Spencer Fullerton Baird, who collected in the Carlisle, Pennsylvania region in the early 1840s. Baird’s collection also contained material from leading American naturalists of the early 1800s, such as J. J. Audubon and J. K. Townsend. The bird collection served as the repository for many of the specimens from the U. S. Exploring Expedition and of the surveys in the 1800s to explore the western territories, railroad and telephone routes as well as international boundary surveys. Theodore Roosevelt collected birds as a young boy and also as a member of the Smithsonian African Expedition; his specimens are part of the USNM collection. A major portion of the bird collection came from the activities of the U.S. Biological Survey, which actively collected over much of North America from the 1890s to 1930s. The oldest known specimen in the Division was collected in Brazil in 1818. While the majority of the specimens in the Bird Division consist of study skins (about 500,000), skeletal (60,000) and anatomical (ethanol-stored: 30,000) specimens are also maintained, and these represent the largest and most diverse of these types of collections in the world. The skeletal collection includes representatives of over 5,100 different taxa. The fluid-stored collection has representatives of almost 4,200 different taxa as well as specialized subsets including a collection of fluid-preserved stomach contents, brains, syringes, and a small cleared and stained collection. Additional collections include egg sets (33,012), nests (4,900), and mounted skins (ca. 2,200). The collection also includes approximately 40,000 frozen tissue samples. About 1,100 specimens are added to the collections each year and 50-60 loans of specimens sent to qualified researchers, students and exhibitions. Tissues frozen in liquid nitrogen have also been preserved and are stored at the Laboratories of Analytical Biology. The bird collection includes 3,968 primary type specimens. Information and specimen data for the type specimens is available through an electronic database—the USNM Birds Type Catalog. Approximately 90% of the main collection is computerized in an internal specimen data base. The geographic coverage of the bird collection is worldwide including major holdings from North America, Central America, the West Indies, northern South America, eastern Africa, and Southeast Asia. Regions that are insufficiently represented include southern South America, western Africa, Europe, northern Asia, New Zealand and Australia, and New Guinea. Contact: Chris Milensky MilenskyC@si.edu

Division of Fishes

Research in the Division of Fishes is directed primarily toward systematic revisions of species, genera, and families, and the interpretation of higher classification and biogeography. Staff research efforts are currently focused on the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific marine shore fishes, especially blennies and gobies; beloniform, scombroid, pleuronectiform fishes world-wide; larval fish studies, ontogeny and reproductive morphology; and Southeast Asia, South American and African freshwater fishes. Osteological, myological and other studies are being conducted as a basis for understanding the phylogeny and higher classification among a broad range of taxa.

The Division of Fishes maintains the largest collection of fishes in the world with over 975,000 lots totaling over 6 million individual specimens. The collection is arranged phylogenetically by family and then alphabetically by genus and species within each family. Over 35% of the collection has been computer catalogued and is accessible through an online searchable database. Specimens include adult fish as well as egg, larval and juvenile stages. For some taxa, especially those who progress through varied morphologies, preserved representatives of the complete series of life stages are available. The majority of specimens are stored in ethanol but the collection also includes dry skeletons (5,064) and specially prepared (cleared and stained) articulated skeletons (5,330) stored in glycerin as well as histology slides and otoliths. The collections include many rare and important fish species, including a Coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae. About 25,000 or 75% of the over 33,000 known fish species are represented in the collection, including 19,000 lots (about 94,500 specimens) of type specimens representing 8,890 nominal species, including 6,375 primary types, making this the largest such collection in the world. The fish collections include specimens from many historical expeditions including marine fishes from the Wilkes Expedition (1838) and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries trawling expeditions conducted by the Blake, Albatross, Fish Hawk and other ships in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the Canal Zone, as well as North American freshwater fishes collected during the Mississippi-Pacific Railroad and Mexican Boundary Surveys in the 1850s and by David Starr Jordan and his students and colleagues (1860-1920). The collection has the world’s largest holdings of Indo-Pacific marine shore fishes and extensive coverage of Caribbean marine fishes as well as both North and South American freshwater fishes. The Division of Fishes continues to build a genetic resources collection and houses over 40,000 genetic samples representing over 4,000 species. In addition to the specimens, the collection includes illustrations and photographs (25,000 units) as well as radiographs (25,000) of fishes. Contact: Diane Pitassy pitassyd@si.edu

Division of Mammals

Research in the Division of Mammals is primarily concerned with systematic revisions, distribution and ecology, natural history, and functional anatomy. Staff research interests are concentrated on the mammals of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. Studies of the systematics and ecology of marine mammals, especially whales and porpoises, rodents, bats, and primates are being actively pursued.

With roughly 590,000 voucher specimens, the Division of Mammals maintains, by far, the world’s largest—nearly twice the size of the next largest—and one of the most important collections of mammals. The standard preparation is the skin and skull of which there are over 359,000 specimens. Other major holdings include 33,000 skeletons, 104,000 fluid-stored specimens, and 3,000 tanned skins. The collection includes 3,209 primary type specimens and many historically important specimens. The collections include several special subsets, among these are mammalian brains (857 specimens), male genitalia (1,700 specimens), fluid-preserved hearts (373), cleared-and-stained specimens (400) as well as karyotype slides (2,000), hair slides and bacula. Frozen tissue samples of vouchered specimens number about 423,000 with an additional 2,000 samples without vouchers.

The oldest specimens originated from the activities of the U.S. Exploring Expedition, dating from 1838-1842, and the personal collection of Spencer Fullerton Baird. A significant portion of the collection’s North American specimens resulted from the Biological Survey program, initiated by C. Hart Merriam and conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in the 1890s-1930s. The Mammal collection includes specimens from William L. Abbott who made large collections of mammals from Central and Southeast Asia. The Smithsonian African Expedition acquired many specimens from east Africa (1909-1911), some of which were collected by former President Theodore Roosevelt, and during the 1960s, large field programs surveying mammals as disease vectors, such as the Smithsonian Venezuelan Project and the African Mammal Project, added more than 100,000 specimens to the collection. Each year 1,500 specimens are loaned to qualified researchers. Data for over 575,000 specimens are electronically available through a searchable database. The taxonomic and geographic scope of the USNM mammal collection spans the globe, with especially strong representation from North America, Central America, northern South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Contact: Darrin Lunde LundeD@si.edu

Facilities

Specialized facilities including radiographic and light photography systems (both digital and film in each case), dark-room, digital imaging and histological facilities, and sound analysis equipment are available. These are supplemented by discipline specific libraries and archives of original illustrations, maps, and sound recordings.

Field Work

Staff in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology conduct field research on all continents with particular emphasis throughout the Americas, portions of Africa and Southeast Asia and adjoining regions and across many portions of the World Ocean. In recent years traditional forms of specimen preparation have been supplemented by photographic documentation of life coloration, more encompassing anatomical preparations, and preservation of materials for molecular studies.

Education and Outreach

Graduate Programs are available in conjunction with University of Maryland and George Washington University including formal affiliations through the Robert Weintraub Program in Systematics and Evolution. Through this program GWU faculty and graduate students work on a variety of organisms including bacteria, protists, angiosperms, cnidarians, mollusks, polychaete worms, arthropods, echinoderms, dinosaurs, fish, mammals and lizards.

Library

The library holdings in Vertebrate Zoology are divided among divisional libraries with references focusing on systematics, taxonomy, anatomy and physiology, ecology and distribution, and evolution of their respective subject groups. The Birds collection has over 10,000 volumes, including approximately 100 journal subscriptions. The Fishes library has over 8,000 volumes, including 106 journal subscriptions on fish biology, and over 120,000 reprints of scientific literature on fish taxonomy and systematics. The Mammals collection contains about 4,500 volumes, including 40 journal subscriptions. The Amphibian and Reptile Library has approximately 3,500 volumes, maintains 35 journal subscriptions, and includes over 70,000 herpetological reprints making it the largest such collection in the world.

Programs and Partnerships

Marine Mammal Program
Established in 1972, the Marine Mammal Program, which focuses on whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea cows, seals, and sea lions, is a cooperative research program whose principal goal is to extract all biological data possible from stranded and incidentally taken animals. Through a thorough examination of stranded and incidentally taken animals, valuable data are gained on many aspects of the normal life history of cetaceans. Scientists routinely collect data and specimens that relate to stomach contents, relative organ weights, parasite burden, reproductive condition and stage of physical maturity. Staff members also take external morphometrics and photographs of the external pigmentation pattern. The collection of marine mammals is the largest in the world, consisting of more than 11,000 specimens of cetaceans, 3,300 specimens of pinnipeds and 394 specimens of sirenians. Most of these are represented by osteological material although the collection also includes fluid and frozen specimens. Contact: Michael McGowen McGowenM@si.edu

Research Staff

Baldwin, Carole C., Chair of Vertebrate Zoology, Research Zoologist and Curator of New World Shorefishes. B.S. (1981) James Madison University; M.S. (1986) College of Charleston; Ph.D. (1992) College of William and Mary. Research specialties: Diversity and evolution of tropical marine and deep-reef fishes; marine teleost larvae; public communication of marine science. Contact: BaldwinC@si.edu

Braun, Michael J., Research Zoologist. B.A. (1977) Cornell University; Ph.D. (1983) Louisiana State University. Research specialties: Molecular phylogenetics, molecular evolutionary genetics, avian hybridization and speciation, biogeography of Neotropical birds, conservation genetics. Contact: BraunM@si.edu

De Queiroz, Kevin, Research Zoologist and Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles. B.S. (1978) University of California, Los Angeles; M.S. (1985) San Diego State University; Ph.D. (1989) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Systematics and evolutionary biology of amphibians and reptiles; principles and methods of systematic biology. Contact: deQueirozK@si.edu

Graves, Gary R., Research Zoologist and Curator of Birds. B.A. (1976) University of Arkansas, Little Rock; M.S. (1980) Louisiana State University; Ph.D. (1983) Florida State University. Research specialties: Evolution, biogeography, and ecology of birds and natural history of vertebrates. Contact: GravesG@si.edu

Hawkins, Melissa, Research Zoologist.  B.S. (2007) Western Illinois University; M.S. (2009) Western Illinois University; Ph.D. (2015) George Mason University. Research specialties: Conservation geneticist with a focus on mammalian evolution and systematics. Contact: hawkinsm@si.edu

James, Helen F., Research Zoologist and Curator of Birds. B.A. (1977) University of Arkansas; Ph.D. (2000) Oxford University. Research specialties: Systematics, evolutionary morphology, and fossil record of birds; island biogeography and paleoecology; ecological effects of humans in island and marine ecosystems. Contact: JamesH@si.edu

Johnson, G. David, Research Zoologist and Curator of Marine Larval Fishes. B.S. (1967) University of Texas, Austin; Ph.D. (1977) Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Research specialties: Systematics, comparative anatomy, ontogeny, phylogeny, and early life history of fishes, particularly acanthomorphs. Contact: JohnsonD@si.edu

McGowen, Michael R., Research Scientist and Curator of Marine Mammals. B.A. (1999) University of California, Berkeley; M.S. (2005) San Diego State University; Ph.D. (2010) University of California, Riverside. Research specialties: molecular phylogenetics; morphology and genomics of marine mammals; the evolution of the cetacean brain. Contact: McGowenM@si.edu

Parenti, Lynne R., Research Scientist and Curator of Indo-Pacific Freshwater and Coastal Fishes. B.A. (1975) State University of New York, Stony Brook; Ph.D. (1980) City University of New York. Research specialties: Phylogenetic systematics and biogeography of tropical freshwater and coastal marine fishes, especially atherinomorphs and gobioids; comparative biogeography theory and methods; development of new tools for the collection and preservation of natural history specimens. Contact: ParentiL@si.edu

Affiliated Research Staff

Bemis, Katherine, Systematics Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Commerce. B.S. (2015), Cornell University; Ph.D. (2019) College of William and Mary. Research specialties: Systematics, biology, and morphology of marine fishes, in particular Tetraodontiformes. Contact: BemisK@si.edu

Chesser, Terry, Research Associate. B.S. (1956), Ph.D. (1960) Cornell University. Research specialties: Systematics, evolution, zoogeography, anatomy, and biology of marine fishes, especially Scombroidei (mackerels and tunas), Xiphioidei (bill-fishes), Beloniformes (needlefishes and halfbeaks), and Batrachoididae (toadfishes). Contact: ChesserT@si.edu

Collette, Bruce B., Research Associate. B.S. (1956), Ph.D. (1960) Cornell University. Research specialties: Systematics, evolution, zoogeography, anatomy, and biology of marine fishes, especially Scombroidei (mackerels and tunas), Xiphioidei (bill-fishes), Beloniformes (needlefishes and halfbeaks), and Batrachoididae (toadfishes). Contact: CollettB@si.edu

Dove, Carla, Research Scientist. B.S. (1986) University of Montana; M.S. (1994), Ph.D. (1998) George Mason University. Research specialties: Forensic ornithology; researches microscopic variation in downy feather structures and identifies unknown feather samples retrieved from aircraft engines, wildlife cases, prey remains, and anthropological artifacts. Contact: DoveC@si.edu

Emmons, Louise, Research Associate. B.A. (1965) Sarah Lawrence College; Ph.D. (1975) Cornell University. Research specialties: Tropical rainforest mammals, especially rodents; Neotropical forest and southern savanna mammals. Contact: EmmonsL@si.edu

Foster, Mercedes S., Research Associate. B.A. (1963), M.A. (1965) University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D. (1974) University of South Florida. Research specialties: Evolution, ecology, and behavior of birds; tropical ecology; biodiversity methods; frugivorous birds, fruit nutrition, and seed dispersal. Contact: FosterM@si.edu

Gardner, Alfred L., Research Associate. B.S. (1962), M.S. (1965) University of Arizona, Tucson; Ph.D. (1970) Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Research specialties: Systematics and nomenclature of mammals of the Western Hemisphere. Contact: GardnerA@si.edu

McDiarmid, Roy W., Research Associate.  B.A. (1961), M.S. (1966), Ph.D. (1969) University of Southern California. Research specialties: Natural history and evolution of amphibians and reptiles, especially Neo-tropical forms; morphology and evolution of amphibian eggs and larvae (tadpoles); standard methods for inventory and monitoring species; world snake diversity; bibliographic history of herpetology. Contact: McDiarmR@si.edu

Mead, James G., Curator of Mammals Emeritus. B.A. (1965) Yale College; M.A. (1972) University of Texas; Ph.D. (1972) University of Chicago. Research specialties: Evolution and interrelationship of cetaceans; functional anatomy, distribution, and biology of cetaceans in the western and northern Atlantic. Contact: MeadJ@si.edu

Munroe, Thomas, Systematics Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Commerce. B.A. (1973), M.S. (1976) Southeastern Massachusetts University; Ph.D. (1987) College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Research specialties: Systematics, evolution, biogeography, and biology of marine fishes, especially Pleuronectiformes. Contact: MunroeT@si.edu

Wilson, Don E., Curator of Mammals Emeritus. B.S. (1965) University of Arizona; M.S. (1967), Ph.D. (1970) University of New Mexico. Research specialties: Evolutionary biology of mammals, especially bats; mammal species of the world. Contact: WilsonD@si.edu

Woodman, Neil., Research Associate (United States Geological Survey). B.A. (1980) Earlham College, Ph.D. (1992) University of Kansas. Research specialties: taxonomy, phylogenetic systematics, and biogeography of mammals with a focus on shrews and bats. Contact: WoodmanN@si.edu

Zug, George R., Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles Emeritus. B.A. (1960) Albright College; M.S. (1963) University of Florida; Ph.D. (1968) University of Michigan. Research specialties: Evolution and systematics of amphibians and reptiles, with emphasis on South Pacific species; biology and systematics of turtles. Contact: ZugG@si.edu