National Museum of Natural History (NMNH)
Kirk Johnson, Sant Director
Established in 1910, the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) has grown to become the Smithsonian’s largest museum and research unit, 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 seven 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, NMNH holds more than 128 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, who use the collections to address a variety of research questions pertaining to geology, paleontology, biology, and anthropology, as well as other interdisciplinary fields. And 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, and 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 under-way to make them more readily available online to the international science community, policymakers and the public at large.
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, described below, 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 Web sites.
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, they 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 prob-lem solution for complex biological and environmental systems. Subspecialties in quantitative and statistical field ecology / paleoecology/ biological diversity, especially marine.
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, geochemistry.
KEARNEY, Maureen. Associate Director for Science. B.S. and M.S. George Mason University; Ph.D. George Washington University. Research specialties: systematics, diversification, and morphological evolution of squamate reptiles; the evolution of limblessness in snakes and other lizards; snake origins and evolution; biodiversity patterns and processes; integration of data from living and fossil species in phylogenetic analyses; and conceptual and philosophical issues in phylogenetics and evolutionary biology.
KNOWLTON, Nancy, Sant Chair in Marine Sciences. A.B. (1971) Harvard University; Ph.D. (1978) University of California, Berkeley. Research specialties: Systematics, evolution, ecology and behavior of marine invertebrates, particularly shrimps and corals, marine biodiversity, systematics, evolution, conservation.
NMNH Research Programs
NMNH Priority Initiatives
NMNH Central Programs
NMNH Central Facilities
NMNH Partnerships with Affiliated Agencies
NMNH Tenant Organizations
THEME I: The Formation and Evolution of Earth and Similar Planets
Our Earth and planetary scientists endeavor to understand the cosmic origins and continuing evolution of Earth and similar planets. Our world-renowned collections of minerals, gems, rocks, ores, and meteorites, and our unprecedented database of volcanic activity, reveal the history of our dynamic planet. Research strategies include: Planetary Formation and Evolution; Evolution of Earth-like Planets; and Planetary Habitability to increase our knowledge and understanding of what makes planets suitable for life.
DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL SCIENCE
THEME II: Discovering and Understanding Life’s Diversity
Our biologists and paleontologists are interested in the diversity and evolution of life on Earth. They play a major role in the discovery and classification of species, as well as in the study of the patterns and processes that explain the distribution of life in the past and present. As the scientific research focus of five Departments (Botany, Entomology, Invertebrate Paleobiology and Vertebrate Zoology), our researchers draw on our unparalleled collections of animals, plants, and other organisms present and past. Research strategies include: Encyclopedia of Life to discover and describe the diversity of species; Forces of Change to understand the evolutionary and ecological forces that affect diversity; and Biology of Extinction to understand the extinction of species and loss of habitats, whether past or present, and provide strategies for reversing human impacts and restoring and protecting species and habitats.
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF PALEOBIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
THEME III: Study of Human Diversity and Culture Change
Our anthropologists seek to understand humanity in all of its complexity, within a framework of broad cultural, social, linguistic, and biological theories, from the emergence of the human species to the present. They communicate their findings widely, and their insights address the problems of the modern world and promote cross-cultural understanding and dialogue. Research themes include: 1) human-environmental interactions, encompassing the emergence of agriculture and domestication, and the study of human impacts on the environment to advance understanding of how humans have shaped the planet in recent times; 2) human origins, adaptations and radiations into new environments, and 3) human cultural diversity, cultural contact, and globalization and its impacts on the transformation and loss of cultural and linguistic diversity.