A chance to learn more about the spectacular diversity of our work
I have spent most of my career at the Smithsonian, and I am still constantly learning new things about the spectacular diversity of our work.
As an educator and historian, I was more familiar with the Smithsonian’s academic and curatorial work to investigate our historical and cultural landscape than I was with those delving into scientific pursuits. It wasn’t until I became Secretary that I had the privilege of meeting with scientists across the Institution and that I could fully appreciate the extent and impact of their work.
Across the Institution, our staff is deeply engaged in everything from environmental conservation to the detailed imaging of other planets to the technical conservation of materials across the Smithsonian. At the National Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum, some of the world’s greatest discoveries and unsolved mysteries are presented to visitors from around the world.
I have been fortunate to see some of our scientific research happen firsthand, and each trip informed my vision for the Smithsonian as a whole—it gave me a sense of perspective for all that we have accomplished and the potential of what is yet to come.
When I visited the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, I was astounded by the range of work happening there and the enthusiasm of the team.
I learned about the institute’s history on a train ride through the lush Panamanian rainforest. As we sped by the Canal—a feat of engineering that sliced through the Americas and transformed global commerce—I marveled at the global impact of the small country. STRI is part of that legacy: the research done there for more than a century has changed the course of history—politically, economically, and scientifically.
Their work ranges from the hyper-local to the international. The institute is engaged in everything from creating ship-avoidance paths for whales near the entrance to the Canal to producing cutting-edge research that undergirds work across the Smithsonian and throughout the international scientific community.
A little closer to home is the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which operates in parallel with the Harvard College Observatory to make up the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. That collaboration, between two of the nation’s oldest educational institutions, is helping us answer questions like: Are we alone in the universe? What is dark matter? How is our planet changing, and how are we changing our planet?
When I visited the campus, I learned about their work to capture the first image of a black hole, build a satellite that can map pollution hourly and down to the neighborhood scale, and develop the world’s largest telescope.
I learned, too, about the people who laid the groundwork for those discoveries:
At the turn of the twentieth century, the Harvard College Observatory was known for its photographic program, which eventually yielded some 500,000 glass photographic plates that mapped the galaxy. More than 80 women known as the “Harvard computers” spent decades working for 25 to 50 cents an hour—about half of what men would have made at that time—to photograph and index the entire night sky.
I was proud to learn about the collaboration between the Smithsonian Transcription Center and the Astronomical Photographic Plate Collection to digitize and transcribe the logbooks and research notes that accompany the photographic plates. The work of these unsung women will finally take its rightful place in the digital archives.
Most recently, I flew to a remote section of Montana and met with a young, predominantly female team of researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. I remember being surrounded by the frightening silence of the prairie, witnessing the migration of a herd of buffalo, and doing my best not to step on any snakes.
I watched staff attract birds to their facility with automated mating calls, handling them as though they were the most precious creatures in the world so they could attach a band to their leg—all while explaining how the system designed to track the birds will help us better understand migratory patterns. That stretch of Montana is one of the last places where extensive prairie remains, which makes it a critical laboratory for the conservation of prairie songbirds and the study of their place in a delicate ecosystem atop a network of prairie dog tunnels. We were five and a half hours from the nearest city, and I was inspired to see just how committed the staff was to their work there.
Each of these trips left me with a feeling of awe at the breadth and depth of scientific research and discovery happening every day across the Smithsonian. On every visit, I was most struck by the warmth and brilliance of our staff, and it is my sincere hope that this series will give all of you the opportunity to hear some of their stories.
Lonnie Bunch
Secretary
Related posts:
Posted: 8 November 2023
- Categories:
