Andrew Carnegie founded the Carnegie Institution for Science (formerly known as Carnegie Institution of Washington) in 1902 as an organization for scientific discovery. The Carnegie Institution works to devote resources to exceptional individuals so that they can explore the most intriguing scientific questions in an atmosphere of complete freedom. Carnegie investigators are leaders in the fields of plant biology, developmental biology, Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy, and global ecology. They seek answers to questions about the structure of the universe, the formation of our solar system and other planetary systems, the behavior and transformation of matter when subjected to extreme conditions, the origin of life, the function of genes, and the development of organisms from single-celled egg to adult.