The Desert Laboratory: Carnegie Science's Pioneering Role in American Ecology
In 1903, Carnegie Science established the Desert Botanical Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona—a boundary-pushing interdisciplinary facility that was the precursor to the Department of Plant Biology, now part of the Biosphere Sciences and Engineering Division. The first desert research center of its kind in the world, the Desert Laboratory was devoted to the study of desert plants and how they tolerate, adapt to, and interact with their environment.
Over its 37 years of active research, more than 60 investigators would conduct research at the lab, producing over 350 papers and books across multiple disciplines. Perhaps the Desert Lab's most significant contribution was to the nascent field of American ecology. Pioneering Carnegie Science researchers played a pivotal role in establishing this discipline, which found creative expression and realization at the Desert Lab.