Highlights

  • Norwegian Tribolite

    Research

    Research in Invertebrate Zoology and Geology. more

  • Allen Hummingbird

    COLLECTIONS

    Search O&M collection databases. more

  • Tahitian girl wearing shell leis and a haku lei

    Online Exhibits

    View Anthropology's online exhibits. more

  • Expeditions

    Expeditions

    Explore Myanmar, Gulf of Guinea, & Yunnan. more

  • Research from around the world

    PUBLICATIONS

    Publications by department authors. more

  • herbarium sheet

    Collections

    Botany collections at the Academy. more

  • People

    Get to know the Entomology Department. more

  • Bob diving in Sao Tome

    Fieldwork

    Our researchers work around the world. more

  • fish x-ray

    Project

    Search the Primary Types Imagebase. more

  • Bee pollination

    Projects

    Our researchers work in biodiversity hot spots. more

  • cryocollection

    Ultracold DNA collection more

  • seafood watch

    Project

    The catch to the catch of the day. more

  • Harbor Seal, Phoca vitulina

    Programs

    Marine Mammal Stranding Network more

  • PhyloCluster

    136-core Supercomputer more

  • South Pacific Biotic Inventories

    EXPEDITIONS

    Ornithology & Mammalogy field research more

  • mercury calculator

    Research

    Mercury contamination in seafood. more

  • great white shark

    Research

    Advice on shark encounters. more

  • Collecting a whale mandible

    PEOPLE

    Staff, associates, students and volunteers more

  • Dikika field group

    People

    Meet the staff of the Department of Anthropology. more

  • Field work, Afar, Ethiopia

    Expeditions

    Learn about the Dikika Research Project. more

  • ichthyology staff

    Staff

    Meet the fish folk. more

  • fish in a jar

    Collections

    Search our collections databases. more

  • Catalog of Fishes

    Research

    Search the Catalog of Fishes. more

  • Tom Daniel

    Expeditions

    Recent botanical expeditions around the globe. more

Academy Research Departments

Upcoming Seminars & Courses

Upcoming Events

Coral Diseases, Coral Diversity, a Mysterious Crab, & Adventures on a Remote Pacific Atoll
November 24
Research Seminar Series
December 3
COP15
UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP15)
December 15

News

Red Sea Museum
Delegation to Egypt

In May, 2009, curator Gary Williams and collection manager Bob Van Syoc traveled to Egypt and the Red Sea with a delegation including scientists from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in...

Madagascar

In 1998, California Academy of Sciences initiated a four year biological survey on the island continent of Madagascar, spearheaded by the Entomology deptartment.

AntWeb

AntWeb illustrates the incredible diversity of ants by providing information and high quality color images of many of the approximately 10,000 known species of ants.

SF Mag
CABI in the News
Japan Symposium

Dr. Robert Van Syoc joined five other speakers and hundreds of other scientists from around the world for the “New Perspectives on Barnacle Research” symposium...

At the Academy Gala, 2009

Gary Williams, curator of Invertebrate Zoology ... astounding specimens ... coral that grew on Eniwetok Atoll before a nuclear bomb was tested there in 1952.

Returning from a dive trip in Luzon, Philippines.
Expeditions

Returning from a dive trip in Luzon, Philippines.

Videos

Research Expeditions

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Research at the California Academy of Sciences aims to discover new knowledge about life’s diversity. We apply that knowledge in seeking to sustain life on the planet and better understand evolutionary change. We undertake expeditions across the globe to study organisms in nature, and we maintain organismal and molecular collections for our research regarding life’s past, present and future.

There is a new urgency to gaining knowledge of the natural world, as awareness grows that organisms and species, rapidly declining in numbers, are key components of the ecosystems which provide our food, water, shelter and energy.

The Academy was founded in 1853 to conduct natural science research. The Academy Research group currently includes about 100 people, with 20 curator scientists, eight collections managers, and a dedicated group of postdoctoral researchers, students, curatorial assistants, and library and support staff, as well as a network of accomplished research associates working with us around the world.

We work closely with all staff throughout the Academy to increase the public understanding and engagement with science via personal interaction, communication, and development of exhibits.

Contact the Dean's Office

  • David P. Mindell
  • Dean of Science & Research Collections; Harry W. and Diana V. Hind Chair; Curator of Ornithology
  • 415-379-5848
  • Mailing Address:
  • California Academy of Sciences
  • 55 Music Concourse Drive
  • San Francisco, CA 94118

Academy Fellows

The Academy is governed by a distinguished group of eminent scientists who have been appointed Fellows of the California Academy of Sciences in recognition of their notable contributions to one or more of the natural sciences. Nominated by their colleagues and appointed by the Board of Trustees, the Fellows remain members of the Fellowship for life.

The Academy’s highest honor is that of the Fellows Medal. Since 1964 the medal has been awarded to especially prominent scientists who have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to their specific field(s) of science. There is another special group of scientists who are considered Honorary Academy Fellows.

 

Summer Systematics Institute 2010

The Summer Systematics Institute, a hands-on, collections-based summer research program in evolutionary biology and the Internship in Biological Illustration are for undergraduate college/university students who are U.S. citizens or resident aliens.