The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research. It was founded in 1902 by Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, and it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Institution's mission is to support basic research in the fields of astronomy, earth science, genetics, plant biology, and developmental biology. It operates six research departments and several research facilities, including the Carnegie Observatories, the Department of Global Ecology, and the Department of Embryology. The Institution has a long history of scientific achievement, including the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation, the identification of the genes responsible for flower development, and the development of the first successful in vitro fertilization of a mammal.