Campus Traditions
Seminars and Reading Groups
Between weekly seminars and engaging reading groups, EPL scientists stay connected with the most up-to-date research in their field.
Seminars and reading groups (internal)
Lunch Club
There's nothing like cooking for your colleagues! Since 1947, we’ve shared home-cooked meals for lunch every day, right here on our campus. The Lunch Club meets every day in the Merle Tuve Room (dining hall) of the Greenewalt Building at 12:30 pm for a lunch cooked by one of the members.
Members sign up to serve lunch about once a month, and in return, they get free lunch on all of the other days!
Lunch Club is paused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mud Cup
The MudCup is a campus sporting tradition dating back to 1976. Every year in the fall, the Dynamos and the Pistons meet on the soccer field for a friendly game of soccer. The tradition continues even after the departments merged to become the Earth and Planets Laboratory making team selection a bit more complicated but just as fun!
History of the Mud Cup
The Fall Picnic
Every year, the Earth and Planets Laboratory hosts the Fall Picnic for all of our staff and their families. For incoming postdocs, this is one of the first social events of the season and a great way to connect with new friends and colleagues. Festivities frequently include a costume contest, a pumping carving contest, an annual game of tug-o-war, and a, of course, a delicious shared meal.
Postdoc Appreciation Week
At Carnegie, we know it's crucially important to acknowledge the efforts of our postdocs throughout the year. They bring creative energy, new opportunities for collaboration, and fresh research ideas to our campuses. Their continued excellence burnishes Carnegie's reputation when they go out into the world.
This is why we always celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week. Annual festivities include a postdoc ping pong tournament, special meals, field trips, professional development workshops, and more!
Learn more about our postdoctoral fellowships
So Others Might Eat (SOME)
Started by former Postdoctoral Fellow Jo Ann Eder in 1991, the Carnegie Institution of Washington has been a supporter of SOME (So Others Might Eat), an interfaith, community-based, nonprofit organization that offers a comprehensive, holistic approach to caring for the homeless and extremely poor citizens in Washington, D.C.
As a part of this commitment, EPL serves breakfast to 400 people in SOME’s Dining Room for the Homeless on the first Wednesday of every month.
Until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we had not missed a single month of service. Our scheduled monthly service is still on pause.
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