For Immediate Release
Contact:
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Leigh Kish (412) 622-3361
KishL@CarnegieMuseums.org

March 3, 2009

Powdermill Nature Reserve’s Director,
David A. Smith, to retire April 30, 2009

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…Carnegie Museum of Natural History announces today that David A. Smith, Ph.D., Director of Powdermill Nature Reserve, is retiring effective April 30, 2009. Powdermill Reserve is the research field station for Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Smith, who turns 65 in July 2009, took the helm at Powdermill five years ago with a mandate to revive the Reserve, which had been stagnating for some time. To reverse the decline, Smith developed a five-year strategic plan for Powdermill and its operations, upgraded its infrastructure and facilities to attract more researchers, and raised funds to achieve these goals. From January 2007 to March 2008 Smith also served as interim co-director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History where he, along with Dr. Zhe-Xi Luo, successfully oversaw the completion and grand opening of Dinosaurs in Their Time. With Powdermill’s strategic objectives more than successfully fulfilled, Smith is now looking forward to his next adventure: retirement.

“It’s been an incredible experience working for Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh,” said Smith. “With such dynamic and dedicated staff, board and volunteers both at Powdermill Nature Reserve and at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we’ve had tremendous success in a very short period of time. I’m excited to see where Museum leadership will next take the Reserve.”

Under Smith’s leadership, Powdermill completed a $7.5 million capital campaign; raised endowments for two research positions—a conservation biologist, Dr. Andrew Mack, hired 2007, and a curator of herpetology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History; built new high-tech research facilities such as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab and a bioacoustics lab; and arranged for Carnegie Mellon University’s Solar Decathlon House to be permanently located at Powdermill.

Perhaps most notably, Smith worked closely with architects and contractors on a 10,000-square foot expansion of the Florence Lockhart Nimick Nature Center headquarters building, completed in 2007. This expansion increases the educational programming space both for schools and the public, provides permanent and changing exhibition space, and incorporates technologies that are energy efficient, derived from renewable resources, and that effectively manage wastewater.

“David Smith will be remembered as the individual who guided Powdermill through its most precarious years, transforming the Reserve from a quaint, but largely ignored, ‘hike in the woods,’ to an internationally renowned center for conservation biology research and education,” says Samuel Taylor, Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. “David and his team have built a fantastic facility with a vital role to play in Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s mission. The new headquarters is a model for sustainable facilities development and conservation initiatives.”

“David’s legacy at Powdermill will be the tremendous facility improvements completed under his management and the results of his strategic plan. These facilities will bring Powdermill far greater regional and national attention as a center for research, education, and conservation,” says Margot Woodwell, chair of the Powdermill Advisory Committee of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Board.

Smith joined Powdermill Nature Reserve as director in 2003, after a successful career in the financial services industry. He also has served as Board Chair of Magee-Womens Hospital and the Magee-Womens Research Institute. Smith plans on spending his retirement traveling with his wife, Nikki, and indulging his keen interest in the American Civil War.

Powdermill Nature Reserve
Located in Rector, Westmoreland County, Powdermill was established in 1956 and is Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s research station and nature education center. Powdermill sustains and protects a variety of natural habitats where researchers and educators focus on ecological processes. It is also home to one of the longest continually running avian research stations in the United States. Visitors of all ages come to gain a greater knowledge about the natural world through innovative and exciting educational programs and exhibits. More information is available at www.powdermill.org.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, is ranked as one of the top five natural history museums in the country. It maintains, preserves, and interprets an extraordinary collection of 21 million objects and scientific specimens used to broaden understanding of evolution, conservation, and biodiversity. More information is available by calling 412.622.3131 or from the Web site, www.carnegiemnh.org.

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