Mellon Institute of Industrial Research

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Mellon Institute

The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, founded in 1913 by Andrew W. Mellon and Richard B. Mellon, merged with the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1967 to form Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research was established as a department of industrial research at the University of Pittsburgh in 1911, where it conducted research for firms on a contractual basis. A company would contract the institute to solve a specific problem, and the institute would then hire an appropriate scientist to do the research. The results of the research would then become the property of the contracting company.

In 1927, the Mellon Institute was incorporated as a nonprofit, independent research center. Planning for the Mellon Institute building began that same year. The Mellon Institute building was dedicated posthumously in May 1937 to the Mellon brothers.

While the Mellon Institute ceases to exist as an institution, the building bearing its name is located in the Oakland neighborhood at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Bellefield. The Mellon Institute building is a marvel of neo-classical architecture and elegant construction, with its signature monolithic limestone columns (the largest monolithic columns in the world). The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center is housed within the Mellon Institute building.

The building also now houses Carnegie Mellon University's Mellon College of Science. The Mellon College of Science's Biological Sciences and Chemistry department's primary offices are located within the building.

Exterior shots of the Mellon Institute were used to portray the fictitious Tanner Museum in the series premiere of the short-lived CBS television drama Smith in 2006.