The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences or LMA ( lt, Lietuvos mokslų akademija) is a state-funded independent

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

dedicated for

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

. Its mission is to mobilize prominent scientists and initiate activities that would strengthen the welfare of Lithuania and contribute to the scientific, social, cultural and economic development of the country.

History

The idea of establishing the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences was proposed in 1773 by

Martynas Počobutas Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt ( lt, Martynas Počobutas; 30 October 1728 near Grodno – 7 February 1810 in Daugavpils) was a Polish–Lithuanian Jesuit, astronomer and mathematician. He was professor of Vilnius University for over 50 years ...

and other members of

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

, but it was not implemented due to wars and conflicts in the region. The idea of an independent institution for science and research was revived during the

Lithuanian National Revival The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism ( lt, Lietuvių tautinis atgimimas), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuanian ...

with the main proponents of it being the members of the

Lithuanian Scientific Society The Lithuanian Scientific Society ( lt, Lietuvių mokslo draugija) was a scientific, cultural, and educational organization that was active between 1907 and 1940 in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was founded in 1907 on the initiative of Jonas Basanavič ...

, including

Jonas Basanavičius Jonas Basanavičius (, pl, Jan Basanowicz; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often give ...

and

Jonas Šliūpas Jonas Šliūpas (6 March 1861 – 6 November 1944) was a prominent and prolific Lithuanian activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. For 35 years, he lived in the United States working to build national consciousness of Lithuanian America ...

. However, the implementation began only in 1939, initially with the establishment of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language. The institute was a basis of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences which was formally established on 16 January 1941. Its first president was

Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius Vincas Mickevičius (pl. ''Wincenty Mickiewicz'', October 19, 1882 – July 17, 1954), better known by his pen name Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, was a Lithuanian writer, poet, novelist, playwright and philologist. He is also known as Vincas Krė ...

. In 1991, the ''Law on Research and Higher Education'' was adopted and LMA was reorganized.

Activities

The LMA is governed by its charter which is approved by the

Parliament of Lithuania The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...

. It can elect 120 members (under 75 years of age) and an unlimited number of foreign members as well as

emeriti ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

over 75 years of old. The academy represents

All European Academies All European Academies (ALLEA) is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities. It was founded in 1994, and brings together more than 50 Academies of Sciences and Learned Societies from over 40 member countries of the Council o ...

International Council for Science The International Council for Science (ICSU, after its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions) was an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the advancement of science. Its members ...

European Academies' Science Advisory Council The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is a regional association of National Academies of science. Its members are 25 National Science Academies of the Member States of the European Union (EU), and the National Science Academies o ...

and

InterAcademy Partnership The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) is a global network consisting of over 140 national and regional member academies of science, engineering, and medicine. It was founded in 1993 as the InterAcademy Panel (IAP). In 2000, the IAP founded the ''Inte ...

. In addition to founding several scientific institutions and foundations, it issues publications and textbooks, sponsors symposia and conferences. It has established 15 memorial prizes and awards, encourages young scientists and students to engage in research by annually awarding 10 prizes to young scientists and 15 prizes to students. Since 2008, together with the

Bank of Lithuania The Bank of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos bankas) is the central bank of the Republic of Lithuania. The Bank of Lithuania is a member of the European System of Central Banks. The chairman of the bank is Gediminas Šimkus. Until 2015, the Bank of Li ...

, it grants

Vladas Jurgutis Award Vladas Jurgutis Award is a prestigious economic award, once a year granted by the Bank of Lithuania and Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. The aim of the Award is to encourage scientific activities in the area of research on Lithuania's banking, fin ...

Structure

LMA consists of the following scientific divisions: * Humanities and Social Sciences * Mathematical, Chemical and Physical Sciences * Biological, Medical and Geosciences * Agricultural and Forestry Sciences * Technical Sciences

Publications

*Acta Medica Lituanica *Baltica : an international yearbook of Baltic Sea geology, geomorphology and paleontology *Biologija *Chemija *Ekologija *Energetika *Filosofija. Sociologija *Geografija *Geologija *Lituanistika *Pheromones *Menotyra *Žemės ūkio mokslai

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1941 establishments in Lithuania Research institutes in Lithuania National academies of sciences National academies of arts and humanities Scientific organizations established in 1941 Members of the International Council for Science Members of the International Science Council