The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit,

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. NAS is part of the

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), also known as the National Academies, is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the Uni ...

, along with the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

(NAE) and the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

(NAM). As a

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors in the scientific field in the United States. Members of the National Academy of Sciences serve ''

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

'' as "advisers to the nation" on science, engineering, and medicine. The group holds a

congressional charter A congressional charter is a law passed by the United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress has issued corporate charters since 1791 and the laws that issue them are codified in Title 36 of the ...

under Title 36 of the United States Code. Congress legislated and President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

signed an

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

(1863) establishing the National Academy of Sciences as an independent, trusted nongovernmental institution, created for the purpose of "providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology ndto provide scientific advice to the government 'whenever called upon' by any government department." This objective gave the academy the purpose of enriching and providing resources to any part of the federal government—rather than serving a single branch or executive agency, in contrast to the Library of Congress or many entities that report to the President. The goal was somewhat unusual at the time, and also different than other knowledge based entities serving a branch of government, such as the Library of Congress. The academy receives no compensation from the government for its services.

Overview

, the National Academy of Sciences includes 2,687 NAS members and 531 international members. It employed about 1,100 staff in 2005. Some 190 members have won a Nobel Prize. By its own admission in 1989, the addition of women to the academy "continues at a dismal trickle"; at that time there were 1,516 male members and 57 female members. The National Academy of Sciences is one of the 135 member organizations of the

International Science Council The International Science Council (ISC) is an international non-governmental organization that unites scientific bodies at various levels across the social and natural sciences. The ISC was formed with its inaugural general assembly on 4 July 20 ...

(ISC). Although there is no formal relationship with state and local academies of science, there often is informal dialogue. The National Academy is governed by a 17-member Council, made up of five officers (president, vice president, home secretary, international secretary, and treasurer) and 12 Councilors, all of whom are elected from among the academy membership. Agencies of the United States government fund about 85 percent of the academy's activities. Further funding comes from state governments, private foundations, and industrial organizations. The council has the ability ad-hoc to delegate certain tasks to committees. For example, the Committee on Animal Nutrition has produced a series of ''Nutrient requirements of domestic animals'' reports since at least 1944, each one being initiated by a different sub-committee of experts in the field for example on

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred with the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species '' Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was ...

. The National Academy of Sciences meets annually in Washington, D.C., which is documented in the ''

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scie ...

'' (PNAS), its scholarly journal. The

National Academies Press The US National Academies Press (NAP) was created to publish the reports issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (formerly known as the National Research Council (United States), National Research Council), the Na ...

is the publisher for the National Academies and makes more than 5,000 publications freely available on its website. From 2004 to 2017, the National Academy of Sciences administered the Marian Koshland Science Museum to provide public exhibits and programming related to its policy work. The museum's exhibits focused on

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

. In 2017, the museum closed and made way for a new science outreach program called LabX.

History

The Act of Incorporation, signed by President

on March 3, 1863, created the National Academy of Sciences and named 50 charter members. Many of the original NAS members came from the so-called "

Scientific Lazzaroni The Scientific Lazzaroni is a self-mocking name adopted by Alexander Dallas Bache and his group of scientists who flourished before and up to the American Civil War. (" Lazzaroni" was slang for the homeless idlers of Naples who live by chance work ...

", an informal network of mostly physical scientists working in the vicinity of

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

(). In 1863, the organizers enlisted the support of

Alexander Dallas Bache Alexander Dallas Bache (July 19, 1806 – February 17, 1867) was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey to map the mideastern United States coastline. Originally an army ...

, and also

Charles Henry Davis Charles Henry Davis ( – ) was a Autodidacticism, self-educated American astronomer and Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral of the United States Navy. While working for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, United States Coast ...

, a professional

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

who had been recently recalled from the Navy to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

to head the

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the Unite ...

. They also elicited support from Swiss-American geologist

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

and American mathematician Peirce, who together planned the steps whereby the National Academy of Sciences was to be established. Senator

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was the 18th vice president of the United States, serving from 1873 until his death in 1875, and a United States Senate, senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

of Massachusetts was to name Agassiz to the Board of Regents of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. Agassiz was to come to Washington, D.C., at the government's expense to plan the organization with the others. This bypassed

Joseph Henry Joseph Henry (December 17, 1797– May 13, 1878) was an American physicist and inventor who served as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor ...

, who was reluctant to have a bill for such an academy presented to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. This was in the belief that such a resolution would be "opposed as something at variance with our democratic institutions". Nevertheless, Henry soon became the second President of NAS. Agassiz, Davis, Peirce,

Benjamin Gould Benjamin Apthorp Gould (September 27, 1824 – November 26, 1896) was a pioneering American astronomer. He is noted for creating the ''Astronomical Journal'', discovering the Gould Belt, and for founding of the Argentine National Observatory and ...

and Senator Wilson met at Bache's house and "hurriedly wrote the bill incorporating the Academy, including in it the name of fifty incorporators". During the last hours of the session, when the Senate was immersed in the rush of last-minute business before its adjournment, Senator Wilson introduced the bill. Without examining it or debating its provisions, both the Senate and House approved it, and President Lincoln signed it. Although hailed as a great step forward in government recognition of the role of science in American society, at the time, the National Academy of Sciences created enormous ill-feelings among scientists, whether or not they were named as incorporators. The act states:

e Academy shall, whenever called upon by any department of the Government, investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art, the actual expense of such investigations, examinations, experiments, and reports to be paid from appropriations which may be made for the purpose, but the Academy shall receive no compensation whatever for any services to the Government of the United States.

The National Academies did not solve the problems facing a nation in

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

as the Lazzaroni had hoped, nor did it centralize American scientific efforts. However, election to the National Academy did come to be considered "the pinnacle of scientific achievement for Americans" until the establishment of the Nobel Prize at the end of the 19th century. In 1870, the congressional charter was amended to remove the limitation on the number of members. In 2013, astrophysicist

Neil deGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysics, astrophysicist, author, and science communication, science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia Univ ...

was asked to write a speech for the 150th anniversary of the

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, U.S. president, following the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The speech has come to be viewed as one ...

in which he made the point that one of Lincoln's greatest legacies was establishing NAS in that same year, which had the long-term effect of "setting our Nation on a course of scientifically enlightened governance, without which we all may perish from this Earth".

Membership

The academy currently (as of late-2024) has 6892 members, including international ones, both past and present. 3218 of them are living. Existing members elect new members for life. Up to 120 members are elected every year while up to 30 foreign citizens may be elected as international members annually. The election process begins with a formal nomination, followed by a vetting period, and culminates in a final ballot at the academy's annual meeting in April each year. Members are affiliated with a specific scientific field in one of six so-called "classes", which include: Physical and Mathematical Sciences; Biological Sciences; Engineering and Applied Sciences; Biomedical Sciences; Behavioral and

Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

; and Applied Biological, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Over the entire history of the NAS,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

is associated with the most members (331) overall, while the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

is associated with the most members (255) without including the medical school. E.g. of the topmost schools, UC Berkeley/MIT/Princeton/Caltech do not have medical schools, while Harvard/Stanford do. The top ten institutions, two of which are from the

University of California System The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, the system is composed of its ten campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Ri ...

and another four of which are in the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

, account for nearly 28% of all members ever elected. Those ten are also precisely the only institutions in the entire history of the NAS to have had 100 or more members overall. On the list for living members, only 14 institutions have 50 or more members overall, including the medical school (where it applies). They represent 32% of all living members of the NAS.

Facilities

The National Academy of Sciences maintains multiple buildings around the United States. The

National Academy of Sciences Building The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Building houses the executive offices of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. It is located at 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., in Washingto ...

is located at 2101

Constitution Avenue Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the Northwest, Washington, D.C., northwest and Northeast, Washington, D.C., northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and ...

, in northwest

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

; it sits on the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

, adjacent to the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building and in front of the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

. The building has a neoclassical architectural style and was built by architect

Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for ...

. The building was dedicated in 1924 and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Goodhue engaged a team of artists and architectural sculptors including

Albert Herter Albert Herter (March 2, 1871 – February 15, 1950) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, and interior designer. He was born in New York City, studied at the Art Students League of New York, Art Students League with James Carroll Bec ...

Lee Lawrie Lee Oscar Lawrie (October 16, 1877 – January 23, 1963) was an American architectural sculptor and an important figure in the American sculpture scene preceding World War II. Over his long career of more than 300 commissions Lawrie's style ev ...

, and Hildreth Meière to design interior embellishments celebrating the history and significance of science. The building is used for lectures, symposia, exhibitions, and concerts, in addition to annual meetings of the NAS, NAE, and NAM. Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences hosts exhibitions exploring intersections of art, science, and culture such as Mathemalchemy. The 2012 Presidential Award for Math and Science Teaching ceremony was held here on March 5, 2014. Approximately 150 staff members work at the NAS Building. In June 2012, it reopened to visitors after a major two-year restoration project which restored and improved the building's historic spaces, increased accessibility, and brought the building's aging infrastructure and facilities up to date. More than 1,000 National Academies staff members work at The Keck Center of the National Academies at 500 Fifth Street in northwest Washington, D.C. The Keck Center provides meeting space and houses the National Academies Press Bookstore. The Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences – formerly located at 525 E St., N.W. – hosted visits from the public, school field trips, and permanent science exhibits. NAS also maintains conference centers in California and Massachusetts. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center is located on 100 Academy Drive in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

, near the campus of the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

; it offers a conference center and houses several NAS programs. The J. Erik Jonsson Conference Center, located at 314 Quissett Avenue in

Woods Hole, Massachusetts Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 78 ...

, is an NAS conference facility.

Presidents

The president is the head of the academy, elected by a majority vote of the membership to serve in this position for a term to be determined by the governing Council, not to exceed six years, and may be re-elected for a second term. Terms usually start on July 1 and ends on June 30. The academy has had 22 presidents since its foundation. The current president is

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

Marcia K. McNutt, the first woman to hold this position. Her term expires on June 30, 2026. Source

Awards

The academy gives a number of different awards: * General ** Membership of the National Academy of Sciences (including international members) **

John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science The John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for noteworthy and distinguished accomplishments in any field of science within the charter of the Academy". Established by the American ...

** William O. Baker Award for Initiatives in Research, formerly NAS Award for Initiatives in Research **

NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing The NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing is awarded by the United States National Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) "to recognize authors whose reviews have synthesized extensive and difficult material, rendering a signific ...

** NAS Award for Scientific Discovery **

Public Welfare Medal The Public Welfare Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare." It is the most prestigious honor conferred by the academy. First awar ...

** Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Convergence Research **

National Academies Communication Award The National Academies Communication Award was an annual prize bestowed in recognition of creative works that help the public understand topics in science, engineering or medicine. The awards were established in 2003 and administered by the Keck Fut ...

, with other national academies * Astronomy/Astrophysics **

Henry Draper Medal The Henry Draper Medal is awarded every 4 years by the United States National Academy of Sciences "for investigations in astronomical physics". Named after Henry Draper, the medal is awarded with a gift of USD $15,000. The medal was established ...

** J. Lawrence Smith Medal **

James Craig Watson Medal image:Watson_medal_NAS.gif, 400px, James Craig Watson Medal The James Craig Watson Medal was established by the bequest of James Craig Watson, an astronomer the University of Michigan between 1863 and 1879, and is awarded every 1-4 years by the U.S. ...

* Behavioral/Social Sciences ** Atkinson Prize in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences **

William and Katherine Estes Award The William and Katherine Estes Award, previously known as the NAS Award for Behavioral Research Relevant to the Prevention of Nuclear War is awarded by the US National Academy of Sciences "to recognize basic research in any field of cognitive or ...

, formerly the NAS Award for Behavioral Research Relevant to the Prevention of Nuclear War **

Troland Research Awards The Troland Research Awards are an annual prize given by the United States National Academy of Sciences to two researchers (preferably 45 years of age or younger) in recognition of psychological research on the relationship between consciousness an ...

* Biology and Medicine **

Alexander Hollaender Award in Biophysics Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

** Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal **

Richard Lounsbery Award The Richard Lounsbery Award is given to American and French scientists, 45 years or younger, in recognition of "extraordinary scientific achievement in biology and medicine." The Award alternates between French and American scientists, and is a ...

Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal The Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of excellence in published research on marine or freshwater algae." It has been awarded every three years since 1979. List of Gilbert Morgan Smith ...

NAS Award in Molecular Biology The NAS Award in Molecular Biology is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for recent notable discovery in molecular biology by a young scientist who is a citizen of the United States." It has been awarded annually since its inception ...

** NAS Award in the Neurosciences ** Pradel Research Award **

Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology Selman may refer to: People with the surname * Alan Selman (1941–2021), American mathematician * Bart Selman, American computer scientist * Bill Selman (born 1939), American ice hockey coach * Courtenay Selman (born 1945), Barbadian cricketer ...

* Chemistry **

NAS Award in Chemical Sciences The National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences is awarded for innovative research in the chemical sciences that in the broadest sense contributes to a better understanding of the natural sciences and to the benefit of humanity. Recip ...

NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society The NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for contributions to chemistry, either in fundamental science or its application, that clearly satisfy a societal need." It has been awarded ev ...

* Earth and Environmental Sciences ** Alexander Agassiz Medal ** Arthur L. Day Prize and Lectureship **

Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology study published in a three to five year period." Named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, it was first awarded in 1917. L ...

** Mary Clark Thompson Medal ** NAS Award in Early Earth and Life Sciences **

Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal is an award presented by the National Academy of Sciences every five years to promote research and study in the fields of Precambrian and Cambrian life and history. The medal was established and endowed in 1934 by ...

, part of the NAS Award in Early Earth and Life Sciences since 2008 **

Stanley Miller Medal The Stanley Miller Medal is an award to be presented by the National Academy of Sciences every five years to promote research and study in the fields of "research on Earth's early development as a planet, including prebiotic chemistry and the origin ...

, part of the NAS Award in Early Earth and Life Sciences since 2008 ** G. K. Warren Prize * Engineering and Applied Sciences ** J.C. Hunsaker Award –

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

** Gibbs Brothers Medal –

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and op ...

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science The NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for original scientific work of intrinsic scientific importance and with significant, beneficial applications in industry." List of Recip ...

** NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Science * Mathematics and Computer Science **

NAS Award in Mathematics The Maryam Mirzakhani Prize in Mathematics (ex-NAS Award in Mathematics until 2012) is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for excellence of research in the mathematical sciences published within the past ten years." The original p ...

* Physics ** Arctowski Medal **

Comstock Prize in Physics The Comstock Prize in Physics is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for recent innovative discovery or investigation in electricity, magnetism, or radiant energy, broadly interpreted." Honorees must be residents of North America. ...

Joint Declaration on Global Warming

In 2005, the national science academies of the G8 forum (including the National Academy of Sciences) and science academies of Brazil, China, and India (three of the largest emitters of

greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

es in the developing world) signed a statement on the global response to

. The statement stresses that the scientific understanding of climate change had become sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. On May 7, 2010, a letter signed by 255 Academy members was published in ''Science'' magazine, decrying "political assaults" against climate change scientists. This was in response to a

civil investigative demand A civil investigative demand (CID) is a discovery tool used by a number of executive agencies in the United States to obtain information relevant to an investigation. By contrast with other discovery mechanisms, CIDs are typically issued before a ...

on the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

(UVA) by Virginia Attorney General

Ken Cuccinelli Kenneth Thomas "Cooch” Cuccinelli II ( ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Pa ...

, seeking a broad range of documents from Michael E. Mann, a former UVA professor from 1999 to 2005. Mann, who currently works at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, is a climate change researcher, and Cuccinelli alleges that Mann may have defrauded Virginia taxpayers in the course of his environmental research. Investigations had cleared Mann of charges that he falsified or suppressed data.

Notable appointments

* 1873, Edward C. Pickering (1846–1919) was the youngest scientist elected * 1924, Florence R. Sabin (1871–1953) was the first lifetime woman member to be elected * 1965,

David Blackwell David Harold Blackwell (April 24, 1919 – July 8, 2010) was an American statistician and mathematician who made significant contributions to game theory, probability theory, information theory, and statistics. He is one of the eponyms of the ...

(1919–2010) was the first African-American elected * 2013,

Ben Barres Benjamin Barres (formerly Barbara A. Barres, September 13, 1954 – December 27, 2017) was an American neurobiologist at Stanford University. His research focused on the interaction between neurons and glial cells in the nervous system. Beginning ...

(1954–2017) was the first openly

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

scientist elected

References

External links

* *
Office of Cultural Programs
*
LabX
*
The Science & Entertainment Exchange
*

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

: *
LC 21: A Digital Strategy for the LOC
*

*
Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
* Vega Science Trust: *
Video programmes
** {{DEFAULTSORT:National Academy Of Sciences 01 Scientific organizations based in the United States United States National Academies

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Library of Congress Members of the International Council for Science Scientific organizations established in 1863 1863 establishments in Washington, D.C. Patriotic and national organizations chartered by the United States Congress Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C. Members of the International Science Council