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Member of the National Academy of Sciences

{{Short description|Award given by the National Academy of Sciences of the United States}}

{{Infobox award

|name=Member of the National Academy of Sciences

|image=File:NationalAcademySciences_07110011.jpg

|caption=The National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C.

|awarded_for=distinguished and continuing achievements in original research

|sponsor=National Academy of Sciences

|date=Annually since {{start date|1863}}{{cite journal|last1=Olson|first1=Steve|title=The National Academy of Sciences at 150|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=111|issue=Supplement_2|year=2014|pages=9327–9364|issn=0027-8424|doi=10.1073/pnas.1406109111|pmid=24958885 |pmc=4077050 |bibcode=2014PNAS..111S9327O|doi-access=free}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/|title=Overview: NAS History|website=nasonline.org|accessdate=25 April 2019}}

|location=Washington, D.C.

|country=United States

|holder_label=Total no. of members

|holder=2,382 members
484 international members

|website={{URL|nasonline.org/member-directory}}}}

Membership of the National Academy of Sciences is an award granted to scientists that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States judges to have made “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research”.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/membership/|title=About NAS membership|author=Anon|year=2019|website=Nasonline.org|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320221546/http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/membership/|archive-date=2019-03-20}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory|title=NAS Member Directory|author=Anon|year=2019|website=nasonline.org/member-directory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418074729/http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/|archive-date=2019-04-18}} Membership is a mark of excellence in science and one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive.{{cite journal|last1=Alberts|first1=Bruce|last2=Fulton|first2=Kenneth R.|year=2005|title=Editorial: Election to the National Academy of Sciences: Pathways to membership|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=102|issue=21|pages=7405–7406|doi=10.1073/pnas.0503457102|issn=0027-8424|pmc=1140467|pmid=16586925|bibcode=2005PNAS..102.7405A|author-link1=Bruce Alberts|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|author=Anon|year=1997|title=Newly Elected Members and Foreign Associates of the National Academy of Sciences April 29, 1997|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=94|issue=9|pages=4235–4236|doi=10.1073/pnas.94.9.4235|issn=0027-8424|pmc=33659|pmid=16578853|bibcode=1997PNAS...94.4235.|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|author=Anon|year=2001|title=New Members and Foreign Associates Elected to the National Academy of Sciences on May 1, 2001: 72 New Members Chosen by the Academy|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=98|issue=10|pages=5387–5388|doi=10.1073/pnas.101188198|issn=0027-8424|pmc=33222|pmid=16578859|bibcode=2001PNAS...98.5387.|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|author=Anon|year=2000|title=New Members and Foreign Associates Elected to the National Academy of Sciences on May 2, 2000. 60 New Members Chosen by the Academy|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=97|issue=10|pages=5037–5038|doi=10.1073/pnas.100999997|bibcode=2000PNAS...97.5037.|issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free}}

NAS members and international members

Three types of NAS membership exist:

  1. Voting members, who must hold citizenship of the United States
  2. Nonvoting international members,{{cite journal|last1=Wilson|first1=Edwin B.|author-link=Edwin Bidwell Wilson|year=1953|title=Vital Statistics of our Foreign Associates|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=39|issue=12|pages=1295–1298|doi=10.1073/pnas.39.12.1295|issn=0027-8424|pmc=1063952|pmid=16589414|bibcode=1953PNAS...39.1295W|doi-access=free}} who have citizenship outside the United States
  3. Emeritus members, who are no longer active and have rescinded their voting rights

{{As of|2018|05}} there were 2,382 active members and 484 international members,{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/May-1-2018-NAS-Election.html|title=May 1 2018 NAS Election|website=nasonline.org|accessdate=25 April 2019|year=2018|author=Anon}} of whom approximately 190 have received Nobel Prizes. A full list of members can be found in the online members directory. See the list of members of the National Academy of Sciences and :Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences for examples.

= Notable member firsts =

Some notable member firsts and records include:

  • Edward C. Pickering (1846–1919){{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20001598.html|title=Edward Pickering|website=nasonline.org|accessdate=25 April 2019}} was the youngest scientist elected, only 26 years old at the time of his election in 1873{{cite journal|last1=Archibald|first1=Raymond Clare|author-link=Raymond Clare Archibald|title=The Youngest Member Elected to the National Academy of Sciences|journal=Science|volume=83|issue=2158|year=1936|pages=436–437|issn=0036-8075|doi=10.1126/science.83.2158.436-a|pmid=17820127}}
  • Florence R. Sabin (1871–1953){{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20001678.html|title=Florence Sabin|website=nasonline.org|accessdate=25 April 2019}} was the first woman to be elected a member in 1924{{cite web|url=http://nationalacademies.org/memarea/memfaq/index.html|title=Membership FAQ|author=Anon|year=2019|website=nationalacademies.org|publisher=National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305122612/http://nationalacademies.org/memarea/memfaq/index.html|archive-date=2018-03-05}}
  • David Blackwell (1919–2010){{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/57657.html|title=David Blackwell|website=nasonline.org|accessdate=25 April 2019}} was the first African American elected in 1965
  • Marcia McNutt was the first woman to serve as president of the NAS,{{cite journal|last1=Lavelle|first1=Marianne|year=2015|title=Science Editor-in-Chief Marcia McNutt set to become first woman to lead U.S. National Academy of Sciences|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.aac8806|issn=0036-8075}} following her election as a member in 2005{{cite journal|last1=Nair|first1=Prashant|title=QnAs with Marcia McNutt|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=114|issue=13|year=2017|pages=3272–3274|issn=0027-8424|doi=10.1073/pnas.1703235114|pmid= 28298528 |pmc=5380059 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114.3272N |doi-access=free}}
  • Ben Barres (1954–2017){{cite journal|last1=Nair|first1=Prashant|title=QnAs with Ben Barres|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=112|issue=33|year=2015|pages=10074–10075|issn=0027-8424|doi=10.1073/pnas.1512539112|pmid=26240349 |pmc=4547303 |bibcode=2015PNAS..11210074N |doi-access=free }} was the first transgender scientist elected in 2013{{cite news|url=http://transnews.org/2013/05/11/first-transgender-scientist-selected-for-national-academy-of-science-membership/|title=Neurobiologist Becomes First Transgender Scientist Selected For U.S. National Academy of Science Membership|author=Anon|publisher=Trans Media Network|year=2013|website=transnews.org|access-date=2019-04-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002183114/http://transnews.org/2013/05/11/first-transgender-scientist-selected-for-national-academy-of-science-membership/|archive-date=2018-10-02|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20029902.html|title=Ben Barres|website=nasonline.org|accessdate=25 April 2019}}
  • Frances Arnold was the first woman to be elected to all three National Academies in the United States – the National Academy of Engineering (NAE, 2000), the National Academy of Medicine (NAM, 2004) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS, 2008){{Cite news|url=http://www.caltech.edu/news/frances-arnold-wins-2018-nobel-prize-chemistry-83926|title=Frances Arnold Wins 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry|author=Anon|access-date=2018-10-04|publisher=California Institute of Technology|year=2018|language=en|website=caltech.edu}}
  • Richard Feynman resigned his NAS membership because of what he perceived as the Academy's elitism and in-group favoritism. Feynman outlines the reasons for his resignation in his published correspondence Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track{{cite web|url=https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v8n3/toumey.html|publisher=Virginia Tech|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319115654/https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v8n3/toumey.html|archive-date=2019-03-19|first=Chris |last=Toumey|year=2005|title=SPT v8n3 – Reviews – Feynman Unprocessed|website=vt.edu}}{{Cite book|title=Perfectly reasonable deviations from the beaten track : the letters of Richard P. Feynman|date=2005|publisher=Basic Books|first1=Richard|last1=Feynman|last2=Feynman|first2= Michelle|isbn=0738206369|location=New York|oclc=57393623}} Though arguably the most famous, Feynman was not alone. Richard Lewontin also resigned for principled reasons (as opposed, say, to ill-health) in 1972, and Josiah Whitney was the first member to resign, in 1874.

= Member diversity =

Critics have pointed to a lack of member diversity because of a selection bias for “old white men” who dominate membership of the Academy. Elite institutions such as the from Ivy League, MIT, Stanford, the University of California and Caltech also dominate membership,{{cite web|url=https://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2018/07/top-50-universities-by-membership-in-the-national-academy-of-sciences.html|website=typepad.com|title=Top 50 universities by membership in the National Academy of Sciences|year=2018|first=Brian |last=Leiter|author-link=Brian Leiter|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429215825/https://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2018/07/top-50-universities-by-membership-in-the-national-academy-of-sciences.html|archive-date=2019-04-29}} thereby perpetuating the Matthew effect. Diversity of age, disability, race, religion, gender and sexual orientation is lower in NAS than in the general population. For example, women in science are an underrepresented group in the Academy but the proportion of female members is slowly growing.{{cite web|url=https://scienceblogs.com/thusspakezuska/2007/05/04/nas-deigns-to-admit-9-women-th|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425123004/https://scienceblogs.com/thusspakezuska/2007/05/04/nas-deigns-to-admit-9-women-th|archive-date=2019-04-25|title=NAS Deigns to Admit 9 Women This Year|last=Spake Zuska|first=Thus|year=2007|website=Scienceblogs.com|publisher=ScienceBlogs}}{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/fellows-of-the-royal-society|title=This Is How Many Women Are Members Of Science Academies|last=Chivers|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Chivers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629202416/https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/fellows-of-the-royal-society|archive-date=2017-06-29|year=2016|website=Buzzfeed.com|publisher=BuzzFeed}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/women-in-science.html|title=Women in Science|website=nasonline.org|accessdate=25 April 2019}}

  • In 1989, the academy had just 57 female members and 1,516 male members (3% female in total){{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28046754/news_of_the_week_from_the_science_world/|title=News of the week from the science world|last=|date=May 20, 1989|publisher=The San Francisco Examiner|page=D-2|via=newspapers.com}}
  • In 2010, there were 14 newly elected women (19% new female inductees) from 72 new members{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/women-in-science/national-academy-of-sciences-list-for-2010-10013023|title=National Academy of Sciences List for 2010|last=Hoopes|first=Laura|year=2010|website=nature.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324031205/https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/women-in-science/national-academy-of-sciences-list-for-2010-10013023|archive-date=2019-03-24}}
  • In 2011, there were only 9 women (12% new female inductees) from 72 newly elected members.{{cite web|url=https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/onhiring/only-9-women-are-elected-to-the-national-academy-of-sciences/70|title=Only 9 Women Are Elected to the National Academy of Science|website=chronicle.com|first=Gabriela |last=Montell|year=2007|publisher=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/women-in-science/national-academy-of-sciences-picks-few-women-19909665|title=National Academy of Sciences Picks Few Women Again|last=Hoopes|first=Laura|year=2011|website=nature.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324031334/https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/women-in-science/national-academy-of-sciences-picks-few-women-19909665|archive-date=2019-03-24}}
  • In 2012, the Academy elected 84 new members, with a record high of 26 women (30% new female inductees){{cite journal|last1=Shen|first1=Helen|title=US science academy celebrates 150 years: President Ralph Cicerone discusses diversity and efficiency at the National Academy of Sciences|journal=Nature|year=2013|issn=1476-4687|doi=10.1038/nature.2013.12530|s2cid=180789927|doi-access=free}}
  • In 2019, 50 women out of 125 new members were female (40% of new female inductees), another record high{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2019-nas-election.html|title=2019 NAS Election|website=www.nasonline.org}}{{cite web|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/05/01/record-number-women-join-academy-sciences|website=insidehighered.com|first=Scott |last=Jaschik|year=2019|title=Record Number of Women Join Academy of Sciences|publisher=Inside Higher Ed}} although the proportion of women in the academy as a whole is much lower than 40%

Persons of color are also underrepresented.

Nomination and election of new members

New members and international members have been elected annually since 1863. Membership can not be applied for as only voting academicians can submit formal nominations for newly elected members, for

preferential voting in an annual ballot of members every March. Candidates for membership are considered by peer review and voted for again through several rounds of balloting{{cite journal|url=https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getting-in-a-look-at-the-election-process-of-the-national-academy-of-sciences|journal=Aps Observer|title=Getting in: A Look at the Election Process Of the National Academy of Sciences|first=Elizabeth|last=Ruksznis|year=1996|volume=9|issue=3}} and a final annual ballot in April at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the academy with results announced shortly after, usually early May. Each nomination includes a curriculum vitae (CV) with a 250 word summary of the nominee's scientific achievements, the basis for election and a list of no more than 12 of their most important papers published in scientific journals. The publication limit of 12 aims to focus assessment on the quality of a nominee's work, rather than the quantity of publications.

{{As of|2019}}, a maximum of 100 members may be elected annually. Non-citizens of the USA are elected as international members, with a maximum of 25 elected annually. Both members and international members are affiliated with one of six scientific disciplines:

  1. Physical science and mathematical sciences
  2. Biological sciences
  3. Engineering and applied sciences
  4. Biomedical sciences
  5. Behavioural sciences and social sciences
  6. Applied Biological, agricultural science and environmental sciences

On election, members are invited to an annual awards ceremony.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRpny0rIOQM|website=youtube.com|title=2019 NAS Presentation Ceremony|date=27 April 2019 |publisher=YouTube}}

Member biographies

Since 1966, newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences have been invited to contribute an inaugural year article (IYA) to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) which is accompanied by a brief biography of the author.{{cite journal|last1=Cozzarelli|first1=N. R.|last2=Fulton|first2=K. R.|last3=Sullenberger|first3=D. M.|last4=Coughlin|first4=B. C.|year=2003|title=Biographies of newly elected Academy members|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=100|issue=23|pages=13117|doi=10.1073/pnas.2536811100|issn=0027-8424|pmc=263723|pmid=14597709|bibcode=2003PNAS..10013117C|author-link1=Nicholas R. Cozzarelli|doi-access=free}} Biographies of deceased members are published in the Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (BMNAS), for example see David Arnett's biography of Alastair G. W. Cameron.{{cite journal|last=Arnett|first=David|year=2017|title=A. G. W. Cameron 1925–2005, Biographical Memoir, National Academy of Sciences|url=http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/cameron-a-g-w.pdf|journal=Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences|arxiv=1708.05429|author-link1=W. David Arnett}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|https://www.nationalacademies.org/about/members}}

Category:American academic awards

Category:United States National Academy of Sciences

Category:United States National Academies