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National Academy of Sciences

{{short description|Science branch of the United States National Academies}}

{{other uses}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}

{{Infobox organization

| name = National Academy of Sciences

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| caption = The National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C. in 2000

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| formation = {{start date and age|1863|3|3}}

| founders = Alexander Dallas Bache
Abraham Lincoln

| founding_location = 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., U.S. 20418

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| parent_organization = National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

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| endowment = $553.9 million (2020)As of June 30, 2020. {{cite report |url=https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx |title=U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA |date=February 19, 2021 |access-date=February 20, 2021 |archive-date=February 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221003510/https://www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables--Endowment-Market-Values--FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx |url-status=live }}

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The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).

As a national academy, 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 as "advisers to the nation" on science, engineering, and medicine. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.

Congress legislated and President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress (1863) establishing the National Academy of Sciences as an independent, trusted government institution, created for the purpose of "providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology [and] to provide scientific advice to the government 'whenever called upon' by any government department."{{cite web |url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/mission/#:~:text=The%20National%20Academy%20of%20Sciences%20(NAS)%20is%20a%20private%2C,related%20to%20science%20and%20technology. |title=Mission |website=National Academy of Sciences |access-date=April 15, 2022 |archive-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020022809/https://nasonline.org/about-nas/mission/#:~:text=The%20National%20Academy%20of%20Sciences%20(NAS)%20is%20a%20private%2C,related%20to%20science%20and%20technology. |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite web|title=Overview: NAS Mission|url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/mission/|publisher=National Academies of Science|access-date=April 25, 2015|archive-date=October 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020022809/https://nasonline.org/about-nas/mission/|url-status=live}}

Overview

{{as of|2024}}, the National Academy of Sciences includes 2,687 NAS members and 531 international members.{{cite web

| title = About NAS: Membership

| publisher = National Academy of Sciences

| year = 2013

| url = http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/membership/

| access-date = August 21, 2013

| archive-date = March 20, 2019

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190320221546/http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/membership/

| url-status = live

}} It employed about 1,100 staff in 2005.{{cite web

| last = Alberts

| first = Bruce

| title = Summing Up: Creating a Scientific Temper for the World

| publisher = National Academy of Sciences

| year = 2005

| url = http://www.nasonline.org/site/DocServer/speech2005.pdf?docID=741

| access-date = April 28, 2009

| archive-date = June 29, 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629015209/http://www.nasonline.org/site/DocServer/speech2005.pdf?docID=741

| url-status = live

}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/membership/|title=Overview: Membership|website=nasonline.org|access-date=April 2, 2018|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320221546/http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/membership/|url-status=live}} 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.{{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 |date=May 20, 1989 |work=San Francisco Examiner |department=Journals |page=D-2 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=April 15, 2022}}

The National Academy of Sciences is one of the 135 member organizations of the International Science Council (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.{{cite web|title=Constitution|url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/leadership/governing-documents/constitution.html|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=July 20, 2014}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://sites.nationalacademies.org/deps/deps_037300|title=Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences FAQ|website=The National Academies|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413202117/http://sites.nationalacademies.org/deps/deps_037300|archive-date=April 13, 2009|url-status=live|access-date=June 8, 2019}}

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.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

The National Academy of Sciences meets annually in Washington, D.C., which is documented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), its scholarly journal. The National Academies Press is the publisher for the National Academies and makes more than 5,000 publications freely available on its website.{{cite web|url=http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=06022011 |title=Newsroom |publisher=National-Academies.org |date=June 2, 2011 |access-date=March 12, 2012}}

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 and infectious disease. In 2017, the museum closed and made way for a new science outreach program called LabX.{{Cite web |title=Science Out of the Box: Exploring Pathways to Relevance for the Millennial Generation |url=https://webassets.nationalacademies.org/LabX/audience-research/ |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=webassets.nationalacademies.org}}{{Cite web |title=Science Out of the Box: Exploring Pathways to Relevance for the Millennial Generation |url=https://archive.informalscience.org/science-out-box-exploring-pathways-relevance-millennial-generation |access-date=2024-11-13 |website=informalscience.org |language=en}}

History

File:Keck Center of the National Academies.JPG

The Act of Incorporation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln 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", an informal network of mostly physical scientists working in the vicinity of Cambridge, Massachusetts ({{Circa|1850}}).{{cite web |author=ITS |url=http://www7.nationalacademies.org/archives/nasfounding.html |title=Founding of the National Academy of Sciences |publisher=.nationalacademies.org |access-date=March 12, 2012 |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203154802/http://www7.nationalacademies.org/archives/nasfounding.html |url-status=dead }}

In 1863, the organizers enlisted the support of Alexander Dallas Bache, and also Charles Henry Davis, a professional astronomer who had been recently recalled from the Navy to Washington to head the Bureau of Navigation. They also elicited support from Swiss-American geologist Louis Agassiz and American mathematician Peirce, who together planned the steps whereby the National Academy of Sciences was to be established. Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts was to name Agassiz to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.For an analysis of the motives by Alexander Dallas Bache for founding the NAS, see Jansen, Axel (2011). Alexander Dallas Bache: Building the American Nation through Science and Education in the Nineteenth Century. Campus. p. 285–314.

Agassiz was to come to Washington, D.C., at the government's expense to plan the organization with the others. This bypassed Joseph Henry, who was reluctant to have a bill for such an academy presented to Congress. 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 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.{{cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=76824285|title=The Lazzaroni: science and scientists in mid-nineteenth-century America|last1=Miller|first1=Lillian|last2=Voss|first2=Frederick|last3=Hussey|first3=Jeannette|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|year=1972|page=121|access-date=October 26, 2007|archive-date=May 25, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525215629/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=76824285|url-status=dead}}

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:

[T]he 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.{{cite web|url=http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ocga/Other/Act_to_incorporate.asp|title=An Act to Incorporate the National Academy of Sciences|publisher=.nationalacademies.org|author=OCGA|access-date=2012-03-12|archive-date=April 17, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417074050/http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ocga/Other/Act_to_incorporate.asp|url-status=dead}}
The National Academies did not solve the problems facing a nation in Civil War 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.{{cite book | last=Stankus | first=Tony | editor-last=Stankus | editor-first=Tony | title=Scientific Journals | publisher=Routledge | date=December 6, 2019 | isbn=978-1-003-00222-2 | doi=10.4324/9781003002222 | page=| s2cid=34142177 }}{{Rp|30}}

In 1870, the congressional charter was amended to remove the limitation on the number of members.{{cite book |title=A Chronicle of Public Laws Calling for Action by the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, [and] National Research Council |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiYrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA7 |access-date=March 22, 2014 |year=1985 |publisher=National Academies |location=Washington, DC |page=5 |id=NAP:11820}} [16 Stat. 277 and 36 U.S.C. § 252], Accessed at Google Books

In 2013, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked to write a speech for the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address 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".{{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq3UlgKjbZ8| title = Neil deGrasse Tyson's Gettysburg Reply – "The Seedbed"| website = YouTube| date = November 19, 2015}}

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; and Applied Biological, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

Over the entire history of the NAS, Harvard University is associated with the most members (331) overall, while the University of California at Berkeley 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 and another four of which are in the Ivy League, 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.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

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.

class="wikitable sortable"

! Top 14 Primary Institutions (50 and more Living Members)

! data-sort-type="number" |Living Members (Including Medical School)

! data-sort-type="number" |Living Members (Excluding Medical School)

align="center" |Harvard University**

|align="center" |183{{Cite web |title=Member Directory - NAS |url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=6dbdc32a52b4b3a38e14f8665eba1bd6,dana-farber-harvard-cancer-center,harvard-medical-school,harvard-t.h.-chan-school-of-public-health,harvard-university&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc |access-date=2024-11-13 |website= |language=en-US}}

|align="center" |115

align="center" |Stanford University**

|align="center" |175{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=slac-national-accelerator-laboratory%2Cstanford-university%2Cstanford-university-school-of-medicine&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |146{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=slac-national-accelerator-laboratory%2Cstanford-university&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" | University of California at Berkeley

|align="center" |138{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=6cde08dc58cc50cef02f9b4808ee3a0f&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |138

align="center" |Massachusetts Institute of Technology

|align="center" |121{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=massachusetts-institute-of-technology&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |121

align="center" |Princeton University

|align="center" |92{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=princeton-plasma-physics-laboratory%2Cprinceton-university%2Cprinceton-university-observatory&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |92

align="center" |Columbia University**

|align="center" |75{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=columbia-university%2Ccolumbia-university-medical-center%2Ccolumbia-university-vagelos-college-of-physicians-%2Clamont-doherty-earth-observatory-of-columbia-unive&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |66{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=columbia-university%2Clamont-doherty-earth-observatory-of-columbia-unive&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |California Institute of Technology

|align="center" |69{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=california-institute-of-technology%2Cb1fe0f1fe70a71519129b4dbdc79bc5f&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |69

align="center" |Yale University**

|align="center" |67{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=yale-school-of-medicine%2Cyale-school-of-public-health%2Cyale-university&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |49{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=yale-university&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |University of Chicago**

|align="center" |60{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=the-university-of-chicago%2Cthe-university-of-chicago-booth-school-of-business%2Cthe-university-of-chicago-medical-center&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |60{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=the-university-of-chicago%2Cthe-university-of-chicago-booth-school-of-business&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |University of California San Diego**

|align="center" |54{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=scripps-institution-of-oceanography%2Cbf7ffba481d94865ea4c0d70066c0e26%2Cc822815cbb3d7e0b2186e1f61eaf1d7a&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |51{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=scripps-institution-of-oceanography%2Cbf7ffba481d94865ea4c0d70066c0e26&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |Max Planck Institutes (Germany)

|align="center" |52{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=max-planck-institute-for-astrophysics%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-biogeochemistry%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-biological-cybernetics%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-biological-intelligence%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-biology%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-biophysical-chemistry%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-brain-research%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-chemical-ecology%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-chemical-physics-of-solid%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-chemistry%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-developmental-biology%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-evolutionary-anthropology%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-extraterrestrial-physics%2C7c9fa03883ba16a469a1dcfbe013dce4%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-informatics%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-mathematics%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-multidisciplinary-science%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-plant-breeding-research%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-psycholinguistics%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-quantum-optics%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-solar-system-research%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-solid-state-research%2Cmax-planck-institute-for-terrestrial-microbiology%2C4daf24dd9a0c41f23be8350d9bb6f8f5%2Cmax-planck-institute-of-biochemistry%2Cmax-planck-institute-of-biophysics%2Cmax-planck-institute-of-microstructure-physics%2Cmax-planck-institute-of-molecular-cell-biology-and%2Cmax-planck-institute-of-molecular-plant-physiology%2Cmax-planck-institute-of-neurobiology%2Cmax-planck-institute-of-quantum-optics%2Cmax-planck-society-for-the-advancement-of-science%2Cmax-planck-unit-for-the-science-of-pathogens%2Cmax-delbruck-center-for-molecular-medicine&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |52

align="center" |University of California Los Angeles**

|align="center" |51{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=david-geffen-school-of-medicine-at-ucla%2Cinstitute-of-pure-and-applied-mathematics%2Cf270c395b36957cccf34862290942b7f&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |43{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=institute-of-pure-and-applied-mathematics%2Cf270c395b36957cccf34862290942b7f&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |University of Washington**

|align="center" |50{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=university-of-washington%2Cuniversity-of-washington-school-of-medicine&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |45{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=university-of-washington&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |National Institutes of Health

|align="center" |50{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=national-cancer-institute%2Cebb7864cca87c958bd55ec8a9fa919ef%2Cnational-human-genome-research-institute%2Cnational-institute-of-environmental-health-science%2Cnational-institutes-of-health&_livingdeceased=living&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |50

{{reflist|group=a}}

class="wikitable sortable"

! Top 10 Primary Institutions (All-time Members)

! data-sort-type="number" |All-time Members (1863–2024) (Excluding Medical School)

! data-sort-type="number" |All-time Members (1863–2024) (Including Medical School)

align="center" | University of California at Berkeley

|align="center" |255{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=6cde08dc58cc50cef02f9b4808ee3a0f&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |255

align="center" |Harvard University**

|align="center" |235{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=6dbdc32a52b4b3a38e14f8665eba1bd6%2Charvard-university%2Charvard-smithsonian-center-for-astrophysics&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |331{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=6dbdc32a52b4b3a38e14f8665eba1bd6%2Cdana-farber-harvard-cancer-center%2Charvard-medical-school%2Charvard-school-of-public-health%2Charvard-t.h.-chan-school-of-public-health%2Charvard-university%2Charvard-smithsonian-center-for-astrophysics&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |Stanford University**

|align="center" |234{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=slac-national-accelerator-laboratory%2Cstanford-university&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |274{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=slac-national-accelerator-laboratory%2Cstanford-university%2Cstanford-university-medical-center%2Cstanford-university-school-of-medicine&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |Massachusetts Institute of Technology

|align="center" |219{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=massachusetts-institute-of-technology&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |219

align="center" |Princeton University

|align="center" |133{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=princeton-plasma-physics-laboratory%2Cprinceton-university%2Cprinceton-university-observatory&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |133

align="center" |California Institute of Technology

|align="center" |132{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=california-institute-of-technology%2Cb1fe0f1fe70a71519129b4dbdc79bc5f&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |132

align="center" |University of Chicago**

|align="center" |129{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=the-university-of-chicago%2Cthe-university-of-chicago-booth-school-of-business&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |130{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=the-university-of-chicago%2Cthe-university-of-chicago-booth-school-of-business%2Cthe-university-of-chicago-medical-center&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |Columbia University**

|align="center" |124{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=columbia-university%2Clamont-doherty-earth-observatory-of-columbia-unive&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |136{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=columbia-university%2Ccolumbia-university-college-of-physicians-and-surg%2Ccolumbia-university-medical-center%2Ccolumbia-university-vagelos-college-of-physicians-%2Clamont-doherty-earth-observatory-of-columbia-unive&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |University of California San Diego**

|align="center" |116{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=scripps-institution-of-oceanography%2Cbf7ffba481d94865ea4c0d70066c0e26&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |122{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=scripps-institution-of-oceanography%2Cbf7ffba481d94865ea4c0d70066c0e26%2Cc822815cbb3d7e0b2186e1f61eaf1d7a&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

align="center" |Yale University**

|align="center" |103{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=yale-university&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

|align="center" |137{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/membership/member-directory/?_primary_institution=yale-school-of-medicine%2Cyale-school-of-public-health%2Cyale-university&_member_directory_sort=last_name_asc | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

{{reflist|group=a}}

Facilities

File:Beckman Conference Center, National Academies (USA).JPG]]

The National Academy of Sciences maintains multiple buildings around the United States. The National Academy of Sciences Building is located at 2101 Constitution Avenue, in northwest Washington, D.C.; it sits on the National Mall, adjacent to the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building and in front of the headquarters of the U.S. State Department. The building has a neoclassical architectural style and was built by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. The building was dedicated in 1924{{cite web | author = National Academy of Sciences | title = The NAS Building ... a Temple of Science | url = http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ABOUT_building | access-date = October 12, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101229155642/http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ABOUT_building | archive-date = December 29, 2010 }} and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Goodhue engaged a team of artists and architectural sculptors including Albert Herter, Lee Lawrie, and Hildreth Meière to design interior embellishments celebrating the history and significance of science.{{Cite book|title = A Home for Science in America|url = http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/visiting-nas/nas-building/a-home-for-science-in-america.html|website = www.nasonline.org| date=2013 | doi=10.17226/26398 | isbn=978-0-309-27372-5 |access-date = July 27, 2015|archive-date = July 19, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150719171247/http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/visiting-nas/nas-building/a-home-for-science-in-america.html|url-status = live}} 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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20220520185810/http://www.cpnas.org/press/mathemalchemy_announcement.pdf Mathemalchemy to Open at NAS] Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences, January 12, 2022 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.cpnas.org/visit/nas-building-restoration.html |title=Restoration of Historic National Academy of Sciences Building |year=2013 |website=CPNAS |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |access-date=August 12, 2013}}

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.{{cite web | author = National Academy of Sciences | title = Visiting Our Buildings | url = http://www.nationalacademies.org/about/contact | access-date = October 12, 2010 | archive-date = April 23, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110423085509/http://www.nationalacademies.org/about/contact/ | url-status = live }} 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.{{cite web |title=Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences |url=http://www.koshland-science-museum.org |access-date=October 12, 2010}}

NAS also maintains conference centers in California and Massachusetts. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center is located on 100 Academy Drive in Irvine, California, near the campus of the University of California, Irvine; 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, is an NAS conference facility.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

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.{{Cite web |title=A Selection of Highlights from the History of the National Academy of Sciences, 1863-2005 |url=https://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/highlights/ |website=NAS |first1=Frederick |last1=Seitz |access-date=22 November 2023 |archive-date=November 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123024513/https://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/highlights/ |url-status=live }} The current president is geophysicist Marcia K. McNutt, the first woman to hold this position. Her term expires on June 30, 2026.{{cite web |title=Leadership and Governance |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |year=2024 |url=https://www.nasonline.org/about-the-nas/leadership/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |archive-date=December 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203000638/https://www.nasonline.org/about-the-nas/leadership/ |url-status=live}}

class=wikitable style="text-align:left"
{{Abbr|No.|Number}}

!Image

!President

!Term

!Notes

1

|70px

|Alexander Dallas Bache

|1863–1867

|

2

|70px

|Joseph Henry

|1868–1878

|

3

|70px

|William Barton Rogers

|1879–1882

|

4

|70px

|Othniel Charles Marsh

|1883–1895

|

5

|70px

|Wolcott Gibbs

|1895–1900

|

6

|70px

|Alexander Agassiz

|1901–1907

|

7

|70px

|Ira Remsen

|1907–1913

|

8

|70px

|William Henry Welch

|1913–1917

|

9

|70px

|Charles Doolittle Walcott

|1917–1923

|

10

|70px

|Albert Abraham Michelson

|1923–1927

|

11

|70px

|Thomas Hunt Morgan

|1927–1931

|

12

|70px

|William Wallace Campbell

|1931–1935

|

13

|70px

|Frank Rattray Lillie

|1935–1939

|

14

|70px

|Frank Baldwin Jewett

|1939–1947

|

15

|70px

|Alfred Newton Richards

|1947–1950

|

16

|70px

|Detlev Wulf Bronk

|1950–1962

|

17

|

|Frederick Seitz

|1962–1969

|

18

|

|Philip Handler

|1969–1981

|

19

|70px

|Frank Press

|1981–1993

|{{cite news |url=https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2020/01/frank-press-former-president-of-the-national-academy-of-sciences-dies-at-age-95 |title=Frank Press, Former President of the National Academy of Sciences, Dies at Age 95 |date=January 30, 2020 |publisher=National Academy of Sciences}}

20

|70px

|Bruce Michael Alberts

|1993–2005

|{{cite journal |title=From the National Academies: A Tribute to the Science Education Legacy of National Academy of Sciences President Bruce Alberts |first=Jay B. |last=Labov |date=October 13, 2017 |doi=10.1187/cbe.05-06-0081 |journal=Cell Biology Education |volume=4 |number=3|pages=185–188 |pmc=1200774 }}{{cite journal |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/national-academy-reelects-alberts |title=National Academy Reelects Alberts |date=February 11, 1999 |first=Jeffrey |last=Mervis |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/article.38700|doi-broken-date=March 22, 2025 }}

21

|70px

|Ralph J. Cicerone

|2005–2016

|{{cite news |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/memoriam-ralph-j-cicerone-national-academy-sciences |title=In Memoriam: Ralph J. Cicerone of the National Academy of Sciences |date=November 6, 2016 |publisher=AAAS}}

22

|70px

|Marcia McNutt

|2016–present

|{{cite news |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/science-editor-chief-marcia-mcnutt-elected-president-national-academy-sciences |title=Science Editor-in-Chief Marcia McNutt Elected President of the National Academy of Sciences |date=February 16, 2016 |publisher=AAAS}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nasonline.org/news/marcia-mcnutt-reelected-president-of-the-national-academy-of-sciences-international-secretary-and-councilors-also-elected/ |title=Marcia McNutt Reelected President of the National Academy of Sciences; International Secretary and Councilors Also Elected |date=February 10, 2022 |publisher=National Academy of Sciences}}

Source{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK217867/ |title=Officers of the National Academy of Sciences, 1863–1963 |chapter=Officers and Members of the Council of the National Academy of Sciences, 1863–1963 |date=1978 |publisher=National Academy of Sciences}}

Awards

The academy gives a number of different awards:

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 gases in the developing world) signed a statement on the global response to climate change. The statement stresses that the scientific understanding of climate change had become sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action.{{cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/publications/2005/global-response-climate-change/|title=Statement on Global Response to Climate Change|date=June 7, 2005|publisher=The Royal Society}}

On May 7, 2010, a letter signed by 255 Academy members was published in Science magazine, decrying "political assaults" against climate change scientists.{{cite news|title=U-Va. urged to fight Cuccinelli subpoena in probe of scientist|first=Rosalind|last=Helderman|date=May 9, 2010|newspaper=Washington Post|page=C5}}{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/may/06/climate-science-open-letter| title=Open letter: Climate change and the integrity of science| date=May 6, 2010| work=The Guardian| access-date=December 12, 2016| archive-date=October 5, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005040201/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/may/06/climate-science-open-letter| url-status=live}} This was in response to a civil investigative demand on the University of Virginia (UVA) by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, seeking a broad range of documents from Michael E. Mann, a former UVA professor from 1999 to 2005.{{cite web |url=http://www.meteo.psu.edu/holocene/public_html/Mann/about/cv.php |title=Curriculum Vitae: Michael E. Mann |website=psu dot edu |access-date=July 5, 2013 |archive-date=May 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512101115/http://www.meteo.psu.edu/holocene/public_html/Mann/about/cv.php |url-status=live }}{{cite news|title=U-Va. urged to fight Cuccinelli subpoena in probe of scientist|first=Rosalind|last=Helderman|date=May 9, 2010|newspaper=Washington Post|page=C5}} Mann, who currently works at the University of Pennsylvania, 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.research.psu.edu/orp/Findings_Mann_Inquiry.pdf|title=RA-10 Inquiry Report: Concerning the Allegations of Research Misconduct Against Dr. Michael E. Mann, Department of Meteorology, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University|last=Foley|first=Henry C.|author2=Alan W. Scaroni|author3=Candice A. Yekel|date=February 3, 2010|publisher=The Pennsylvania State University|access-date=February 7, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215071321/http://www.research.psu.edu/orp/Findings_Mann_Inquiry.pdf|archive-date=February 15, 2010}}

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{{cite web |title= Membership FAQ|url= http://nationalacademies.org/memarea/memfaq/index.html |publisher= NAS |access-date= September 10, 2016|archive-date= March 5, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180305122612/http://nationalacademies.org/memarea/memfaq/index.html |url-status= live}}
  • 1965, David Blackwell (1919–2010) was the first African-American elected
  • 2013, Ben Barres (1954–2017) was the first openly transgender scientist elected{{cite news |title=Neurobiologist Becomes First Transgender Scientist Selected For U.S. National Academy of Science Membership |url=http://transnews.org/2013/05/11/first-transgender-scientist-selected-for-national-academy-of-science-membership/ |work=Trans News |date=May 11, 2013 |access-date=April 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017124202/http://transnews.org/2013/05/11/first-transgender-scientist-selected-for-national-academy-of-science-membership/ |archive-date=October 17, 2014}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{cite book |last= Boffey |first= Philip |title= The brain bank of America: An inquiry into the politics of science |contribution= Introduction |contributor-last= Nader |contributor-first= Ralph |contributor-link= Ralph Nader |publisher= McGraw-Hill |date= 1975 |isbn= 978-0070063686 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/brainbankofameri0000boff}}
  • {{cite book |first= Stephen |last= Hilgartner |title= Science on Stage: Expert Advice as Public Drama |publisher= Stanford University Press |date= 2000 |url= http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=634 |id= 634 |series= Writing science |isbn= 9780804736466}}

External links

{{commons category|United States National Academy of Sciences}}

  • {{Official website}}
  • [http://www.cpnas.org/ Office of Cultural Programs]
  • [http://www.labx.org/ LabX]
  • [http://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/ The Science & Entertainment Exchange]
  • Library of Congress:
  • [http://www.nap.edu/books/0309071445/html/ LC 21: A Digital Strategy for the LOC]
  • [https://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html Digital Collections and Programs]
  • [http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/ Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program]
  • Vega Science Trust:
  • [http://www.vega.org.uk/video/ Video programmes]
  • {{cite AV media |year=2006 |title=Sherwood Rowland, NL, discusses Climate Change |url=http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/119 |format=Video |id=119}}

{{NAS presidents}}

{{International Science Council}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Academy Of Sciences}}

01

Category:Scientific organizations based in the United States

Category:United States National Academies

United States

Category:Library of Congress

Category:Members of the International Council for Science

Category:Scientific organizations established in 1863

Category:1863 establishments in Washington, D.C.

Category:Patriotic and national organizations chartered by the United States Congress

Category:Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.

Category:Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C.

Category:Members of the International Science Council