| About the
academy;
Since 1817, the New York Academy of
Sciences has been bringing together scientists of different disciplines
from around the world. Their purpose is to advance the understanding of
science, technology, and medicine, and to stimulate new ways to think
about how their research is applied in society and the world.
An independent, nonprofit, membership-based
organization, the Academy has always relied on the generous support of its
members and partnering institutions for its vitality. Today the Academy is
widely recognized as one of the world's foremost organizers of scientific
conferences and symposia. Over time its mission has evolved considerably
beyond convener to include the roles of communicator, mentor, and gadfly.
Convener: Every year the
Academy hosts six to eight major conferences
on the most pressing current scientific issues. Additionally, several
times a week scientists from the tri-state area's foremost research
institutions come to the Academy's historic building on East 63rd Street
to discuss a colleague's recent work in one of the twenty or more sections
or discussion groups
the Academy has made famous. In public policy the Academy initiated the Harbor
Project, a consortium of 40 groups dedicated to developing pollution
prevention strategies for the New York-New Jersey harbor.
Communicator: Since 1823 the
Academy has published its celebrated Annals
series of proceedings of scientific conferences. Annals volumes are among
the most highly cited of scientific research publications. Members of the
Academy have online access to the complete text of hundreds of volumes at Annals
Online. Reports of the Academy's conferences and meetings are also
posted on its web site as eBriefings
for the benefit of those not able to attend, including the Academy's many
foreign members.
Mentor: Taking seriously its
responsibility for preparing the next generation of scientists, the
Academy has initiated several programs: Science
Alliance is an initiative launched in 2003 to offer career mentoring
to some 5,000 graduate and post-graduate students from 14 institutions in
the greater New York-New Jersey area. Since 1948 the Academy has organized
the New York
Science and Engineering Fair for metropolitan area high school
students. The Science
Research Training program enables high school students to work
alongside area scientists as summer interns.
Gadfly: Since 1978 the
Academy's Committee on
the Human Rights of Scientists has worked tirelessly to promote the
rights of scientists, health professionals, engineers, and educators
around the world.
These initiatives enable the Academy to
advance the impact of science on several fronts and build on the
distinguished legacy of its membership. Since its early days, the Academy
has attracted prominent
members, including U.S. Presidents Jefferson and Monroe, Charles
Darwin and John James Audubon, and Albert Einstein, among many others. Its
current President's Council
includes 16 Nobel Prize winners and its membership numbers around 20,000
in some 150 countries.
The Academy is located at 2 E. 63rd Street,
New York, in a neo-Italian Renaissance building built in 1919 and donated
to the organization in 1949.
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