National Academy of Sciences facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, D.C. in 2000
Formation	March 3, 1863; 162 years ago (1863-03-03)
Founders	Alexander Dallas Bache Abraham Lincoln
Founded at	2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., U.S. 20418
Type	NGO
Parent organization	National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Endowment	$553.9 million (2020)

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a special group in the United States. It is a non-profit organization, meaning it doesn't work for the government and aims to help people. The NAS is part of a bigger group called the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This group also includes the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).

Being chosen for the National Academy of Sciences is a very high honor for scientists. New members are picked each year by current members. They look for people who have done amazing and important research. Members of the National Academy serve as "advisers to the nation" on science, engineering, and medicine. They do this work for free, helping the country with their expert knowledge.

The NAS was started in 1863 by an Act of Congress, which was approved by President Abraham Lincoln. Its main job is to give "independent, objective advice" to the nation. This advice is about science and technology. The academy helps the government whenever a department asks for scientific guidance. The government does not pay the academy for these services.

What the National Academy of Sciences Does

As of 2022, the National Academy of Sciences has almost 2,500 members from the U.S. and nearly 500 international members. Many of its members, about 190, have even won a Nobel Prize. In 2005, about 1,100 people worked for the academy.

The National Academy of Sciences is part of a larger global group called the International Science Council (ISC). The academy is led by a Council of 17 members. These members are elected from within the academy. Most of the academy's activities, about 85%, are paid for by the U.S. government. Other money comes from state governments, private groups, and businesses.

The Council can create special committees to work on specific tasks. For example, the Committee on Animal Nutrition has written reports about what different farm animals need to eat. These reports have been helpful since 1944.

The National Academy of Sciences has a yearly meeting in Washington, D.C. The things discussed at this meeting are written down in its science journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The National Academies Press publishes over 5,000 books and reports. Many of these are available for free online.

From 2004 to 2017, the academy ran the Marian Koshland Science Museum. This museum had exhibits and programs for the public. It focused on topics like climate change and infectious diseases. The museum later closed and became a new science outreach program called LabX.

How Members Are Chosen

The academy currently has almost 3,000 members. These include both U.S. and international members. Current members choose new members for life. Each year, up to 120 new U.S. members can be elected. Also, up to 30 foreign citizens can be chosen as international members.

The process starts with a formal suggestion. Then, the person's achievements are carefully checked. The final vote happens at the academy's annual meeting in April. Members belong to a specific science field, called a "section." These sections are grouped into six main "classes" like Physical Sciences or Biological Sciences.

Since it started, the academy has elected 6,607 members. Harvard University has had the most members, with 330 people. This is about 5% of all members ever elected. The top ten universities, including many famous ones, have had almost 28% of all members.

Buildings and Locations

The National Academies' Beckman Conference Center in Irvine, California.

The National Academy of Sciences has several buildings across the United States.

The main National Academy of Sciences Building is in Washington, D.C. It is located on the National Mall. The building has a neoclassical style and was finished in 1924. It is a historic landmark. The building is used for talks, events, art shows, and concerts. It also hosts the yearly meetings of the NAS and other academies. About 150 staff members work here. In 2012, the building reopened after a big two-year repair project. This project made the building better and more accessible.

More than 1,000 staff members work at The Keck Center of the National Academies. This center is also in Washington, D.C. It has meeting rooms and a bookstore.

The NAS also has conference centers in California and Massachusetts. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center is in Irvine, California. It is near the University of California, Irvine. This center has meeting spaces and hosts several NAS programs. Another conference center is the J. Erik Jonsson Conference Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

History of the Academy

The Keck Center of the National Academies in Washington, D.C., one of several facilities where the National Academy of Sciences maintains offices.

The National Academy of Sciences was created by a law signed by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1863. This law named 50 founding members. Many of these first members were scientists from the Cambridge, Massachusetts area.

In 1863, key people like Alexander Dallas Bache and Charles Henry Davis helped start the academy. They also got support from geologist Louis Agassiz and mathematician Benjamin Peirce. These scientists planned how the academy would be set up. They quickly wrote a bill to create the academy, including the names of the 50 founders.

The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Henry Wilson. It was passed quickly by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. President Lincoln then signed it into law.

The law states that the academy must "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" when asked by the government. The government pays for the costs of these studies. However, the academy itself does not get paid for its services.

Even though it was a big step for science in America, the creation of the NAS caused some disagreements among scientists at the time. Over time, being elected to the National Academy became known as "the pinnacle of scientific achievement for Americans." This was true until the Nobel Prize was created later in the 1800s.

In 1870, the law was changed to remove the limit on how many members the academy could have.

In 2013, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson spoke about the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. He said that one of Lincoln's greatest achievements was starting the National Academy of Sciences in the same year. Tyson explained that this helped "set our Nation on a course of scientifically enlightened governance."

Leaders of the Academy

The president is the main leader of the academy. They are chosen by a vote of the members. A president can serve for up to six years and can be re-elected once. The academy has had 22 presidents since it began.

The current president is geophysicist Marcia K. McNutt. She is the first woman to hold this important position. Her term ends on June 30, 2022.

Awards and Recognition

The academy gives out many different awards to recognize important scientific work. These awards cover various fields of science.

Some of the awards include:

• Membership of the National Academy of Sciences: This is the highest honor, including international members.
• Awards for advances in science, scientific reviews, and scientific discovery.
• The Public Welfare Medal: This award recognizes outstanding contributions to public welfare through science.
• Awards for specific fields like Astronomy, Behavioral/Social Sciences, Biology and Medicine, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics.

Working on Climate Change

In 2005, the science academies from the G8 countries (including the National Academy of Sciences) and from Brazil, China, and India signed a statement. This statement was about how the world should respond to climate change. It said that scientists understood climate change well enough that countries should act quickly.

On May 7, 2010, 255 members of the Academy signed a letter in Science magazine. They spoke out against "political attacks" on climate change scientists. This was in response to a legal request for documents from a climate researcher. The researcher had already been cleared of any wrongdoing.

See also

In Spanish: Academia Nacional de Ciencias (Estados Unidos) para niños

• American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• National Digital Library Program (NDLP)
• List of members of the National Academy of Sciences
• National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• National Academy of Sciences' Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy
• National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey

Notable Appointments

• 1873, Edward C. Pickering (1846–1919) was the youngest scientist elected.
• 1924, Florence R. Sabin (1871–1953) was the first woman elected as a lifetime member.
• 1965, David Blackwell (1919–2010) was the first African-American elected.
• 2013, Ben Barres (1954–2017) was the first openly transgender scientist elected.