NAS Members Research Articles

Introduction to "From the Academy".

This issue marks the beginning of a new feature of the Proceedings: “From the Academy.” The primary goal of this feature is to inform the readers of our journal about the structure and activities of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (NAS). Although most scientists learn early in their careers that the United States has an academy of sciences, its actual operations are not widely known even though it is often the leading representative of American science. The Academy serves as an advisor to the Federal Government on science and recognizes leading scientific advances and scientists. The institution of “From the Academy” culminates efforts of the past year and a half to make the Proceedings more informative of its parent organization. The new NAS members elected in 1996 were announced in the April 30, 1996 issue, and the subdivisions of the Academy that they joined were listed in the September 3, 1996 issue. This was accompanied by a brief description of the organization of the NAS division into classes and sections. The series of “Inaugural Year Articles” will each year introduce the newest members of the Academy via their research. A complete list of members of the NAS appeared in the January 7 issue of this year. The Academy regularly bestows a number of prizes. In the June 25, 1996 issue, nomination forms for these awards were presented. The winners of the prizes and their contributions to science will be announced this spring. Papers from Academy-sponsored colloquia and symposia have been a feature of the journal for several years. Since January 1996, the topics have been “Vision: From Photon to Perception,” “Earthquake Prediction: The Scientific Challenge,” “Biology of Developmental Transcription Control,” “Genetic Engineering of Viruses and Virus Vectors,” “Frontiers in Plant Biology: How Plants Communicate,” “Science, Technology, and the Economy,” “Memory: Recording Experience in Cells and Circuits,” and “Symmetries Throughout the Sciences.” Jack Halpern, NAS Vice-President, leads off the first “From the Academy” feature on page 1606 with an overview of the history, organization, and activities of the NAS entitled “The U.S. National Academy of Sciences—In service to science and society.” “From the Academy” will focus on the most important function of the Academy, shaping science policy. This is carried out in large part by a series of commissioned reports on a wide variety of scientific issues by the National Research Council (NRC). The NRC is the joint investigative arm of the National Academy of Science, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Engineering. On page 1609, a member of the Proceedings Editorial Board, Ronald L. Phillips, has written a perspective paper entitled “Opportunities await” on a recent NRC report: “Colleges of agriculture at the Land Grant Universities: Public service and public policy.” To accompany this perspective, a portion of the Executive Summary of that report and a list of members of the Committee on the Future of the Colleges of Agriculture in the Land Grant University System are given on page 1610. This premiere “From the Academy” also highlights the Workshop on Schizophrenia held at the NAS. A report of the workshop by Barondes et al. appears on page 1612. Upcoming installments of “From the Academy” will highlight other NRC reports and NAS functions. They will also contain a list of the titles of recent NRC reports and how the complete documents or summaries can be obtained. The NRC depends upon volunteers from all areas of science, and we hope that wider dissemination of its reports will stimulate broader participation. We will soon publish summaries of the Frontiers of Science symposia. Held under NAS auspices, they are run by young scientists at the leading edge of their fields. “From the Academy” will be presented occasionally as new NRC reports appear and as essays on the NAS are prepared. This feature is something of an experiment for the journal, and I invite your comments on how it can be made more useful.

New NAS members

The National Academy of Sciences elected 60 new members and 14 foreign associates April 25.Five new members are geophysists and geologists: William A. Berggren, senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts; Stephen J. Gould, professor of geology and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; Warren B. Hamilton, research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo.; Peter Meyer, professor at the Enrico Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies and chairman of the Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Illinois; and John G. Sclater, Shell Distinguished Professor of Geophysics and associate director of the Institute of Geophysics, University of Texas, Austin.

NAS members were also undergraduates.

NAS members were also undergraduates.

NAS members were also undergraduates.

NAS members were also undergraduates.

New NAS members include 13 chemists

New NAS members include 13 chemists

NAS Members Appeal on Behalf of Soviet Colleagues

NAS Members Appeal on Behalf of Soviet Colleagues