New York Academy of Sciences

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The New York Academy of Sciences is a society of some 20,000 scientists of all disciplines from 150 countries. It aims "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". From 1949 to 2006 it operated from premises that it owned at 2 East 63rd Street, New York, a neo-Italian Renaissance building built in 1919. In 2006, the Academy more than doubled its space by selling the Upper East Side facility and moving to rented space inside 7 World Trade Center.^[1]

Since its foundation in 1817 as The Lyceum of Natural History in the City of New York, the Academy has organized many meetings of its members with other scientists and communicated the results widely. In 1823 the proceedings of a conference were published as the first of the Annals series that still continues. Members can also read the contents of many Annals online.

The Academy is active in the formation of policies that use or promote science. It provides mentors to tertiary students, arranges events for secondary students, initiated the Harbor Project to eliminate pollution of the New York-New Jersey harbor, and promote the rights of scientists and related workers around the world.

Past members include Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Charles Darwin, John James Audubon, and Albert Einstein. As of 2005 its President's Council includes 16 Nobel Prize winners.

[edit] History

In 1831 the foundation of New York University arose largely from the support of the Lyceum.

The Lyceum was renamed the New York Academy of Science in 1877. In 1881 the regular publication of the Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences began alongside that of the Annals. A third publication, the Memoirs of the New York Academy of Sciences started in 1895.

The Academy became a focus for scientific organizations in New York in 1891 under the name "the Scientific Alliance". These organizations subsequently became Sections of the Academy and further Sections were formed to cover disciplines previously unrepresented. This is the basis of the present Academy structure of about twenty sections.

In 1935 there were 317 members. This grew to over 20,000 by 1967, peaked at around 24,000 in 2000 and has since fallen back to the 1967 level. The Academy maintains a publicly accessible gallery, presenting mostly contemporary art related to natural phenomena and scientific subjects.

In 2006, The Academy moved to a new 40,000-square-foot headquarters, on the 40th floor of 7 World Trade Center. Designed by the renowned architect Hugh Hardy and his firm H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, the move represents the reinvention of a prominent New York institution.