Responds to Congressional Request

As officials assess the impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on that country’s crippled nuclear power plants, a new publication issued today by the American Academy provides background on the cost, safety, and security attributes of the major nuclear reactor designs, as well as their properties with regard to refueling and fuel disposition requirements.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences presented the Scholar-Patriot Award to acclaimed cellist and humanist Yo-Yo Ma in recognition of his lifetime achievements as a musician, educator, and champion of multicultural understanding.

Grants will support the Academy’s Humanities Indicators (www.HumanitiesIndicators.org), the first comprehensive collection of statistical data about the humanities in the United States.

American Academy Journal Dædalus examines race in America today. Twenty-two prominent social scientists examine “Race, Inequality, and Culture,” considering topics ranging from education and family support to racial identity, politics, employment, immigration, and the influence of hip hop.

The Academy's Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences includes a group of prominent business, government, and academic leaders, artists, and scholars.

The American Academy will brief the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on the Academy’s ARISE II project.

Academy Convenes Educators, Donors, and Evaluation Specialists

The connection between citizenship and service in the military, a bedrock principle for the nation’s founders, has weakened significantly with the advent of the all-volunteer force, according to several contributors to a new volume of Dædalus on the Modern American Military.

Weekend events include panel discussions on the Constitution (with retired Associate Supreme Court Justice David Souter) and the American Military (with Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin, Commandant, U.S. Army War College)

“Protecting the Internet as a Public Commons” surveys potential safeguards and improvements for the Internet, and weighs whether introducing them might prove counterproductive.

The Officers of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences are deeply saddened by the death of Steve Jobs, who was elected a Fellow of the Academy in 2000. We celebrate his creativity and courage, his extraordinary innovation, and his insight into the importance of making new technology intuitive and easy to use.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences today presented the Talcott Parsons Prize to Daniel Kahneman, considered one of the world’s most influential living psychologists. The prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to the social sciences.