On October 7, 2017, the American Academy inducted its 237th class of Members at a ceremony held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The ceremony included presentations by five new Members: Ursula Burns, James P. Allison, Heather K. Gerken, Jane Mayer, and Gerald Chan.

ARISE II cochair Keith Yamamoto argues that knocking down boundaries between scientific disciplines would reveal great new opportunities; indeed, a new game.

The Academy's Commission on Reimagining Our Economy (CORE) is rethinking the values, policies, narratives, and metrics that shape the nation’s political economy. Rather than focus on how the economy is doing, the Commission seeks to direct a focus onto how Americans are doing. As part of this work, the Academy hosted a conversation with U.S. Representative Jim Himes, Chair of the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth and U.S. Representative Bryan Steil, the Ranking Member of the Committee.

Francis Amory Prize Symposium: Advances in Reproductive Biology and Medicine

The Winter 2021 issue of Dædalus “On the Novel,” guest-edited by Michael Wood, features fourteen essays, written by scholars with a variety of approaches and interests, that offer remarkable insights into the behavior of this versatile literary form.

On June 6, 2012, Internet pioneers Tom Leighton, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and David D. Clark discussed the future of the Web. The meeting, presented in collaboration with the Royal Society and the British Consulate-General, was the inaugural program in a lecture series on ‘GREAT Science,’ organized by the U.K. government’s Science and Innovation Network to profile international science excellence.

David Victor, who cochaired the Academy's Commission on Climate Action, released a study of climate change coverage in "elite" and "heartland" news sources between 2011 to 2022 . His analysis of the disparity (far greater likelihood of coverage in the "elite" sources) explores the effect of coverage on developing an engaged and supportive public and highlights that "a politically durable climate policy" must be more attuned to national sentiments.

Barbara J. Meyer accepts the Francis Amory Prize and gives a brief presentation about the fundamentals of sex and death.

Members Elected in 2021, by Class & Section

On June 11, 2020, the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship celebrated the release of its final report: Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. Nearly 1,200 people viewed the launch event, which featured Commission Chairs Danielle Allen (Harvard University), Stephen Heintz (Rockefeller Brothers Fund), and Eric Liu (Citizen University); Academy President David Oxtoby; as well as Commission members Judy Woodruff (PBS NewsHour) and David Brooks (The New York Times).

Academy member Douglas S. Massey discusses Ferguson and the meaning of race in America for the Bulletin’s new feature, “On the Professions.”

Elizabeth J. Perry explains the means by which the Chinese Communist party-state maintains campus calm, despite the many unpopular and potentially unsettling higher education reforms.

We know what a novel is, but can we say the same about the novel? The Winter 2021 issue of Dædalus “On the Novel,” guest-edited by Michael Wood, features fourteen essays that, rather than surveying or summarizing the fate of the novel, offer remarkable insights into the behavior of this versatile literary form, glimpses of where and what it has been and where it may go in the future.

As of January, less than half of Americans made intentional use of artificial intelligence tools (AI) to perform a variety of common tasks, but a substantial minority used AI for humanities-related tasks.

Timothy J. Colton and George Breslauer gave a presentation on “Russia Beyond Putin,” the subject of the upcoming Spring 2017 issue of Dædalus.

The collection explores new developments in the classics that are reshaping our understanding of the ancient world – and its relevance to today.

Select Prizes and Awards to Members

Janne E. Nolan reflects on John David Steinbruner's life, work, and immeasurable contributions to the Academy.

The Academy's first new members were elected in 1781 and today the Academy announced the members elected in 2025. The individuals elected were recognized for excellence in various fields and professions and are invited to join the Academy in connecting across disciplines and divides to advance the common good.