Number of Organizations Supporting Call to Action Surpasses 500

Climate change, soil erosion, human rights, Indigenous peoples, and “fixing” our democracy — the class speakers at the 2019 Induction Ceremony addressed major issues facing the world today, with calls to action and calls for change. Following a reading from the letters of John and Abigail Adams by humanitarian Jane Olson and attorney Ronald Olson, newly elected members spoke passionately about their life’s work. The ceremony featured presentations from paleoclimatologists Ellen Mosley-Thompson and Lonnie G. Thompson; microbiologist Jo Handelsman; former United Nations diplomat Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein; historian Margaret Jacobs; and lawyer and advocate Sherrilyn Ifill. An edited version of their presentations follows.
2083rd Stated Meeting | October 12, 2019 | Cambridge, MA

Limiting the effects of climate change will require a substantial transformation of the energy infrastructure. The Winter 2013 issue of Dædalus explores an equally important but less appreciated requirement for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions: the societal transition that must accompany these technological changes.

On November 28, 2017, at the Century Association in New York City, Vartan Gregorian, Gail O. Mellow, Michael S. McPherson, and Nicholas Lemann participated in a discussion about new opportunities for U.S. undergraduate education.

Over the past three years, the American Academy’s Commission on the Arts has developed a rich and diverse array of materials to elevate and promote arts education, the creative workforce, and the arts generally. Drawing on the expertise of artists, scholars, activists, and leaders of a variety of artistic institutions, the Commission developed two reports and a collection of artistic expressions.

Alexei V. Filippenko discusses supernovae and the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Robert Ballard tells the story of his passionate career in ocean exploration and discusses the educational initiatives he has created to engage a new generation of scientists.

On October 24, 2023, the Academy released Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America, the final report of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action. Prompted by a statement by the Academy’s Board in 2021, the report addresses the need for a climate strategy that breaks through the divisions that characterize politics in the nation today.

First national study of language learning in 30 years was requested from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences by a bipartisan group of members of U.S. Senate & House of Representatives

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

John G. Levi discusses access to justice, and how many low-income Americans have significant difficulty navigating our country’s legal system on their own.

The Academy’s Francis Amory Prize recognizes major contributions to the field of reproductive biology and was first awarded in 1940. Over the years, the prize recipients have reflected the increasing complexity and remarkable scientific progress in the field of reproductive biology.

The Summer 2013 issue of Dædalus examines the origins and characteristics of new immigrants and considers their reception in the United States, with regard to both public policies and private behavior.

On January 28, 2013, the Academy honored Robert J. Birgeneau, Chancellor Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley, at a special symposium on the benefit of public investment in higher education. Chancellor Birgeneau, Mary Sue Coleman, and Henry E. Brady participated in a conversation on the future of America’s system of public higher education, focusing on the California model and beyond.

Artists can help us emerge and heal from the global pandemic — but first we have to create more systems that support them and their work. Laura Zabel, member of the American Academy’s Commission on the Arts, explains how.

Miranda Restovic and Sarah DeBacher of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities describes their organization’s efforts to bring rich, humanities-focused educational experiences to preschoolers, thereby expanding the traditional understanding of what a humanities organization does—and for whom.

The twenty-first-century information sciences will allow us to communicate information and compute at unprecedented speeds. By 2029, for example, we should be able to build computers, in quantity, that are a million times more powerful than the personal computers of today.

Select Prizes and Awards to Members