By Maggie Boyd, Associate Archivist at the Academy

A new report sets forth concerns about America's inadequate investment in R&D for science and engineering as China advances. The report makes recommendations that could help ensure the United States secures its strong position of global leadership in discovery and innovation.

New digital technologies are exacerbating inequality. Citing authors and essays from the Academy’s latest issue of Dædalus on AI & Society, David Rotman examines how scientists creating AI can make better choices.

New Volume of Essays from the American Academy Examines the Teaching of Evidence-Based Decision Making

​​​​​​​The Rumford Prize – a storied science award presented by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences – has been given to astrophysicist and experimental cosmologist Charles L. Bennett.

A guest essay in the New York Times highlights the original work and unique insights of the Academy's Commission on Reimagining Our Economy. Rooted in the Commission's listening sessions, the essay helps answer the question: why are standard economic indicators—including unemployment, GDP growth, and retail sales—positive while the sentiment of Americans about the economy is persistently negative?

At the 860th Meeting of the Academy held June 14, 1893 in the Physiological Lecture Room of the Harvard Medical School in Boston, physician and Member Harold C. Ernst, using diagrams, lantern slides, and live samples, explained the methods of investigation...

Patricia Meyer Spacks reflects on the life and work of Mary Maples Dunn, co-director of the Visiting Scholars Program at the American Academy.

The Fall 2020 issue of Dædalus on “Witnessing Climate Change” features sixteen personal narratives about climate-related work by professionals from multiple fields, backgrounds, and generations who feel a responsibility to share what they know and take action.

Benjamin Dearborn, an educator and inventor who was elected to the Academy in 1794, wrote to Academy president John Adams in August 1794, describing his design for a “Music Board” for the benefit of persons who are visually impaired...

When Daniel Barron (Brigham and Women's Hospital) delivered a keynote address at an event with the National Association of Social Workers, he proposed ways to approach the use of AI to help social workers advance innovation without compromising compassion.

Academy report includes a roadmap for storing spent nuclear fuel

What does it mean to conduct responsible, ethical, and constructive social research within the Middle East and North Africa and around the world? For decades, social scientists who work in and on the Middle East have confronted the ethical complexities of working with research participants, partners, and colleagues who are at risk. Conflict, autocracy, censorship, poverty, inequality, disciplinary imperatives, and institutional interests all shape research opportunities and agendas in ways that may imperil careers, livelihoods, and even lives.

Despite America’s history and reputation as a “melting pot,” immigration continues to polarize policy-makers. 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. The issue is guest edited by Academy Fellow Douglas S. Massey (Princeton University), a leading expert in the sociology of immigration.

Linguist William Labov will receive the Talcott Parsons Prize from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences for his distinguished and original contributions to the social sciences.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences named Toni Morrison as the recipient of the 2016 Emerson-Thoreau Medal for her distinguished achievement in the field of literature. Established in 1958, the medal is awarded to an individual for his or her total literary achievement rather than for a specific work.

Academy Member Jacqueline Jones, who is currently writing a book on the history of the Academy, was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

Recent Dædalus Issues Explore Mental Health as well as Language & Social Justice in the United States