Institutions are critical to our personal and societal well-being. They facilitate relationships; they regulate behavior. They develop and disseminate knowledge, enforce the law, keep us healthy, and uphold social and religious norms.

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

From the President

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

When I took office as President in 2019, I quickly realized that one of the great joys of this role is the opportunity to travel to meet with members of our remarkable community. During 2019–2020, I visited some of our largest member communities in New York, Chicago, and the San Francisco Bay area; smaller member groups in locations such as Dallas, St. Louis, and Nashville; and many international members in places such as Colombia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

One of the most notable developments in American academic life of the past sixty years has been intellectual renewal where it might have been least expected: among evangelical Christians.

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

A new publication from the Academy, released in January 2015, features selected materials from the Academy’s Archives. Published to celebrate the 235th anniversary of the institution’s founding in 1780, “Advancing Knowledge” reflects the rich intellectual history of the Academy and the nation.

From the Archives

Citing Academy report "America's Languages," Kathleen Stein-Smith explores the increasing scarcity of foreign language classes and teachers.

An event at the Academy explored and expanded upon essays in the new volume, The Fragile Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the Nuclear Age. Authors, other experts, and audience members in Cambridge and online considered how unpredictable leadership, domestic unrest, volatile states, and rapid technological advancements are changing the new nuclear era.

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, elected to the Academy in 2022, have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2023. They shared insights into their pioneering work on mRNA vaccines in an Academy conversation earlier this year.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has named Victor Seow the recipient of its Sarton Prize for the History of Science, recognizing his exceptional promise and distinguished achievements as an emerging scholar in the field.

A new publication from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences is released. Its purpose is to inform policymakers who will shape the relative safety or danger of the future international nuclear environment.

Financial Statements

Sterling Speirn served on the 35-member Academy commission and talks about his life's work and this initiative of "civic, cultural and political reforms that could inspire a democratic renaissance at this crucial moment."

Essays explore Russia under Vladimir Putin and the prospects for significant political changes today and in a post-Putin era.