The Academy, in collaboration with the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), hosted the Morton L. Mandel Public Lecture on “How Are Humans Different from Other Great Apes?” featuring Ajit P. Varki, Pascal Gagneux, Fred H. Gage, and Margaret J. Schoeninger.

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

Two-day workshop seeks to increase participation in clean energy programs and set priorities for energy policy programs

What challenges confront U.S. courts as democratic institutions in the twenty-first century? And what does the changing role of courts teach us about our conceptions of justice?

Geoffrey R. Stone moderated a conversation with journalist Judith Miller, Judge Richard A. Posner, and author Gabriel Schoenfeld about the balance between freedom of the press and national security. Each panelist offered his or her perspective on bridging legal and ethical issues.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the creation of a new endowed fund to support its premier fellowship program in science-related policy. Previously named the Hellman Fellowship in Science and Technology Policy, the rebranded program will now be known as the Hellman and Simons Fellowship in Science and Technology Policy. The new name reflects the contributions of two families, the Hellman Family on the West Coast and the Simons Family on the East Coast, with strong philanthropic ties to the Academy and longstanding commitments to the critical importance of basic and academic science research in America.

In news stories and political commentary, we hear daily about measures of public opinion. But why, exactly, does public opinion matter? How is it shaped, and to what extent does it influence public policy? These questions are explored in the Fall 2012 issue of Dædalus. Guest-edited by Lee Epstein, professor of law and political science at the University of Southern California, the volume features eight essays by political scientists, legal scholars, and public policy experts.

Members Elected in 2025, by Class & Section

Major study by American Academy of Arts and Sciences seeks change in curriculum and assessment, commitment to funding public higher education, new ideas about the faculty role, and more.

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.

A panel discussion on Institutions of Democracy and the Public Good was the focus of the Academy's 2012 Induction Weekend, featuring Diane Wood, Governor Phil Bredesen, and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry alongside Judy Woodruff, Alex Jones, and Marty Baron. The discussion was moderated by Norman Ornstein.

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

Recent Dædalus Issues

On October 6, 2012, the American Academy inducted its 232nd class of Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members at a ceremony held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The ceremony featured historical readings by Daniel Day-Lewis, new member Bonnie Berger, and Tom Leighton. It also included presentations by five new members: Steven H. Strogatz, Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, Maureen E. Mahoney, David Blight, and Penny Pritzker. The ceremony concluded with a memorable performance by Thomas Hampson (baritone).

The Academy hosted a discussion about pressing issues facing the world in 2025. The event featured Kwame Anthony Appiah (New York University), Michael Froman (Council on Foreign Relations), and Adam Tooze (Columbia University) in conversation with Anne-Marie Slaughter (New America). Academy President Laurie L. Patton delivered the opening remarks. Transcript and video online.

Deceased Members

What is consciousness? How do we store memories, process thoughts, and command our bodies? Why do we require sleep to live? And can we trust our perception of the world around us? The Winter 2015 issue of Dædalus responds to these fundamental questions of human experience, exploring “What is the Brain Good For?” through recent developments and new theories in the field of neuroscience.

Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense, echoes the recommendations of Academy report on language learning, saying "we are constrained by our inadequate understanding of other nations and peoples, and by our inability to communicate effectively with them."

The Global Security and International Affairs program area draws on the expertise of a broad range of policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to foster knowledge and promote innovative and evidence-based policies to address crucial issues affecting the international community. Projects underway in this area engage with pressing strategic, development, and moral questions that underpin relations among people, communities, and states worldwide. Each initiative embraces a broad conception of security as the interaction among human, national, and global security imperatives. Project recommendations move beyond the idea of security as the absence of war toward higher aspirations of collective peace, development, and justice at all levels of society.

In the newly released issue of Daedalus, guest editor Gerald Early and 14 leading humanists examine “Race in the Age of Obama.” Through the lens of literature, politics, and popular culture, their essays consider both recent progress and setbacks in American race relations.