The World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) is an international non-governmental scientific organization, an informal and non-official world network of individual fellows elected for distinguished accomplishments in the fields of natural and social sciences, arts and the humanities. The Academy has been striving to promote the growth of human knowledge, and to enhance public awareness of the social consequences and policy implications of that growth.
The idea of founding the Academy was voiced in the 1950s by leading scientists who were concerned about the potential for misuse of scientific discoveries. They included
Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and
Joseph RotblatSir Joseph Rotblat, KCMG, CBE, FRS , was a Polish-born, British-naturalised physicist.His work on nuclear fallout was a major contribution to the agreement of the Partial Test Ban Treaty...
who had been involved in the development of the atomic bomb;
Bertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
philosopher and pacifist;
Joseph NeedhamNoel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham, CH, FRS, FBA , also known as Li Yuese , was a British scientist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and as a fellow of the British...
, a co-founder of UNESCO; Lord Boyd Orr, the First Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization; George Brock Chisholm, the First Director General of the
World Health OrganizationThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
; John A. Fleming, former President of the International Council of Scientific Unions; as well as
Hermann Joseph MullerHermann Joseph Muller was an American geneticist, educator, and Nobel laureate best known for his work on the physiological and genetic effects of radiation as well as his outspoken political beliefs...
, Harold C. Urey,
Francis PerrinFrancis Perrin was a French physicist,the son of Nobel prize-winning physicist Jean Perrin.- Physicist :Francis Perrin was born in Paris and attended École Normale Supérieure in Paris.In 1928 he obtained a doctorate in mathematical sciences from the faculté des sciences of Paris, based upon a...
, Panchanan Maheshwari,
Theodore MonodThéodore André Monod was a French naturalist, explorer, and humanist scholar.-Exploration:...
,
Detlev BronkDetlev Wulf Bronk was President of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland from 1949 to 1953 and President of the National Academy of Sciences from 1950 to 1962. Bronk is credited with reshaping the postwar university environment at Hopkins...
,
Harold LasswellHarold Dwight Lasswell was a leading American political scientist and communications theorist. He was a member of the Chicago school of sociology and was a professor at Yale University in law. He was a President of the American Political Science Association and World Academy of Art and Science...
and other outstanding scholars and public figures. The Academy was organized in December, 1960 with the aim of creating an informal world association of the highest scientific and ethical norms and standards.
At present the Academy restricts its membership to 700 Fellows and Associate Fellows from all parts of the world. It has a secretariat in the U.S.A and has divisions in North America and South Eastern Europe. It holds conferences and seminars on a wide range of topics and issues relating to the spread and application of knowledge in such diverse fields as biotechnology, employment, environment, globalization, global security, nuclear disarmament, information revolution and social development. Election qualifications in the WAAS is similar to those of national academies.
In an effort to put new vigor and dynamism to the commitments of the founders, in 2005 WAAS formed a standing committee on Peace and Development to strengthen its efforts to bring about an abolition of the nuclear weapons. In achieving this goal, the Academy is also composed of leading politicians, statesmen and heads of various counties as well as Nobel Prize winners.
Election in the WAAS is considered as one of the highest honors that can be accorded a scientist.
The Academy is managed by a 19 member board of trustees with a president at the helm. The president since February 2008 is
Jeffrey H. SchwartzJeffrey Hugh Schwartz, PhD, is an American physical anthropologist and professor of biological anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, President of the World Academy of Art and Science ....
, a professor of the
University of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
noted for his works in evolutionary biology and
anthropologyAnthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
.
Past Presidents of the World Academy
- Lord John Boyd Orr
- Hugo Boyko
- Stuart Mudd
- Marion Mushkat
Prof Marion Mushkat was a Polish lawyer, colonel, judge, specialist of international public law, military law and international affairs.-Biography:...
- Detlev Bronk
Detlev Wulf Bronk was President of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland from 1949 to 1953 and President of the National Academy of Sciences from 1950 to 1962. Bronk is credited with reshaping the postwar university environment at Hopkins...
- Harold Lasswell
Harold Dwight Lasswell was a leading American political scientist and communications theorist. He was a member of the Chicago school of sociology and was a professor at Yale University in law. He was a President of the American Political Science Association and World Academy of Art and Science...
- Walter Isard
Walter Isard was a prominent American economist, the principal founder of the discipline of Regional Science, as well as one of the main founders of the discipline of Peace Science....
- Ronald St. John Macdonald
Ronald St. John Macdonald, CC was a Canadian legal academic and jurist.Born in Montreal, the son of R. St. John Macdonald and Elizabeth Smith, he served as a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. When he returned to Canada he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949...
- Carl-Göran Hedén
Carl-Göran Hedén was a distinguished Swedish scholar in the fields of Microbiology, Biotechnology and microbial physiology, D.Sc., Professor of the Karolinska Institute , a Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences since 1959 and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences since...
- Harlan Cleveland
Harlan Cleveland was an American diplomat, educator, and author. He served as Lyndon Johnson's U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 1965–1969, and earlier as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, 1961-1965...
- Walter Truett Anderson
Walter Truett Anderson is a political scientist, social psychologist, and author of numerous nonfiction books and articles in newspapers and magazines....
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