163rd NAS Annual Meeting Research Briefings

The landscape of scientific research is changing faster than ever, and the 163rd NAS Annual Meeting Research Briefings will give you a front-row seat to the latest discoveries shaping our world. From giant earthquakes and modern robotics, to the complexities of collective intelligence and the neuroscience of language, these sessions will dive into a wide…

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NAS Members Elected into the National Academy of Engineering

The NAE has announced the election of 130 regular members and 28 international members. Election to the Academy is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education. Members are also recognized for pioneering new and developing fields of technology,…

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NAS Member Receives the 2026 Craaford Prize in Geosciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced that the 2026 Craaford Prize in Geosciences is awarded to NAS member Veerabhadran Ramanathan for fundamental contributions to our understanding of how aerosol particles and other climate pollutants influence the atmospheric energy balance and the Earth system. “He has expanded our view of how humankind is affecting…

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Neil H. Shubin Elected To Be Next National Academy of Sciences President; International Secretary, Councilors Also Chosen

WASHINGTON — Neil H. Shubin, Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and vice dean for academic advancement at the University of Chicago, has been elected as the next president of the National Academy of Sciences. He will begin his five-year term on July 1, succeeding Marcia McNutt, who has served…

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Francis Collins to Receive Public Welfare Medal — Academy’s Most Prestigious Award

The National Academy of Sciences is presenting its 2026 Public Welfare Medal to Francis S. Collins, former director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), for his pioneering research in human genetics and critical contributions to public welfare as the leader of the Human Genome Project. Collins’ scientific and public service career has advanced understanding of human…

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2026 NAS Awards Recipients Announced

Academy Honors 19 for Major Contributions to Science WASHINGTON — The National Academy of Sciences will honor 19 individuals with awards recognizing their extraordinary scientific achievements in a wide range of fields spanning the physical, biological, social, and medical sciences. Roland Bürgmann, University of California, Berkeley, will receive the Arthur L. Day Prize and Lectureship…

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Monica Bertagnolli Elected President of the National Academy of Medicine

Monica Bertagnolli, former director of the National Institutes of Health, has been elected by members of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) as the Academy’s next president. Beginning July 1, 2026, she will succeed Victor J. Dzau, who has served as NAM president since 2014. Bertagnolli’s election to a six-year term follows her selection as…

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From Darkness to Discovery: Celebrating Black Hole Friday with Chung-Pei Ma

On Black Hole Friday, we spotlight the work of astrophysicist Chung-Pei Ma, whose research is transforming our understanding of the universe’s biggest black holes. From uncovering giants 20 billion times the mass of the Sun to revealing the complex interplay between galaxies and their supermassive black holes, Ma shows that these cosmic behemoths are not…

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Join the NAS for GivingTuesday

Celebrate GivingTuesday with a donation to the NAS today. GivingTuesday is a global day of giving that celebrates the collective power of philanthropy and brings the NAS community together to support the Academy’s ongoing work. Donate today

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Evolution in Action: Marking the Anniversary of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species with Peter and Rosemary Grant

On November 24, 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species and transformed our understanding of life on Earth by introducing the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. Few studies have illustrated Darwin’s principles more vividly than the decades-long work of Peter and Rosemary…

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