AAAS American Association for the Advancement of Science

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.

James Bowdoin, John Adams, and John Hancock founded the Academy in Boston during the American Revolution. Their objective, as stated in its charter, was to "cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honour, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people." They were joined by Robert Treat Paine and 58 local community leaders to charter the organization in 1780. Other prominent men soon joined, and early members included Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.

The modern Academy is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a building designed by Kallmann McKinnell and Wood. It sponsors conferences, organizes research projects, and publishes a quarterly journal, Dædalus. The Academy has approximately 4,000 fellows and 600 foreign honorary members. About 200 Nobel Laureates are included in the membership.

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