The American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS) is an American international
non-profit organization with the stated goals
of promoting cooperation among scientists,
defending scientific freedom, encouraging
scientific responsibility, and supporting
scientific education and science outreach
for the betterment of all humanity.
It is the world's largest general scientific
society, with over 120,000 members, and is
the publisher of the well-known scientific
journal Science.
== History ==
=== Creation ===
The American Association for the Advancement
of Science was created on September 20, 1848,
at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
It was a reformation of the Association of
American Geologists and Naturalists.
The society chose William Charles Redfield
as their first president because he had proposed
the most comprehensive plans for the organization.
According to the first constitution which
was agreed to at the September 20 meeting,
the goal of the society was to promote scientific
dialogue in order to allow for greater scientific
collaboration.
By doing so the association aimed to use resources
to conduct science with increased efficiency
and allow for scientific progress at a greater
rate.
The association also sought to increase the
resources available to the scientific community
through active advocacy of science.
There were only 78 members when the AAAS was
formed.
As a member of the new scientific body, Matthew
Fontaine Maury, USN was one of those who attended
the first 1848 meeting.At a meeting held on
Friday afternoon, September 22, 1848, Redfield
presided, and Matthew Fontaine Maury gave
a full scientific report on his Wind and Current
Charts.
Maury stated that hundreds of ship navigators
were now sending abstract logs of their voyages
to the United States Naval Observatory.
He added, "Never before was such a corps of
observers known."
But, he pointed out to his fellow scientists,
his critical need was for more "simultaneous
observations."
"The work," Maury stated, "is not exclusively
for the benefit of any nation or age."
The minutes of the AAAS meeting reveal that
because of the universality of this "view
on the subject, it was suggested whether the
states of Christendom might not be induced
to cooperate with their Navies in the undertaking;
at least so far as to cause abstracts of their
log-books and sea journals to be furnished
to Matthew F. Maury, USN, at the Naval Observatory
at Washington."
William Barton Rogers, professor at the University
of Virginia and later founder of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, offered a resolution:
"Resolved that a Committee of five be appointed
to address a memorial to the Secretary of
the Navy, requesting his further aid in procuring
for Matthew Maury the use of the observations
of European and other foreign navigators,
for the extension and perfecting of his charts
of winds and currents."
The resolution was adopted and, in addition
to Rogers, the following members of the association
were appointed to the committee: Professor
Joseph Henry of Washington; Professor Benjamin
Peirce of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Professor
James H. Coffin of Easton, Pennsylvania, and
Professor Stephen Alexander of Princeton,
New Jersey.
This was scientific cooperation, and Maury
went back to Washington with great hopes for
the future.
=== Growth and Civil War dormancy ===
By 1860, membership increased to over 2,000.
The AAAS became dormant during the American
Civil War; their August 1861 meeting in Nashville,
Tennessee, was postponed indefinitely after
the outbreak of the first major engagement
of the war at Bull Run.
The AAAS did not become a permanent casualty
of the war.
In 1866, Frederick Barnard presided over the
first meeting of the resurrected AAAS at a
meeting in New York City.
Following the revival of the AAAS, the group
had considerable growth.
The AAAS permitted all people, regardless
of scientific credentials, to join.
The AAAS did, however, institute a policy
of granting the title of "Fellow of the AAAS"
to well-respected scientists within the organization.
The years of peace brought the development
and expansion of other scientific-oriented
groups.
The AAAS's focus on the unification of many
fields of science under a single organization
was in contrast to the many new science organizations
founded to promote a single discipline.
For example, the American Chemical Society,
founded in 1876, promotes chemistry.
In 1863, the US Congress established the National
Academy of Sciences, another multidisciplinary
sciences organization.
It elects members based on recommendations
from colleagues and the value of published
works.
=== Advocacy ===
Alan I. Leshner, AAAS CEO from 2001 until
2015, published many op-ed articles discussing
how many people integrate science and religion
in their lives.
He has opposed the insertion of non-scientific
content, such as creationism or intelligent
design, into the scientific curriculum of
schools.In December 2006, the AAAS adopted
an official statement on climate change, in
which they stated, "The scientific evidence
is clear: global climate change caused by
human activities is occurring now, and it
is a growing threat to society....The pace
of change and the evidence of harm have increased
markedly over the last five years.
The time to control greenhouse gas emissions
is now."In February 2007, the AAAS used satellite
images to document human rights abuses in
Burma.
The next year, AAAS launched the Center for
Science Diplomacy to advance both science
and the broader relationships among partner
countries, by promoting science diplomacy
and international scientific cooperation.In
2012, AAAS published op-eds, held events on
Capitol Hill and released analyses of the
U.S. federal research-and-development budget,
to warn that a budget sequestration would
have severe consequences for scientific progress.
== Sciences ==
AAAS covers various areas of sciences and
engineering.
It has twelve sections, each with a committee
and its chair.
These committees are also entrusted with the
annual evaluation and selection of Fellows
(see: Fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science).
The sections are:
Astronomy
Engineering
Anthropology
Education
Medical Sciences
Biological Sciences
Industrial Science and Technology
Geology and Geography
History and Philosophy of Science
Agriculture, Food & Renewable Resources
Linguistics and Language Sciences
General Interest in Science and Engineering
== Governance ==
The most recent Constitution of the AAAS,
enacted on January 1, 1973, establishes that
the governance of the AAAS is accomplished
through four entities: a President, a group
of administrative officers, a Council, and
a Board of Directors.
=== Presidents ===
Individuals elected to the presidency of the
AAAS hold a three-year term in a unique way.
The first year is spent as President-elect,
the second as President and the third as Chairperson
of the Board of Directors.
In accordance with the convention followed
by the AAAS, presidents are referenced by
the year in which they left office.
Geraldine Richmond is the President of AAAS
for 2015–16; Phillip Sharp is the Board
Chair; and Barbara A. Schaal is the President-Elect.
Each took office on the last day of the 2015
AAAS Annual Meeting in February 2015.
On the last day of the 2016 AAAS Annual Meeting,
February 15, 2016, Richmond will become the
Chair, Schaal will become the President, and
a new President-Elect will take office.
Past presidents of AAAS have included some
of the most important scientific figures of
their time.
Among them: explorer and geologist John Wesley
Powell (1888); astronomer and physicist Edward
Charles Pickering (1912); anthropologist Margaret
Mead (1975); and biologist Stephen Jay Gould
(2000).
Notable Presidents of the AAAS, 1848–2005
=== Administrative officers ===
There are three classifications of high-level
administrative officials that execute the
basic, daily functions of the AAAS.
These are the executive officer, the treasurer
and then each of the AAAS's section secretaries.
The current CEO of AAAS and executive publisher
of Science magazine is Rush D. Holt.
==== Sections of the AAAS ====
The AAAS has 24 "sections" with each section
being responsible for a particular concern
of the AAAS.
There are sections for agriculture, anthropology,
astronomy, atmospheric science, biological
science, chemistry, dentistry, education,
engineering, general interest in science and
engineering, geology and geography, the history
and philosophy of science, technology, computer
science, linguistics, mathematics, medical
science, neuroscience, pharmaceutical science,
physics, psychology, science and human rights,
social and political science, the social impact
of science and engineering, and statistics.
==== Affiliates ====
AAAS affiliates include 262 societies and
academies of science, serving more than 10
million members, from the Acoustical Society
of America to the Wildlife Society, as well
as non-mainstream groups like the Parapsychological
Association.
=== The Council ===
The Council is composed of the members of
the Board of Directors, the retiring section
chairmen, elected delegates and affiliated
foreign council members.
Among the elected delegates there are always
at least two members from the National Academy
of Sciences and one from each region of the
country.
The President of the AAAS serves as the Chairperson
of the Council.
Members serve the Council for a term of three
years.
The council meets annually to discuss matters
of importance to the AAAS.
They have the power to review all activities
of the Association, elect new fellows, adopt
resolutions, propose amendments to the Association's
constitution and bylaws, create new scientific
sections, and organize and aid local chapters
of the AAAS.
The Council recently has new additions to
it from different sections which include many
youngsters as well.
John Kerry of Chicago is the youngest American
in the council and Akhil Ennamsetty of India
is the youngest foreign council member.
=== Board of directors ===
The board of directors is composed of a chairperson,
the president, and the president-elect along
with eight elected directors, the executive
officer of the association and up to two additional
directors appointed by elected officers.
Members serve a four-year term except for
directors appointed by elected officers, who
serve three-year terms.
The current chairman is Gerald Fink, Margaret
and Herman Sokol Professor at Whitehead Institute,
MIT. Fink will serve in the post until the
end of the 2016 AAAS Annual Meeting, 15 February
2016.
(The chairperson is always the immediate past-president
of AAAS.)
The board of directors has a variety of powers
and responsibilities.
It is charged with the administration of all
association funds, publication of a budget,
appointment of administrators, proposition
of amendments, and determining the time and
place of meetings of the national association.
The board may also speak publicly on behalf
of the association.
The board must also regularly correspond with
the council to discuss their actions.
== AAAS Fellows ==
The AAAS council elects every year, its members
who are distinguished scientifically, to the
grade of fellow (FAAAS).
Election to AAAS is an honor bestowed by their
peers and elected fellows are presented with
a certificate and rosette pin.
To limit the effects and tolerance of sexual
harassment in the sciences, starting 15 October
2018, a Fellow's status can be revoked "in
cases of proven scientific misconduct, serious
breaches of professional ethics, or when the
Fellow in the view of the AAAS otherwise no
longer merits the status of Fellow."
== Meetings ==
Formal meetings of the AAAS are numbered consecutively,
starting with the first meeting in 1848.
Meetings were not held 1861–1865 during
the American Civil War, and also 1942–1943
during World War II.
Since 1946, one meeting has occurred annually,
now customarily in February.
== Awards and fellowships ==
Each year, the AAAS gives out a number of
honorary awards, most of which focus on science
communication, journalism, and outreach – sometimes
in partnership with other organizations.
The awards recognize "scientists, journalists,
and public servants for significant contributions
to science and to the public’s understanding
of science.”
The awards are presented each year at the
association's annual meeting.
The AAAS also offers a number of fellowship
programs.
=== Currently active awards include ===
Award for Science and Diplomacy
Early Career Award for Public Engagement with
Science
The Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology
Kavli Science Journalism Awards – Children's
Science News
Kavli Science Journalism Awards – Magazine
Kavli Science Journalism Awards – Newspapers
(< 100,000 daily circulation)
Kavli Science Journalism Awards – Newspapers
(> 100,000 daily circulation)
Kavli Science Journalism Awards – Online
Kavli Science Journalism Awards – Radio
Kavli Science Journalism Awards – Television
Leadership in Science Education Prize for
High School Teachers
Mentor Award
Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement
Newcomb Cleveland Prize
Philip Hauge Abelson Prize
Public Engagement with Science Award
Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award
John McGovern Lecture
William D. Carey Lecture
== Publications ==
The society's flagship publication is Science,
a weekly interdisciplinary scientific journal.
Other peer-reviewed journals published by
the AAAS are Science Signaling, Science Translational
Medicine, Science Immunology, Science Robotics
and the interdisciplinary Science Advances.
They also publish the non-peer-reviewed Science
& Diplomacy.
== EurekAlert!
==
In 1996, AAAS launched the EurekAlert! website,
an editorially independent, non-profit news
release distribution service covering all
areas of science, medicine and technology.
Eurekalert! provides news in English, Spanish,
French, German, Portuguese, Japanese.
In 2007, EurekAlert!
Chinese was launched.Working staff journalists
and freelancers who meet eligibility guidelines
can access the latest studies before publication
and obtain embargoed information in compliance
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's
Regulation Fair Disclosure policy.
By early 2018, more than 14,000 reporters
from more than 90 countries have registered
for free access to embargoed materials.
More than 5,000 active public information
officers from 2,300 universities, academic
journals, government agencies, and medical
centers are credentialed to provide new releases
to reporters and the public through the system.In
1998, European science organizations countered
Eurekalert! with a press release distribution
service AlphaGalileo.Eurekalert! has fallen
under criticism for lack of press release
standards and for generating churnalism.
== See also ==
AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility
British Association for the Advancement of
Science
EuroScience, the European equivalent of the
AAAS
National Postdoctoral Association
National Science Foundation
Renaissance, sculpture outside the AAAS headquarters.
SAGE KE, Science of Aging Knowledge Environment,
provided by AAAS
Science's STKE, Signal Transduction Knowledge
Environment, provided by AAAS
United States National Academy of Sciences
