The World Academy of Sciences

The World Academy of Sciences

Abbreviation	TWAS
Formation	1983 (1983)
Type	International nongovernmental organization (INGO)
Location	Trieste, Italy
Region served	Worldwide
Website	twas.org

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the South (see North-South divide). Its headquarters is located on the premises of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy.

Overview

TWAS was founded in 1983 under the leadership of the Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan by a group of distinguished scientists who were determined to do something about the dismal state of scientific research in developing countries.

• Although developing countries account for 80% of the world's population, only 28% of the world's scientists hail from these countries. This fact reflects the lack of innovative potential necessary to solve real-life problems affecting poor nations.
• A chronic lack of funds for research often forces scientists in developing countries into intellectual isolation, jeopardizing their careers, their institutions and, ultimately, their nations.
• Scientists in developing countries tend to be poorly paid and gain little respect for their work because the role that scientific research can play in development efforts is underestimated. This in turn leads to brain drain in favour of the North that further impoverishes the South.
• Research institutions and universities in the South are under-funded, forcing scientists to work in difficult conditions and often with outdated equipment.

The founding members of TWAS therefore decided to set up an organization that would help to:

1. Recognize, support and promote excellence in scientific research in the South;
2. Provide promising scientists in the South with research facilities necessary for the advancement of their work;
3. Facilitate contacts between individual scientists and institutions in the South;
4. Encourage South-North cooperation between individuals and centres of scholarship;
5. Promote scientific research on major developing countries problems.

Since its inception, TWAS's operational expenses have largely been covered by generous contributions of the Italian government; since 1991 UNESCO has been responsible for the administration of TWAS finance and staff on the basis of an agreement signed by the director general of UNESCO and the president of TWAS.

It was named "Third World Academy of Sciences" until 2004 and "TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world" before September 2012, when it was renamed to is current name, "The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries."

Founding Fellows

The Founding Fellows of 1983 include

• Hua Luogeng (1910–1985), China
• Nil Ratan Dhar (1892–1987), India
• Luis F. Leloir (1906–1987), Argentina
• Benjamin Peary Pal (1906–1989), India
• Ignacio Bernal (1910–1992), Mexico
• Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff (1912–1994), Colombia
• Emilio Rosenblueth (1926–1994), Mexico
• Salimuzzaman Siddiqui (1897–1994), Pakistan
• Abdus Salam (1926–1996), Pakistan
• Carlos Chagas Filho (1910–2000), Brazil
• Johanna Döbereiner (1924–2000), Brazil
• Gopalasamudram Narayana Ramachandran (1922–2001), India
• Thomas Risley Odhiambo (1931–2003), Kenya
• Marcel Roche (1920–2003), Venezuela
• Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar (1930–2004), India
• Thomas Adeoye Lambo (1923–2004), Nigeria
• Autar Singh Paintal (1925–2004), India
• Hélio Gelli Pereira (1918–1994), Brazil
• Khem Singh Gill (b. 1930), India
• Ricardo Bressani Castignoli (1926–2015), Guatemala

TWAS Prize

Further information: List of TWAS Prize laureates

TWAS Prize
International award for contributions to Science
Sponsored by	The World Academy of Sciences
Country	Italy
Formerly called	TWAS Awards in Basic Sciences (till 2003)
Reward(s)	A bronze rectangular plaque embedded on a red base US$ 15000
First awarded	1985
Last awarded	2016
Highlights
Total awarded	242
Website	https://twas.org

The TWAS Prize is an annual award instituted in 1985 by TWAS to recognize excellence in scientific research in the global South. At inception, the award was titled TWAS Awards in Basic Sciences and was awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics categories but was merged with the TWNSO (Third World Network of Scientific Organizations) Prizes in Applied Sciences in 2003 to form the present-day TWAS Prize, which is awarded in nine categories viz. Agricultural Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Mathematics, Medical Sciences, Physics and Social Sciences. The award carries a plaque and a cash prize of US$ 15000 and is open to scientists living and working in a developing country.

The World Academy of Sciences

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a global science academy headquartered at the premises of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. The academy, founded in 1983, promotes science and engineering for sustainable prosperity in the developing world. It was originally named TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world at inception but was renamed as The World Academy of Sciences in 2004.

External links

TWAS official website