Election of Alberts and Lu as IAC Co-Chairs

Inter Academy Council

Date:          February 2, 2005
Contacts:   Albert Koers, Executive Director
                 InterAcademy Council
                  Amsterdam, +31 20 334 0766, e-mail <secretariat@iac.knaw.nl>

                 Vanee Vines, Senior Media Relations Officer
                 Office of News and Public Information
                 U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
                   202-334-2138, e-mail news@nas.edu

Alberts and Lu Elected Co-chairs of InterAcademy Council

AMSTERDAM - The governing board of the InterAcademy Council (IAC) has elected Bruce Alberts, president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as its co-chairs for the next four years.

The world's science academies created the IAC in 2000 to mobilize the best scientists and engineers across the globe to advise international bodies - such as the United Nations and the World Bank - and other institutions. Headquartered at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in Amsterdam, the IAC's governing board comprises the presidents of 15 national academies of science or equivalent organizations representing Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Turkey, as well as the African Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). The IAC collaborates closely with the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP), which represents more than 90 national science academies.

"I am very honored to be elected as one of the new co-chairs of the IAC," said Lu. "I look forward to working with other members of the IAC board to mobilize science for a better world."

This is the second term as IAC co-chair for Alberts. "The new IAC board has set forth an ambitious agenda for the next four years, addressing critical issues facing all nations of the world," he said.

IAC reports that have been released in the past year include Inventing a Better Future: A Strategy for Building Worldwide Capacities in Science and Technology and Realizing the Promise and Potential of African Agriculture. Future IAC studies will address topics such as global energy systems, biodiversity, women in the sciences, and ways to strengthen universities.

The following are members of the newly elected IAC board for 2005-2009:

Bruce Alberts (co-chair), president, U.S. National Academy of Sciences
Lu Yongxiang (co-chair), president, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Reza Davari Ardakani, president, Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Engin Bermek, president, Turkish Academy of Sciences
Edouard Brezin, president, French Academy of Sciences
Mohamed H.A. Hassan, president, African Academy of Sciences
Eduardo Moacyr Krieger, president, Brazilian Academy of Sciences
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, president, Science Council of Japan
Servet Martinez Aguilera, president, Chilean Academy of Sciences
R.A. Mashelkar, president, Indian National Science Academy
Robert May, president, Royal Society of London, United Kingdom
C.N.R. Rao, president, Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS)
Salleh Mohd Nor, vice president, Academy of Sciences Malaysia
S.E. Vizi, president, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, president, German Research Foundation
Achiel van Cauwenberghe (observer), president-elect, International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences Inc. (CAETS)
Guy de The (observer), co-chair, InterAcademy Medical Panel
Willem Levelt (observer), president, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Jane Lubchenco (observer), president, International Council for Science (ICSU)
Yves Quere (observer), co-chair, InterAcademy Panel on International Issues