Joan V. Ruderman

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) formed the Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC) in 1980 as a permanent committee to bring the resources of the Academy to bear on critical problems of international security and arms control. CISAC, in the Policy and Global Affairs Division, draws from the nation’s finest scientific, technical, engineering and medical talent to advise the government, contribute to the work of non-governmental organizations, and inform the public about scientific and technical issues related to international security and arms control. CISAC’s work benefits from a rotating membership of distinguished scientists, policy and military experts. The Committee carries out its mandate through a variety of activities that receive financial support from public and private sponsors.

Founded in 1780, 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. With a current membership of 4,000 American Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members, the Academy has four major goals: Promoting service and study through analysis of critical social and intellectual issues and the development of practical policy alternatives; Fostering public engagement and the exchange of ideas with meetings, conferences, and symposia bringing diverse perspectives to the examination of issues of common concern; Mentoring a new generation of scholars and thinkers through the Visiting Scholars Program and Hellman Fellowship Program; Honoring excellence by electing to membership men and women in a broad range of disciplines and professions. Click here to learn about our new members. The Academy's headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With its geographically diverse membership, it conducts activities in this country and abroad

The MBL is an international center for research, education, and training in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. The oldest private marine laboratory in the country, the MBL has a year-round staff of more than 270 scientists and support personnel working in such fields as cell, developmental, and regenerative biology, ecology, microbiology, genetics and metagenomics, neurobiology, sensory biology, and biodiversity informatics. Each summer, an additional 1,700 scientists and advanced students from around the world come to the MBL to study and conduct research. The MBL’s educational program, which offers seven major summer courses and approximately twenty special topics courses throughout the year, plays a significant role in training the world's biologists and environmental scientists