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Appendix B
National and International
Scientific Organizations
Relevant to the BWC
THE CONVENING ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE WORKSHOP
IAP—the Global Network of Science Academies (formerly the Inter-
Academy Panel on International Issues), founded in 1993, is a global net-
work of 104 science academies in partnership designed “to help its mem-
bers develop the tools they need to participate effectively in science policy
discussions and decision making.” The current co-chairs are Canada and
the African Academy of Sciences. More information about IAP can be
found on its website at http://www.interacademies.net/. The IAP execu-
tive council established a Biosecurity Working Group (BWG) in 2004 to
coordinate its activities; its current members are the academies of China,
Cuba, Nigeria, Poland (chair), the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
(IUBMB), founded in 1955, unites biochemists and molecular biologists
in 66 countries that belong to the Union as Adhering or Associate Adher-
ing Bodies, representing biochemical societies, national research councils,
or academies of sciences. The Union is devoted to promoting research
and education in biochemistry and molecular biology throughout the
world and gives particular attention to areas where the subject is still in
its early development. It achieves this in several ways. For example, every
three years the Union sponsors an International Congress of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology; co-sponsorship of these Congresses by regional
organizations of biochemistry and molecular biology is an increasing
trend. These Congresses are major international meetings where current
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140 APPENDIX B
research in all fields of biochemistry and molecular biology is considered.
Thousands of individual research projects are presented in poster ses -
sions, and leading investigators from many nations survey their fields and
describe their own research in symposia and plenary lectures. Since 1992
IUBMB has also sponsored IUBMB Conferences and Special Meetings,
held in the years between the International Congresses. Further informa-
tion is available online at http://www.iubmb.org.
The International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) is one of
the 29 Scientific Unions of the International Council for Science (ICSU).
It was founded in 1927 as the International Society of Microbiology, and
became the International Association of Microbiological Societies affili-
ated to the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) as a division
in 1967. It acquired independence in 1980 and became a Union Member of
ICSU in 1982. IUMS currently has 113 member societies and 14 associate
members representing more than 100 countries. Members are national
societies and associations for microbiologists, and associate members
are other institutions with an interest in microbiological and connected
sciences. IUMS’s objectives are to promote the study of microbiological
sciences internationally; initiate, facilitate, and coordinate research and
other scientific activities that involve international cooperation; ensure the
discussion and dissemination of the results of international conferences,
symposia, and meetings and assist in the publication of their reports;
represent microbiological sciences in ICSU; and maintain contact with
other international organizations. Further information is available online
at http://www.iums.org.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was founded in Beijing on
November 1, 1949. As the nation’s highest academic institution in natural
sciences, supreme scientific and technological advisory body, and national
comprehensive research and development center in natural sciences and
high technologies, it consists of the academic divisions and various sub-
ordinate institutions. It currently has 694 members. At present, there are
six academic divisions, functioning as the national scientific think-tank,
providing advisory and appraisal services on issues stemming from the
national economy, social development, and science and technology prog -
ress. Today’s CAS has 12 branch offices, 117 institutes with legal entity,
more than 100 national key laboratories and national engineering research
centers, and about 1,000 field stations throughout the country. CAS has
made a series of major scientific breakthroughs in basic and cutting-edge
research, bio-medical sciences, strategic high-technology, and research on
sustainable development, thus making important contributions to China’s
economic development, social progress and national security. In 2009, the
Science & Technology in China: A Roadmap to 2050 series outlined major
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APPENDIX B
scientific issues and critical technical problems in China’s modernization
process, and made suggestions on how to resolve them, ensuring the
contribution of science and technology in realizing China’s moderniza -
tion goals by 2050. CAS also attaches great importance to international
cooperation and exchanges, reinforcing strategic partnerships with key
research institutions through high-level exchange visits and organizing
high-level strategic fora and academic symposia on frontier research.
Further information is available online at http://english.cas.cn/.
Information about the U.S. National Research Council and National
Academy of Sciences is available in the front matter of the report.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) serves
to advance the worldwide aspects of the chemical sciences and to con-
tribute to the application of chemistry in the service of humankind. As a
scientific, international, nongovernmental, and objective body, IUPAC can
address many global issues involving the chemical sciences.
IUPAC was formed in 1919 by chemists from industry and academia.
Over nearly nine decades, IUPAC has succeeded in fostering worldwide
communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting academic, indus -
trial, and public-sector chemistry in a common language. IUPAC has long
been recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, ter-
minology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights, and
many other critically evaluated data. IUPAC continues to sponsor major
international meetings that range from specialized scientific symposia to
CHEMRAWN (CHEMical Research Applied to World Needs) meetings
with societal impact. During the Cold War, IUPAC became an important
instrument for maintaining technical dialogue among scientists through -
out the world.
IUPAC is an association of bodies, National Adhering Organizations,
which represent the chemists of different member countries. There are 45
National Adhering Organizations, and 20 other countries are also linked
to IUPAC in the status of Associate National Adhering Organizations.
Almost 1,000 chemists throughout the world are engaged on a voluntary
basis in the scientific work of IUPAC, primarily through projects, which
are components of eight divisions and several other committees. Further
information is available online at http://www.iupac.org.
The International Council for Science (ICSU), founded in 1931, is a
nongovernmental organization representing a global membership that
includes both national scientific bodies (111 members) and international
scientific unions (29 members). As its website notes: “Because of its broad
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142 APPENDIX B
and diverse membership, the Council is increasingly called upon to speak
on behalf of the global scientific community and to act as an advisor in
matters ranging from ethics to the environment.” Approximately a dozen
of ICSU’s unions can be considered to be part of the “life sciences”—
reflecting the breadth and fragmentation of the field, unlike the single
unions for physics and chemistry. ICSU also has a standing Committee on
Freedom and Responsibility in the Conduct of Science. Further informa -
tion may be found online at http://www.icsu.org.
