The Science Academy Society of Turkey

The Science Academy Society (Bilim Akademisi Derneği) is an independent, private, self-governing organization founded on November 25, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Association, referred to from here on as the Science Academy Society, is an independent institution that aims to bring together Turkish scientists. The Science Academy Society aims to raise public awareness about issues related to science practices, policies, education and ethics by organizing and overseeing conferences, meetings and publications by experts. Its main objective is to inform the general public and the institutions at large on the impact as well as the societal implications of scientific and scholarly research.

The Science Academy Society became an associate member of All European Academies (ALLEA) in 2014, and a full member in 2017. It is also a member of the International Science Council.

Foundation
The Science Academy Society was founded when the Turkish Academy of Sciences (Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi, TÜBA) lost its autonomous status following executive decrees on August 27, 2011, and November 3, 2011, which stipulated the appointment of TÜBA members by government agencies.

A large fraction of the regular, honorary and associate members of TÜBA then resigned on the grounds that TÜBA had lost the quality of being an independent academy of science.

Seventeen of these resigned TÜBA members founded the Science Academy Society on November 25, 2011, joined shortly after by most of the other resigned members.

Members
The Science Academy Society has presently a total of 144 full members (86 from the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering, 35 from social sciences and humanities, 23 from medical sciences) and 38 honorary members, three of whom are Nobel Laureates (Martin Chalfie, Chemistry 2008; Peter Diamond, Economics 2010; John Polanyi, Chemistry 1986).

Activities
The Science Academy Society engages in the following activities:


 * Organization of annual and monthly public conferences online and also in İstanbul and Ankara. The presentations and video recordings of these conferences are openly shared on the web page of the association.


 * Investigative reports, prepared by members of the Science Academy and addressing events concerning current economic and scientific developments, are regularly published on the website of the Academy.


 * In cooperation with Boğaziçi University, the Science Academy also organizes the Feza Gürsey Summer Schools on topics ranging from cosmology to mathematics.


 * The Science Academy Society Young Scientists Program (BAGEP) provides grants to financially support the research of promising young scientists and scholars. The program is entirely funded by donations from many individuals and private foundations, and as such, it is the first of its kind in Turkey.