The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting natural sciences and mathematics and strengthening their influence in society, whilst endeavouring to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines. The goals of the academy are: * to be a forum where researchers meet across subject boundaries, * to offer a unique environment for research, * to provide support to younger researchers, * to reward outstanding research efforts, * to communicate internationally among scientists, * to advance the case for science within society and to influence research policy priorities * to stimulate interest in mathematics and science in school, and * to disseminate and popularize scientific information in various forms. Every year, the academy awards the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...

s in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

and chemistry, the

Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ( sv, Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap till Alfred Nobels minne), is an economics award administered ...

, the

Crafoord Prize The Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord. The Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Fo ...

, the Sjöberg Prize and several other awards. The Academy maintains close relations with foreign academies, learned societies and international scientific organizations and also promotes international scientific cooperation. The Academy of Sciences is located within the Stockholm region's

Royal National City Park The Royal National City Park ( sv, Kungliga nationalstadsparken) is a national city park, established by the Riksdag in 1995, and located in the municipalities of Stockholm, Solna and Lidingö in Sweden. 1/ km²2/ Population per km² Gall ...

Prizes

International prizes

s in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

and in Chemistry *

s in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and mathematics,

geoscience Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spher ...

bioscience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–19 ...

s (with an emphasis on

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

), and polyarthritis (for example rheumatoid arthritis) * Sjöberg Prize for research in cancer * Rolf Schock Prizes in

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

and philosophy, mathematics,

visual arts The visual arts are Art#Forms, genres, media, and styles, art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as ...

and musical arts *

Gregori Aminoff Prize The Gregori Aminoff Prize is an international prize awarded since 1979 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in the field of crystallography, rewarding "a documented, individual contribution in the field of crystallography, including areas conc ...

crystallography Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids. Crystallography is a fundamental subject in the fields of materials science and solid-state physics (condensed matter physics). The wo ...

* Tobias Prize for research to treat

hematological disorders Hematologic diseases are disorders which primarily affect the blood & blood-forming organs. Hematologic diseases include rare genetic disorders, anemia, HIV, sickle cell disease & complications from chemotherapy or transfusions. Myeloid * Hemog ...

* Gold Medal for Radiation Protection

National prizes

Göran Gustafsson Prize The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

for research in chemistry, mathematics,

molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and phys ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

and physics *

Söderberg Prize Söderberg is a common Swedish surname. Variations of the name include Soderberg and Soderbergh. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 95.5% of all known bearers of the surname ''Söderberg'' were residents of Sweden (frequency 1:828) and 2.8% of ...

for research in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

or medicine * Ingvar Lindqvist Prizes for teachers in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...

* Tage Erlander Prize "for research in natural sciences and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

" in four fields (physics, chemistry, technology and biology)

Members

The academy has elected about 1,700 Swedish and 1,200 foreign members since it was founded in 1739. Today the academy has about 470 Swedish and 175 foreign members which are divided into ten "classes", representing ten various scientific disciplines: * Mathematics * Astronomy and space science *

* Chemistry *

Geosciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spher ...

Biosciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, t ...

Medical sciences Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

Engineering science Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical ...

s *

Social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

s *

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...

and "for outstanding services to science"

List of Secretary Generals

The following persons have served as permanent secretaries of the academy: *

Anders Johan von Höpken Count Anders Johan von Höpken (31 March 17129 May 1789), Swedish statesman, was the son of Daniel Niklas von Höpken, one of Arvid Horn's most determined opponents and a founder of the Hat party. This cites: * * The younger Höpken was born ...

, 1739–1740, 1740–1741 * Augustin Ehrensvärd, April – June 1740 *

Jacob Faggot Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Isla ...

, 1741–1744 * Pehr Elvius, 1744–1749 * Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, 1749–1783 *

Johan Carl Wilcke Johan Carl Wilcke was a Swedish physicist. Biography Wilcke was born in Wismar, son of a clergyman who in 1739 was appointed second pastor of the German Church in Stockholm. He went to the German school in Stockholm and enrolled at the Unive ...

and

Henrik Nicander Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estonian), Heikk ...

, 1784–1796 * Daniel Melanderhjelm and Henrik Nicander, 1796–1803 * Jöns Svanberg and

Carl Gustaf Sjöstén Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...

1803–1808; Sjöstén was removed 1808 for negligence of his duties * Jöns Svanberg, 1809–1811 *

Olof Swartz Olof Peter Swartz (21 September 1760 – 19 September 1818) was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes. Biography Olof Swartz attended the University of Uppsala where he ...

, 1811–1818 *

Jöns Jacob Berzelius Baron Jöns Jacob Berzelius (; by himself and his contemporaries named only Jacob Berzelius, 20 August 1779 – 7 August 1848) was a Swedish chemist. Berzelius is considered, along with Robert Boyle, John Dalton, and Antoine Lavoisier, to be ...

, 1818–1848 * Peter Fredrik Wahlberg, 1848–1866 * Georg Lindhagen, 1866–1901 * Christopher Aurivillius, 1901–1923 * Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum, 1923–1933 * Henning Pleijel, 1933–1943 * Arne Westgren, 1943–1959 * Erik Rudberg, 1959–1972 * Carl Gustaf Bernhard, 1973–1980 * Tord Ganelius, 1981–1989 * Carl-Olof Jacobson, 1989–1997 * Erling Norrby, 1997–30 June 2003 * Gunnar Öquist, 1 July 2003 – 30 June 2010 *

Staffan Normark Jan ''Staffan'' Normark (born 1945) is a Swedish physician, microbiologist and infectious disease researcher. He grew up in Umeå and was awarded his Ph.D. at Umeå University in 1971. At the end of the 1970s, he was one of the first Swedish scie ...

, 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2015 *

Göran K. Hansson Göran K. Hansson (born 1951), is a Swedish physician and scientist. Hansson was awarded his doctorate in 1980 at the University of Gothenburg. He has been a research scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, professor of cell biolog ...

, 1 July 2015–31 December 2021 * Hans Ellegren, 1 January 2022–present

Publications

Vetenskapsakademiens handlingar 1750 front

The transactions of the Academy (''Vetenskapsakademiens handlingar'') were published as its main series between 1739 and 1974. In parallel, other major series have appeared and gone: * ''Öfversigt af Kungl. Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar'' (1844–1903) * ''Bihang till Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar'' (1872–1902) * ''Vetenskapsakademiens årsbok'' (1903–1969) The academy started publishing annual reports in physics and chemistry (1826), technology (1827), botany (1831), and zoology (1832). These lasted into the 1860s, when they were replaced by the single ''Bihang'' series (meaning: supplement to the transactions). Starting in 1887, this series was once again split into four sections (''afdelning''), which in 1903 became independent

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such ...

s of their own, titled "Arkiv för..." (archive for...). These included: * '' Arkiv för botanik'' (1903–1974) * '' Arkiv för kemi, mineralogi och geologi'' (1903–1949) * ''

Arkiv för matematik, astronomi och fysik ''Arkiv för matematik, astronomi och fysik'' (standard abbreviation ''Ark. Mat. Astr. Fys.'') was a scientific journal edited by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Kungliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademien).Arkiv för Zoologi ''Arkiv för Zoologi'' was a scientific journal on zoology, published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences between 1903 and 1974. Prior to 1903, zoology articles were published in a supplement to the Transactions of the Academy. ''Arkiv för Z ...

'' (1903–1974) Further restructuring of their topics occurred in 1949 and 1974. Other defunct journals of the Academy include: * ''Electronic Transactions on Artificial Intelligence'' (1997–2001) ;Current publications * ''

Ambio ''Ambio: A Journal of Environment and Society'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It was established in 1972. The editor-in-chief is Bo ...

'' (1972–) * ''

Acta Mathematica ''Acta Mathematica'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal covering research in all fields of mathematics. According to Cédric Villani, this journal is "considered by many to be the most prestigious of all mathematical research jou ...

'' (1882–) * '' Arkiv för Matematik'' (1949– with this title; 1903–1949 also including physics and astronomy) * '' Acta Zoologica'' (1920–) * ''Levnadsteckningar över Vetenskapsakademiens ledamöter'' (1869–), biographies of deceased members * ''Porträttmatrikel'' (1971–), portraits of current members * ''

Zoologica Scripta ''Zoologica Scripta'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal on systematic zoology, published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It was established in 19 ...

'' (1972–), jointly with the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

History

The academy was founded on 2 June 1739 by naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

, mercantilist

Jonas Alströmer Jonas Alströmer (7 January 1685 – 2 June 1761) was a pioneer of agriculture and industry in Sweden. Born Jonas Toresson (later changed to Alström) in the town of Alingsås in Västergötland, in 1707 he became a clerk for Stockholm merchant ...

, mechanical engineer

Mårten Triewald Mårten Triewald FRS (18 November 1691 – 8 August 1747), sometimes referred to as Mårten Triewald the Younger, was a Swedish merchant, engineer and amateur physicist. Mårten Triewald was the son of Mårten Triewald the Elder, a farri ...

, civil servants Sten Carl Bielke and Carl Wilhelm Cederhielm, and statesman/author

. The purpose of the academy was to focus on practically useful knowledge, and to publish in Swedish in order to widely disseminate the academy's findings. The academy was intended to be different from the

Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskaps-Societeten i Uppsala), is the oldest of the royal academies in Sweden, having been founded in 1710. The society has, by royal decree of 1906, 50 Swedish fellows and 100 foreign. ...

, which had been founded in 1719 and published in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

. The location close to the commercial activities in Sweden's capital (which unlike

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

did not have a university at this time) was also intentional. The academy was modeled after the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and Academie Royale des Sciences in Paris, France, which some of the founding members were familiar with.

References

External links

*
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences video site
{{Authority control Sweden 1739 establishments in Sweden Sciences, Academy Academy, Science Buildings and structures in Stockholm Science and technology in Sweden Scientific organizations established in 1739 Members of the International Council for Science Members of the International Science Council

Prizes

International prizes

National prizes

Members

List of Secretary Generals

Publications

History

See also

References

External links