Biological Dynamics; from molecules to cells

The Academy was founded in the early nineteenth century to promote learning in the Netherlands. In 1851 the 'Royal Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts', which had been in existence since 1808, became the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences', with two divisions: one for mathematics and the natural sciences and one for literary and historical scholarship. Based in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam since 1812, the academy now encompasses the entire range of human knowledge. It has four main functions:-advising the government on matters related to scientific research;-assessing the quality of scientific research (peer review);-providing a forum for the scientific community and promoting international scientific cooperation;-acting as an umbrella organisation for institutes engaged predominantly in basic and strategic research and in providing scientific information services. Advisory Body In advising the government and, more specifically, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, the Academy is supported by a number of scientific councils and committees, representing scholars and scientists at universities, research centres and industrial departments. This ensures the involvement of a broad segment of the scientific community in this aspect of the Academy's work. Quality assessment The Academy makes available its expertise for assessing the quality (by peer review) of basic and strategic research performed in institutes, research groups or within the framework of specific programmes. The Academy is responsible for accrediting university institutes for postgraduate research training. Forum The Academy functions as a forum first and foremost by holding its own meetings. The Science Division and the Humanities and Social Sciences Division both convene monthly in open sessions. The Academy also promotes international scholarly and scientific cooperation by organising conferences and symposia, collaborating with sister academies and subsidising scientific conferences in the Netherlands. The research institutes of the Academy carry out basic and strategic research in the life sciences, humanities and social sciences. Some of the institutes also have a scientific service function by forming and managing biological and documentary collections, providing information services and creating other facilities for research. The Academy's institutes, which are located throughout the country, employ a total of approximately 1.300 staff. The Academy has two divisions: the Science Division (mathematics and physics, life sciences and technical sciences), with 110 members, and the Humanities and Social Sciences Division (humanities, law, behavioural sciences and social sciences), with 90 members. The Divisions appoint members of the Academy for life.