Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Swedish: Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. It was founded on 2 June 1739 and works independently to support science and math. The academy helps scientists share ideas across different subjects and supports younger researchers.

Its goals include rewarding great research, helping scientists work together internationally, and showing how important science is to everyone. The academy also tries to make science interesting for students in school.

Every year, the academy gives out important awards such as the Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry, as well as other prizes like the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. It works with science groups around the world to support international cooperation. The academy is located in the Stockholm region's Royal National City Park.

Prizes

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gives out many important prizes for great work in science and other fields. Some of the most famous international prizes include the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry, as well as prizes in astronomy, mathematics, and other areas.

The academy also gives national prizes, like the Göran Gustafsson Prize for research in chemistry, mathematics, molecular biology, medicine, and physics, and the Tage Erlander Prize for research in natural sciences and technology.

Members

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has around 470 members from Sweden and 175 from other countries. These members are grouped into ten different areas of science, such as Mathematics, Astronomy and space science, Physics, and Chemistry. This helps bring together experts from many fields to share ideas and support science.

The academy also includes areas like Geosciences, Biosciences, Medical sciences, Engineering sciences, Social sciences, and Humanities, showing its wide interest in many types of learning.

List of secretaries general

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has had many leaders over its long history. Here are some of the people who have served as its main leaders:

• Anders Johan von Höpken, 1739–1740, 1740–1741
• Augustin Ehrensvärd, April – June 1740
• Jacob Faggot, 1741–1744
• Pehr Elvius, 1744–1749
• Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, 1749–1783
• Johan Carl Wilcke and Henrik Nicander, 1784–1796
• Daniel Melanderhjelm and Henrik Nicander, 1796–1803
• Jöns Svanberg and Carl Gustaf Sjöstén 1803–1808; Sjöstén was removed 1808 for negligence of his duties
• Jöns Svanberg, 1809–1811
• Olof Swartz, 1811–1818
• Jöns Jacob Berzelius, 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, 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2015
• Göran K. Hansson, 1 July 2015 – 31 December 2021
• Hans Ellegren, 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2025
• Ellen Moons, 1 January 2026 – present

Publications

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has published many important scientific works over the years. Their main series, called Vetenskapsakademiens handlingar, ran from 1739 to 1974. Over time, they created several other series, such as Öfversigt af Kungl. Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar and Bihang till Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar.

Today, the academy continues to publish current journals like Ambio, Acta Mathematica, and Zoologica Scripta. They also publish biographies of past members and portraits of current members.

History

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was started on 2 June 1739 by Carl Linnaeus, Jonas Alströmer, Mårten Triewald, Sten Carl Bielke, Carl Wilhelm Cederhielm, and Anders Johan von Höpken. They wanted to create a place where people could share useful knowledge and write about their discoveries in Swedish so everyone could understand. This was different from another group in Uppsala that wrote in Latin. The academy was set up in Sweden’s busy capital, not near a university like the other group. The founders looked to groups like the Royal Society of London and the Academie Royale des Sciences in Paris, France for ideas.