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[[image]] The present headquarters of The New York Academy of Sciences at 2 East 63rd Street, New York City. The Academy today, an organization bursting at its bonds... Today, membership stands at over 19,000 with representatives of every state and 93 foreign nations. Growth has also required an internal organization which was lacking in the old Lyceum. Presently, the Academy's organization encompasses 16 Sections and Divisions, including the Division of Organometallic Chemistry, established in 1963, and the Divisions of Polymer Sciences and of Environmental Sciences, both established in 1965. In 1950, when the Academy moved into its present building, membership was les than 5000. Since that time, no year has passed without seeing more than a thousand new members added to the Academy's rolls. Foreign members account for some 18% of the total membership. And some 40 of the world's Nobel Laureates are today members of the Academy. The present Academy building is hard put to provide space for conference planning, publishing activities, membership service, Section and Division meetings, printing facilities, public relations, and the myriad of other duties which today are required of a leading international organization. The Academy lends its support to a host of organizations which seek advice or facilities. Indeed, the year 1964 saw no less than 459 meetings held in the Academy building; of these, 222 were meetings of the Academy at which 115 papers were presented. Some 237 meetings were held by 64 other societies. Twenty-five years ago, only three conferences were held annually. Today, the number has grown to twenty or more, and attendance averages 30,000 each year. As many as 1500 people may attend a single session, far more than the Academy's total membership thirty years ago. As a result, the Academy is unable to house its own meetings, and must employ empty hotel ballrooms despite the limitations of such facilities.
