Foreign member

Foreign members of the academies of science are major world-class scientists who collaborated with scientists from the country represented by the academy. The election of foreign members takes place in the Russian Academy of Sciences ^[1] , the Russian Academy of Education , the Russian Academy of Arts (Russia), the Royal Society of London , the Danish , Chinese and other academies (see the corresponding lists ).

In addition to scientists directly elected by foreign members, according to the statutes of many academies, scientists with domestic membership automatically become foreign members when they change their citizenship or move to another country for permanent residence. In some cases, the opposite transition is also foreseen: for example, scientists who were foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences become full members with all the relevant rights and obligations when they accept Chinese citizenship.

The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) currently has about 460 foreign members - citizens of the United States, France, Ukraine, and many other countries. The last elections were held in 2016 ^[2] : 63 new members were elected (including the former Skoltech rector Edward Crowley ), including 7 Nobel laureates. In turn, prominent Russian scientists often become members of non-Russian academies. For example, the physicist J.I. Alferov was a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA , the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus ^[3] and several other academies.

88 foreigners were elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (for the spring of 2019) ^[4] ; About 40% of them are scientists from different countries, mainly the United States, having Chinese roots.

Foreign members of the Academies of Sciences are issued diplomas. Persons with the status of a foreign member take part in the activities of the Academy that elected them remotely and in person, make reports, have a deliberative vote when discussing current issues.

Terminology nuances

Instead of status under the name “foreign member”, foreign scientists in some cases receive (received) other statuses, if so accepted or accepted at a particular academy. In particular, in the predecessors of the Russian Academy of Sciences - PAN and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR until 1959 ^[5] - there was no category “foreign members”, and foreigners were elected honorary members or, in the PAN, corresponding members ^{[5] [6]} . Nowadays, in a number of scientific societies, for example, in the Academy of Sciences of Australia ^[7] , the status of a “corresponding member” is intended for foreigners. The clarification “correspondent” in this context carries (carries) the meaning that an elected scientist, for territorial or visa reasons, will contact the academy primarily by correspondence [the basic modern meaning of the term “correspondent member” is different ]. There are academies, among them are the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the RAE, where there are no restrictions on citizenship when electing for any status ^[8] , although this is not typical of state academies.

In national organizations outside the academic and academic field, as in academies, the possibility of receiving citizens of other states is governed by charters. In the case of a public association, it is usually additionally necessary that it is not political ^[9] . But, be that as it may, except for academies, the presence of a separate documented status, called “foreign member”, is not common - instead, the participation of foreign citizens on a par with local, without any special provision, is allowed. In a similar situation, for example, a Russian who is registered in the network community of another country finds himself.

Sometimes the words “foreign”, “foreign” are added to the word “member” according to the situation, without forming a stable fusion concept (such as: “foreign member of the [symbolic] club Grigory Fedotov ,” “foreign member of the [not registered] society of high school graduates”) , unlike the strict term used in academies.

The practice of participation of foreign members in organizations serves internationalization in different areas and at different levels. In the case of the academies of science, in science and education, since behind the scientists elected personally are the research laboratories and institutes headed by them. Speaking about the significance of foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences , Nobel Prize winner VL Ginzburg emphasized ^[10] : “Their role is extremely important. After all, for the whole world, they are a kind of guide for the achievements of Russian science, they provide reliable connections between [Russian] scientists and their foreign colleagues. ”