Buenos Aires, 28th. April, 1995

To the Members of our Academy:

In compliance with Article 23 of the Academy’s Statutes, I beg to submit for your consideration the Annual Report for 1994, the first year since the Governing Board I am honored to preside was elected last April 29th.

Most regrettably, six Academy Members passed away during that period, namely Head Academic Member Dr. Manuel A. T. F. Balanzat and Corresponding Members Eng. Telemaco H. de M. van Langendonck and Dr. Giuseppe Cilento, both from San Pablo, Brazil, Dr. Ranwel Caputto from Cordoba, Argentina, Dr. Rolando Chuaqui Kettlun from Santiago, Chile, and Dr. William W. Morgan from Williams Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

During the course of 1994, four new Corresponding Members were elected abroad, that is, Dr. Sergio Trasatti from Milan, Italy; Dr. Eduardo J. Ansaldo from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Prof. Robin C. Whatley from Aberystwyth, Wales, U. K; and Dr. Jose Tola Pasquel from Lima, Peru.

From April to December nine ordinary meetings were held, some followed by public sessions during which an Academy Member lectured on a subject of his or her specialty, according to a program drawn up beforehand. In this connection, I gratefully acknowledge the invaluable collaboration provided by Academy Members Arturo J. Bignoli, Pedro J. Aymonino and Andrews O. M. Stoppani. During the public session held in the month of December, we had the privilege to enjoy a dissertation delivered by Dr. Juan Jose Llach, Secretary of Economic Programming, from the Ministry of Economy and of Public Works and Ser-vices.

Mention should also be made of the public session incorporating Head Academy Member Dr. Angel R. Larotonda.

Besides, a further two public sessions were held during which visiting British scientists delivered lectures thanks to the sponsorship of The British Council, which granted three 2 900 subsidies to defray the cost of airline fares from Great Britain to Buenos Aires. One such guest was Prof. David I. Blockley, Corresponding Academy Member from Bristol, England, who visited us on September 20th. The second event, held on December 2nd., was in charge of Dr. Frank D. Gunstone, Honorary Research Professor at St. Andrews University, Scotland. A visit by the third of the scientists proposed by the Academy to the British Council is expected early this year.

Another public session, coordinated by Academy Member Luis F. Rocha, was the Meeting on ‘Applied Mathematics: Four Points of View’, held on December 2nd., during which lectures were de-livered by outstanding French and Argentine specialists.

On November 18th., at the venue of the National Academy of Medicine, the prizes granted by the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, as well as those in memory of Ernesto E. Galloni and Reinaldo Vanossi, were awarded in the presence of National Secretary of Science and Technology Dr. Domingo Liotta and Secretary of University Policies at the Ministry of Culture and Education Licentiate Juan Carlos Del Bello, together with Head and Corresponding Academy Members. Although due to unforeseen circum-stances the National Secretary of Culture Dr. Mario O’Donnell was unable to attend, the speech he had prepared for the occasion was read to the audience. As regards the Ernesto E. Galloni Award, I must voice my gratitude to the family of our former Academy President, who donated US$10,000 in prizes for young research workers, in the areas proposed in rotation by the three Sections, with a yearly sum amounting to US$ 1,000. The award corresponding to 1994 was granted in Physics to Dr. Juan P. Paz. In the case of the Reinaldo Vanossi Award, we are likewise deeply indebted to the ex-Academy Member’s family who to mark the 20th. anniversary of his death, donated $3,000 as a prize to be awarded on a single occasion for the best work on Analytical Chemistry carried out in Argentina since 1980: accordingly, this award was granted to Licentiates Julieta G. Marrero, EduardoA. Gautier and Roberto E. Servant for their paper entitled ‘Study on Homo and Heteronuclear Polyatomic Species in Inorganic Mass Spectrometry’. Regarding the prizes granted by the Academy itself, the scientists distinguished were as follows: Teofilo Isnardi Award in Theoretical Physics to Dr. Carlos A. Balseiro; Ricardo P. Platzeck Award in Astronomy to Dr. Hector Vucetich; Alberto Gonzalez Dominguez Award in Mathematics to Dr. Victor J. Yohai; Enrique V. Zappi Award in Organic Chemistry to Dr. Edmundo Ruveda; Cristobal M. Hicken Award in Botany to Dr. Agr. Eng. Carlos L. Ballare; Angel Cabrera Award in Vertebrate Pale-ontology to Dr. José F. Bonaparte; Ernesto E. Galloni Award in Nuclear Engineering to Eng. Jose Converti; Luis Silveyra de Olazabal Award in Technology of Materials to Eng. Jose F. Colina and to Dr. Roberto J. J. Williams; and Enrique Humet Award in Road Engineering to Eng. Felix J. Lilli and to Dr. Eng. Alejandro J. Tanco. It should be stressed that this was the third time the new Academy’s Regulations for Prizes, approved in 1991, and were put into practice. In agreement with the proposal of the Fellowships, Prizes and Grants Committee, the plenary meeting decided to maintain, as from 1995, up to a maximum of three (3) the number of prizes for each Section, granting the award to a single person for each specialty, including an emolument of $ 1,000 for each prize as far as this is allowed by the Academy’s budget and, while the Ernesto E. Galloni Award is in force, to refrain from designing by the same name any other prize granted by the Academy.

Turning now to international relations, the American Philosophical Society, located in Philadelphia, U. S. A., approved a Memorandum of Understanding drawn up by our Academy, which is expected to be in practice as from 1995. Besides, as mentioned above, the agreement with the British Council is fully operative. Indeed, the two British scientists who visited us so far not only lectured at the Academy’s venue, but also at other institutions in Buenos Aires City and in the hinterland, fulfilling a crowded agenda of activities. In response to the invitation from the Indian National Science Academy to participate in numerous meetings and celebrations on occasion of the Diamond Jubilee Year, Academy Member Alberto Soriano was appointed to represent the Academy. The undersigned participated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in homage in memory of former Corresponding Member Abroad, Dr. Guido Beck, also holding a meeting with the vice-president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Carlos E. Rocha Miranda, for the purpose of linking both entities even more closely.

On the domestic front, conversations proceeded with the National Academies of Sciences in Cordoba and of Sciences in Buenos Aires to hold a joint meeting on the situation of science and technology in Argentina.

Furthermore, an ‘ad hoc’ commission made up by Academy Members Pedro J. Aymonino, Daniel R. Bes and Luis F. Rocha drew up a statement on the study entitled ‘Argentina, from Insolvency to Growth’ carried out by the World Bank, which once approved by plenary meeting, was raised to numerous public organisms, scientific entities and press media, some of which adhered publicly to the stated concepts. Some time later the Academy, together with other scientific entities in Argentina, subscribed a letter addressed to the World Bank authorities outlining the opinions garnered on such study.

The Academy’s participation was likewise most positive on issuing a statement proposing an agreement to generate an instrument in order to support and foster scientific and technological collaboration throughout.’he continent, and which was included in the agenda of the Summit Meet-ing of the Americas, held in Miami, U. S. A., early in December 1994 with the attendance of all Ameri-can Heads of State. The statement, drawn up by Academy Members Alejandro J. Arvia, Alberto Pignotti, Luis F. Rocha and Carlos Segovia Fernandez, was presented through the good offices of the Secretary of Foreign Relations and Latin American Affairs of our Foreign Office, Dr. Fernando Petrella, after a meeting during which he displayed great interest in our proposal.

By means of this presentation, I offer my warmest congratulations to all Academy Members who received awards and distinctions throughout 1994.

Cordial relations were maintained with the remaining National Academies through the so-called ‘National Academies Presidents Meetings’, as well as with national authorities.

The Darwinian Institute of Botany, under the competent leadership of Dr. Juan H. Hunziker, continued performing an excellent level of research and divulgement work.

In this brief yearly report, the President wishes to express his personal gratitude to the Academy Members who participated in the Governing Board and whose collaboration and assistance was provided with the greatest scope and promptness, as well as to acknowledge his debt to the presidents of the Sections and Commissions and to the totality of colleagues.

Last but not least, the regular Academy staff fulfilled their duties with efficiency and reliability. Dr. Juan Carlos Valles, Mr. Mariano G. Fernandez Alt, Mrs. Diana L. Pallini, Miss Patricia N. Lopez, Miss Beatriz L. Manso and Mr. Ram6n Beron, all lent the greatest zeal and willingness to their allotted tasks. Therefore, I wish to congratulate and thank them all for their whole-hearted collaboration.

Dr. Mario A. J. Mariscotti
President