Buenos Aires, 25th April 1997

Dear Academy Members:

As stipulated by the provisions of Article 23 of the Academy Bylaws, I submit for your consideration the Annual Report, General Balance, Expenses and Resources Account, Inventory and Accounts Surrender of the Financial Period corresponding to 1996, the third year of management of the Executive Board, reelected on 26th April, 1996, and which I am honored to preside.

Most regrettably, during that period Head Academy Member Eng. Egberto F. Tagle, Honorary Members Dr. Juan Jose Giambiagi (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Prof. Abdus Salam (Trieste, Italy) and Corresponding Member Eng. Aderson Moreira da Rocha (Río de Janeiro, Brazil) passed away.

In the course of the year Dr. Mariana D. Weissmann, Dr. Enrique J. Baran, Dr. Eduardo H. Charreau and Eng. Dr. Eduardo N. Dvorkin were elected as Head Academy Members, and doctors Petar Alaupovic (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States) and Enrique Castellano (La Plata, Argentina) as Corresponding Members.

Nine ordinary meetings were held from April to December, some followed by a public session during which an Academy Member or special guest lectured on a topic of his or her specialty. Accordingly, I am very pleased to congratulate and to thank the invaluable collaboration offered by Licentiate Susana B. Decibe (National Minister of Culture and Education), Head Academy Member Hilario Fernandez Long and Dr. Juan M. Dellacha.

Mention should also be made of the public sessions for the incorporation of Eng. Dr. Raul A. Lopardo and of Eng. Dr. Eduardo N. Dvorkin as Head Academy Members, and of the lectures delivered by Dr. Juan G. Roederer (Corresponding Member in Fairbanks, Alaska) and by Dr. Anna C. Roosevelt (Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, United States). Dr. Roederer also deserves special thanks for having met with the members of the Academy's Special Commission for Scientific Policy.

Furthermore, two homages were rendered to Dr. Bernardo A. Houssay, on occasion of the 25th anniversary of his death. The first was a joint ceremony with the National Academy of Political and Moral Sciences, during which Dr. Leonardo Mc Lean, spoke on behalf of the latter entity, and Dr. Andres O.M. Stoppani on behalf of our Academy. The second homage was carried out at the Bernardo A. Houssay Museum, of Buenos Aires City, where a plaque was unveiled and a commemorative address prepared by the Head Academy Member Pedro Cattaneo was delivered. On occasion of the 50th anniversary of having been distinguished with the Nobel Prize, the Academy has fostered the recording of a CD-ROM on Dr. Houssay's life and work, which so far is supported by the Argentine Academy of Letters, the National Academy of Medicine, the Argentine Association for the Advancement of Science and the University of Buenos Aires.

On the 22nd of November, at the venue of the National Academy of Medicine, the ceremony took place to deliver the "National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences" and "Ernesto E. Galloni" awards. Among the large number public attendance was Dr. Eduardo Mundet (Higher Education Development undersecretary of the Culture and Education Ministry, in representation of minister Licentiate Susana B. Decibe), as well as head and corresponding Academy Members. As regards the "Ernesto E. Galloni" award, I wish to emphasize my heartfelt gratitude to the family of the former Academy president for the donation of US$ 10,000 intended to reward young research workers, in the areas proposed in rotation by the three Sections, with an annual sum of US$1,000. The distinction corresponding to 1996 was granted in Nuclear Engineering to Dr. German Guido Lavalle. As regards the Academy awards, distinguished scientists were as follows: the "Alberta Gonzalez Dominguez" award in Mathematics, to Dr. Domingo A. Tarzia; the "Teofilo Isnardi" award in Theoretical Physics, to Dr. Fidel A. Schaposnik; the "Ricardo P. Platzeck" award in Astronomy, to Dr. Alejandro Feinstein; the "Enrique P. Villarreal" award in Structural Engineering, to Eng. Dr. Jose G. Etse; the "Raul J. Marsal" award in Geotechnical Engineering, to Eng. Carlos A. Micucci; the "Eduardo De Robertis" award in Cellular Biology, to Dr. Alberto J. Solari; the "Horacio Damianovich" award in Theoretical Chemistry, to Dr. Eduardo A. Castro; and the "Egidio Feruglio" award in Sedimentology, to Dr. Luis A. Spalletti. It should be stressed that this was the fifth time that new Academy Awards Regulations approved in 1991 were put into practice.

As far as international relationships were concerned, a meeting was held at our headquarters with a British scientists' mission, coordinated by the British Council, including David John Sanderson, B.L. Clarkson, Peter A. Dowd and Brian Fender, together with Mike Potter, director of the institution. In October, as a guest of the Argentine organizing committee of the Sixth Anglo Argentine Conference, I participated as member of the delegation that met in Salta with its British peers. There, my activity was focused on divulging the initiative of the Academy concerning the promotion of scientific projects of mutual interest for the Patagonia and Malvinas Islands, to be carried out by means of joint collaboration between Argentine and British scientists. On the occasion, Dr. David Macdonald, in charge of the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Programmed, referred to the project jointly under way with research workers from the National University of La Plata, emphasizing their high scientific level. In this regard, together with Head Academy Member Rosendo Pascual in charge of the programmed on behalf of the Academy we held a meeting with the head members of the Argentine Council for International Relationships, of the British Council and of the Antorchas Foundation. The Academy, as member of the Inter-Academy Panel on International Issues, subscribed a joint statement with outstanding international academic institutions, which was presented at the Habitat B International Conference. As regards the agreement with the British Council, it follows a favorable course: thus, at the beginning of 1997, we received the visit of Prof. Edward J. Wood (University of Leeds) and Dr. Milija N. Pavlovic (Imperial College of Science and Technology), while in September Dr. lan J.R. Aitchison (University of Oxford), together with two other British scientists to be appointed, will be our guest. Head Academy Member Pedro J. Aymonino held a meeting in London with the Royal Society Foreign Relations secretary, Dr. Anne McLaren, in order to exchange ideas on cooperation proposals between both institutions. During his visit to our country, the UNESCO general director, Dr. Federico Mayor Zaragoza, was presented with a proposal by the Academy to establish a professorship on science, society, production and technological innovation, with the patronage of such organization, and tentatively under the auspices of the University of Surrey (Great Britain).

In the publications area, during 1996 volume 46 of "Anales [Annals]" and three issues of the "Noticias [News]" bulletin were published. For the second consecutive year, the presentation of the Academy's Report was translated into English which, entitled "Annual Report 1995", was sent abroad to Honorary and Corresponding Academy Members abroad who mother tongue is not Spanish. Besides, publishing of the internal communication "Información para los señores académicos [Information for Academy Members]" was continued. The Academy will likewise divulge its activities, history, roster of members and Library services through Internet, since very soon the Academy will have its own electronic page. In this regard, another innovation is the connection of the Academy, via modem, to a company supplying Internet and electronic mail services.

The implementation of a scholarship program has always been a special concern of the Academy. To this end, regulations are being drawn up that would allow granting scholarships financed with the Academy's own funds and those of third parties.

Towards the end of 1996, the National Culture and Education Ministry granted the Academy a special subsidy to attend building needs at its headquarters. Such funds envisage the moving of the Library to the annex occupied for some years by the Culture Secretariat, so that the space currently occupied will become a meeting room. Refurbishment and improvement is also planned for ceilings, the meeting hall, the presidents' gallery, the main entrance lobby and restrooms.

Through this presentation, I extend my heartiest congratulations to the Academy Members who were deservedly granted awards and distinctions throughout 1996.

Relations remained cordial with our sister National Academies by means of the so-called "Meetings of National Academy Presidents", and the same applies to national authorities. In such regard, on April 15th a meeting was held with the attendance of the Culture Secretary, Dr. Mario O'Donnell. At the meeting corresponding to the month of June, it was decided that the National Academies will assemble twice a year instead of nine times, and that in 1997 a joint homage will be rendered to Dr. Bernardo A. Houssay.

Ably conducted by Head Academy Member Dr. Juan H. Hunziker, the Darwinian Botany Institute continued performing valuable research and divulgement activity, as may be gleaned in greater detail from the corresponding part of the present Report.

In this short annual retrospect, the President wishes to voice his personal gratitude to the academic members who make up the Executive Board and whose generous collaboration and assistance was lent with the greatest scope and depth; the same applies to the presidents of Academy Sections, Commissions, Special Commissions and Programmes, as well as to all colleagues as a whole.

Academy staff members performed their duties with both efficiency and reliability. Dr. Juan Carlos Valles, Mr. Mariano G. Fernandez Alt, Mrs. Diana L. Pallini, Misses Patricia N. Lopez and Beatriz L. Manso and Mr. Ram6n Beron, devoted enthusiasm and goodwill in their assigned tasks. I wish to congratulate each and every one of them for their invaluable collaboration.

Dr. Mario A. J. Mariscotti
President