News

A new view of North-South partnership

18 June 2013. A new global partnership programme backed by a trio of US government agencies is finding early success with a model that provides funding to researchers in developing nations who are working directly with US scientists.

The part academia can play in world diplomacy

How can scientists in the world of academia create a more peaceful, prosperous and equal world? Ivo Šlaus, a physicist and president of the World Academy of Art & Science (WAAS), raised these questions Monday afternoon at the Adriatico Guesthouse in Grignano, arguing that it's essential that academics of all stripes engage with the political realities of the world.

Preparing for the next outbreak

27 May 2013. TWAS is teaming with the Global Virus Network to explore new initiatives that could help the developing world address the threat of deadly viruses.

Research council leaders to meet in Berlin

22 May 2013. Open access publications and research integrity will top the agenda when the Global Research Council holds its second summit meeting starting Monday in Berlin.

CAS, TWAS open ambitious centres of excellence

16 May 2013. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is making a significant new investment in five CAS-TWAS Centres of Excellence to build scientific strength and drive innovation in the developing world.

Central Europe, North Africa: New S&T Networks

8 May 2013. Budapest, Hungary. Science diplomacy could help renew long-standing research and education networks linking nations of the region, with broad potential benefits, high-ranking officials said at a roundtable organized by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and TWAS.

TWAS-AUST: A new partnership focused on higher education

7 May 2013. Wole Soboyejo, president of the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), signed a five-year agreement of collaboration with TWAS, to provide young talented researchers with the possibility of visiting AUST within the framework of one of TWAS’s prgrammes.

Kuwait Amir welcomes women scientists

24 April 2013. The Amir of Kuwait, Al-Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, opened a conference of women scientists and engineers Sunday with an expression of "deep regard for the women's place in the hierarchy with men toward sustainable development."

Linking science and diplomacy

4 April 2013. The Hungarian Academy of Sciences and TWAS have invited experts from 14 nations to a roundtable on the use of diplomacy in scientific research and governance. Venue: Italian Institute of Culture in Budapest, Hungary, on 8 April 2013.

New PhD partnership focuses on weather, climate and water

27 March 2013. An agreement between the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and TWAS will support up to 10 PhD fellowships per year focused on weather, climate and water-related hazards.

BioVision: Learning the ways of innovation

26 March 2013. Some 100 young scientists from around the world, mostly PhD students and postdocs, convened in Lyon, France, to participate in the 2013 edition of BioVision, the global life sciences forum, held 24-26 March 2013.

A new paradigm for human development?

4 March 2013. A workshop organized by the World Academy of Art and Science, in conjunction with TWAS and other groups, will convene experts from 19 countries, 5-6 March 2013, in Trieste, Italy.

Hassan re-elected co-chair of IAP

28 February 2013. Mohamed H.A. Hassan, the former executive director of TWAS, has been re-elected co-chairman of IAP, the global network of science academies.

TWAS Steering Committee: a positive meeting in Rome

20 February 2013. Top officials from the Italian government and UNESCO heard of TWAS's ambition to expand Fellowship programmes during a meeting of the Academy's Steering Committee.

A major agreement on fellowships

18 February 2013. Up to 140 early-career scientists per year from the developing world will travel to China for PhD study and research under an ambitious new agreement between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and TWAS.

Early-career women honoured for research

16 February 2013, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Five medical and life science researchers from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean Basin have won the 2013 Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early Career Women Scientists in the Developing World for work that could contribute to life-saving knowledge and therapies worldwide.

TWAS fellow takes global biodiversity post

Zakri Abdul Hamid, TWAS fellow 1996, to chair new Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

TWAS President Bai Chunli: A Future Vision for TWAS

January 2013. At the start of his term as TWAS president, Bai Chunli details the Academy's role in promoting science for sustainability in a changing world.

Trieste, the City of Knowledge

TWAS is one of 20 partners in a new website that highlights the positive impact of science organizations in its home city.

Sustainable energy for all: shots from the South

TWAS rewards the winners of its 2012 photo contest.

Second ISTIC-TWAS Entrepreneurship Awards

21 October 2012. Following a workshop in Penang, Malaysia, TWAS and ISTIC announce the three winners of the 'ISTIC-TWAS' Entrepreneurship Awards' for innovations in science and technology from developing countries.

Scholarship, science, and gender equity: The keys to boost Kenya's social development

Margaret Kamar, Kenya’s Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, comments on her cabinet's future plans to disseminate a scientific culture in her country.

Trieste Next: Towards 2013 - Water

During the closing session of the 2012 edition of Trieste Next, the City's Mayor announced that the theme of next year's event would be water. TWAS invited wetland's water expert Nick Davidson, to kick off the debate.

TWAS Medal Lectures 2013 announced

Three TWAS Fellows have been selected to present the TWAS Medal lectures at next year's annual meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

First winner of Chemistry prize announced

A woman scientist from Bangladesh has been awarded the first Atta-ur-Rahman Prize. Shamsun Nahar Khan was honoured for her work on enzyme identification and inhibition, cutting-edge research on the borders of chemistry and biology.

Climate Change and Developing Countries at Trieste Next

29 September. Organized in collaboration with TWAS and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), this discussion forum at Trieste Next featured three distinguished experts, who explained the science, politics and impacts of climate change to an eager audience composed largely of high school and university students.

TWAS participates in major new science event in Trieste

28 September. Trieste, in northern Italy, is where TWAS has its headquarters - and this weekend, for the first time, the city is home to an ambitious new event called 'Trieste Next' which aims to bring together the many and diverse scientific institutions clustered throughout Trieste and its hinterland.

China's president opens TWAS Conference

Chinese president Hu Jintao opened TWAS's 12th General Conference in Tianjin

News from Tianjin

News, reports and press releases from TWAS's 12th General Conference and 23rd General Meeting in Tianjin, China, from 18 to 21 September 2012

Tianjin

The importance of the Higgs Boson discovery

30 August. Fernando Quevedo (TWAS Fellow 2010), director of the Abdus Salam International Centre of Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy, in an article in our recent TWAS Newsletter, describes the importance of the exciting discovery this summer of a Higgs-boson like particle – and the early role played by Abdus Salam, founder of both TWAS and ICTP.

From Ghana to Rwanda via Brazil

21 August. TWAS has been promoting South-South collaboration in science since its inception in 1983. Felix Korbla Akorli from Ghana, now lecturer in telecommunications in Rwanda, was among the first awardees of a South-South fellowship. In 1995 he travelled from Ghana to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to study radio propagation. We asked him what impact the fellowship had on his subsequent career.

Developing science capacity in Bangladesh

19 July. TWAS Fellow Ahmed Azad believes that any plan to achieve development and prosperity in Bangladesh must include a massive, coordinated and expert investment in science and technology. That's why he visited Dhaka University in Bangladesh as TWAS Research Professor to offer his advice in transforming the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences into a productive research and technology resource institution.

Mohamed Hassan awarded Abdus Salam Medal

14 June. One year after his retirement, Mohamed Hassan, executive director of TWAS for twenty-six years, has been awarded the Abdus Salam Medal, both for his enduring commitment to the Academy, and the outstanding results he has achieved.

Information Meeting at UNESCO, Paris

29 May. Last week, TWAS executive director, Romain Murenzi, presented the programmes and activities of TWAS to permanent delegates and observers at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

TB or not TB?

Richard N. Zare was one of three TWAS members selected to give a TWAS Medal Lecture at this years' conference in Tianjin. TWAS confers this privilege on three of its members each year, in recognition of their achievements in their fields of research. The winners lecture on a main aspect of their work, and are presented with a plaque. The title of Zare's lecture was, simply, 'TB or not TB?'

Migratory birds: time to take notice

12-13 May was 'World Bird Migratory Day'. We asked Mexican ornithologist Paula Enríquez Rocha, a member of TWAS's partner organization OWSD, to tell us more about why this day matters.

Building trust through science

8 May. TWAS executive director Romain Murenzi was among 19 high profile delegates invited to attend a meeting aimed at encouraging and supporting scientific collaboration between the US and DPR Korea.

UN World Water Day

22 March. Today is World Water Day (WWD), an annual date to raise awareness about the challenges posed by water quality and quantity. Akiça Bahri, TWAS Fellow, talks about her extensive water management research and experience in Africa.

Entrepreneur yourself

27 April. A five-day workshop jointly organized by ICTP, TWAS, IOP and APS gave engineers and physicists from developing countries valuable step-by-step advice on how to convert their good ideas into marketable products.

Excellent science spurs productivity

13 March. In the first of a series of seminars organized under the TWAS-AAAS International Programme on Science and Diplomacy, Mary O'Kane reviewed how government support for top research centres in Australia has had somewhat unexpected spin-offs.

Eyes to the North: developing partnerships with Japan

9 March. The Executive Director of TWAS, Romain Murenzi, has just returned from a successful partnership-building trip to Japan, jointly organized by the Japanese Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum.

A fond farewell

31 January 2012. Daniel Schaffer, TWAS's Public Information Officer, is retiring. In his concluding article for the 'TWAS Newsletter', he speaks about having been witness to the historic changes in scientific capacity taking place in the developing world over the past 15 years.

Science in the Arab Spring

20 December. Science could be both a source and beneficiary of the dramatic changes taking place in the Arab region. But progress will only take place if the movement stays true to its abiding principles of democracy and transparency.

Empowering Africa

12 December. At a time when increasing access to electricity is driving economic growth in a number of developing countries, sub-Saharan Africa's electricity supplies remain stagnant.

Going quantum

8 December. "The next big step in quantum physics could well come from research being done by scientists in developing countries."

Geoengineering research: Call for coordinated action

4 December 2011. TWAS joins an international consortium, including the Royal Society and the Environment Defense Fund, in a call for coordinated action on geoengineering research.

Small things matter for food security

23 November. The food we eat depends, in large measure, on microorganisms we can't see.

CNR Rao wins 2011 Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize

21 November. The immediate past president of TWAS wins the prize for "monumental contributions to the frontiers of materials science."

Academy's goals remain constant

21 November. TWAS will continue to build scientific capacity and promote scientific excellence in a world that is likely to experience unprecedented change in the years ahead, says Jacob Palis, president of TWAS.

TWAS Announces 2011 Prize Winners

21 November. TWAS has announced the winners of the TWAS Prizes for 2011 at the Academy's 22nd General Meeting in Trieste, Italy. Each TWAS Prize carries a cash award of USD15,000. The winners will lecture about their research at TWAS's 23rd General Meeting in 2012, where they will also receive a medal and the prize money.

TWAS Regional Prizes 2011

21 November. The prizes, which are awarded by TWAS's five regional offices, carry a USD3,000 cash award. This year they have been awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of scientific educational material.

TWAS General Meeting in Trieste

14 November. TWAS will hold its 22nd General Meeting in Trieste, Italy, on 21-23 November. More than 250 people from 30 countries are expected to attend.

TWAS & AAAS building science diplomacy

Budapest, Hungary. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and TWAS have signed an agreement to pursue an ambitious slate of joint projects to enhance efforts at the nexus of science and diplomacy.

TWAS-AAS-Microsoft 2011 Award

10 November. Three African scientists have been awarded the 2011 TWAS-AAS-Microsoft Award for Young Computer Scientists, given by TWAS, the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and Microsoft Research.

Women in science in Cuba

4 November. Over the past half century, Cuba has made great strides in providing opportunities for women in science. The numbers tell the story, says Lilliam Alvarez Diáz.

Science in Nicaragua, home and away

31 October. As part of a larger effort to "give back" to his country, Jorge A. Huete Pérez has built a well-equipped biology laboratory at the University of Central America in Managua, Nicaragua.

Higher education for sustainable development

21 October. Romain Murenzi calls for dramatically increasing the number of doctoral fellowships for students in the South.

RISE in Africa

18 October. The Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE) is building strong scientific networks in Africa with the aim of helping to train the next generation of academics on the continent.

The capacity to go green

6 October. Romain Murenzi, TWAS executive director, calls for an expansion of graduate and postgraduate fellowship programmes.

Researchers' night out

On 23 September 2011, TWAS participated in Trieste's 'Researcher's Night', a Europe-wide event bringing together researchers and citizens.

Women scientists honoured

29 September. The Elsevier Foundation, TWAS and the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) honoured eleven women scientists from the developing world for their research excellence.

TWAS announces Celso Furtado Prize

22 September. TWAS is pleased to announce the 'TWAS-Celso Furtado Prize in Social Sciences'. With funding from the Brazilian government for the next four years, the annual prize will carry a USD15,000 cash award. The first prize winner will be announced in 2012.

Bringing science centres to Africa

12 September. Science centres could help advance the cause of science-based development in Africa, says Jean-Pierre Ezin.

Laser focus

6 September. A profound personal experience that took place a decade ago has helped shape Jeremie Thouakesseh Zoueu's research agenda ever since.

Kangaroo mother care

26 August. It was born of necessity three decades ago. Today 'Kangaroo Mother Care' helps millions of infants and mothers lead healthier lives. But more needs to be done to spread the word, says Nathalie Charpak.

Nuclear power in the Arab region

23 August. The nuclear accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi in Japan will slow but not stop the Arab region's recent efforts to embrace nuclear power, says Adnan Shihab-Eldin, director general of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

Nutritional values

15 August. The agenda for nutritional research in Africa should be led by African scientists, says Patrick Kolsteren, coordinator of the European Union 'Sunray' project.

Southern exposure

10 August. Roseanne Diab, executive director of the Academy of Science of South Africa, talks about the involvement of scientists from the developing world in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Advantage youth

4 August. Africa's most important resource are its people, and especially its young people, say Mohamed H.A. Hassan and Daniel Schaffer in a recent 'TWAS Newsletter' article examining the future of science and development in Africa.

A numbers game

29 July. Queena Ngo Lee-Chua, a recipient of the 2010 TWAS Regional Office in East and South East Asia (TWAS-ROESEAP) prize for the popularization of science, speaks about her passion for maths teaching in the current issue of the TWAS Newsletter.

Universal truths here and there

21 July. Last winter, Abdel Nasser Tawfik was an eyewitness to the birth of the Arab Spring in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Now, he is seeking to transform his research institute in Egypt into an international centre of excellence. He spoke about his efforts during a recent visit to Trieste.

Romain Murenzi on the future of TWAS

15 July. SciDev.Net has recently spoken with TWAS executive director Romain Murenzi about his plans for the Academy.

Information please

6 July. Transparency was the often-repeated word at the session, "Under the Pressure Cooker: How Information Professionals Communicate Big Stories." The session, jointly organized by TWAS and the US National Academy of Sciences, took place at the 2011 World Conference of Science Journalists in Doha, Qatar.

Murenzi in Nature

In the 29 June 2011 edition of NATURE, TWAS executive director Romain Murenzi speaks about the need to encourage and support young scientists in Africa as a key to building a strong foundation for science-based development in Africa.

Priceless data

24 June. Although massive amounts of data from sources such as Landsat have become open access, users still face many obstacles, says TWAS Public Information Officer Daniel Schaffer in a feature article published on SciDev.Net.

Workshop focuses on life sciences

20 June. Ways to improve faculty research and training on issues related to biosecurity and biosafety were at the centre of discussions at a workshop in Trieste that was sponsored by the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS) and hosted by TWAS.

Gas hydrates in our energy future

18 June. Gas hydrates, an abundant yet difficult to extract source of energy, could play a key role in meeting the world's future energy needs, says Harsh K. Gupta (TWAS Fellow 1995), Panikkar professor at the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad, India.

Innovation comes to Africa

10 June. Can Africa emerge as an innovation hub for growth?

Call for nominations: 2011 Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize

30 May. The deadline for nominations to the 2011 Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize is 20 July 2011. Nominations should be sent to prizes@twas.org.

Science for development in Africa

23 May. Berhanu Molla Abegaz (TWAS Fellow 1998), who was recently appointed executive director of the African Academy of Science (AAS), explains how "science for development" will be at the centre of the AAS's programmatic initiatives.

Change in scientific publishing

16 May. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have generally had a positive impact on science in the developing world. Yet, when it comes to science publications, long-standing challenges persist, and new challenges have surfaced due to the rapid spread of electronic information delivery systems.

A time at TWAS

12 May. Mohamed H.A. Hassan, who has served as TWAS's executive director for more than a quarter century, has retired. In the most recent edition of the TWAS Newsletter, he reminisces about his time at TWAS. Excerpts follow.

Rocky past

6 May. Italian-Brazilian scientist Umberto Cordani has a passion for dating rocks. His research not only sheds light on the intricate dynamics of our planet but also helps us better understand the geological stresses facing the Earth today.

Fighting cancer with viruses

13 April. Cancerous tumors pose a severe health threat throughout the world. Ranking second only to cardiovascular disease in terms of disease burden, tumors are both a common and multifaceted affliction that still awaits effective treatment.

Cities and water

28 March. "The most critical problems related to water in Africa are often found in cities," says E. Salif Diop (TWAS Fellow 2010). That's why he finds the urban focus of this year's World Water Day to be both urgent and timely.

Celebrating chemistry

22 March. The International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011), a year-long celebration of chemistry's contributions to society, is taking place this year. IYC 2011 is designed to draw attention to the important role that chemistry plays in our lives.

Stemming parasitic diseases in Brazil

8 March. Malaria, which is caused by the parasite Plasmodium, affects millions of people worldwide. It kills one child every 30 seconds.

Ndiaye new president of African Academy of Sciences

28 February. TWAS Fellow (1999) Ahmadou Lamine Ndiaye from Senegal has just been elected the new president of the Nairobi-based African Academy of Sciences (AAS). He succeeds Mohamed H.A. Hassan.

Molecular matters in Argentina

23 February. By enhancing our understanding of how biological systems regulate themselves, Gabriel Rabinovich, the 2010 TWAS prizewinner in medical sciences, is helping to shed light on ways to treat cancer, acute inflammation and autoimmune diseases.

The art and science of small things

4 February. Art and science can often come together for powerful effect. That was certainly the case in Havana, Cuba, last month when 36 "sci-art" photographs were put on display at an exhibit held at the Habana Libre Hotel between 11 and 25 January.

Cotton futures in Uzbekistan

28 January. Spun into thread or made into cloth, cotton has been the primary source of much of the world's clothing and fabric for thousands of years, rivalled only by wool and silk. Even today, cotton accounts for 40% of the fibre sold worldwide. It remains the most widely used natural fibre.

Hope for science in Palestine

24 January. For those who are privileged to be members, science academies often serve as sanctuaries from the troubles and tribulations of everyday life. But that's not the case for the Palestine Academy of Science and Technology (PALAST), which operates in one of the world's toughest neighbourhoods. The work of the Academy is profiled in the latest edition of the TWAS Newsletter.

Theory in practice in the Caribbean

18 January. Sean McDowell (TWAS Fellow 2009) talks about the challenges he faces – and the success he has achieved – as a researcher in the Caribbean.

Science means business

10 January. "We have reached a stage in global development when even the poorest countries can readily derive material benefits from investments in science and technology," says Heneri A.M. Dzinotyiweyi (TWAS Fellow 1988), Minister of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe.

Sun-kissed water in Tunisia

20 December. M. Thameur Chaibi (TWAS Fellow 2009), a senior researcher at the National Agricultural Research Institute of Tunisia, has experienced water shortages since his early youth. It's a concern that's not only shaped his personal life but also his scientific career – a career that has focused on providing sustainable water supplies to Africa through innovative research and engineering.

Caribbean first

13 December. "Every child in Jamaica wants to become a medical doctor, but they don't know the other opportunities that science has to offer," says TWAS Young Affiliate Marvadeen Singh-Wilmot, a lecturer in the chemistry department at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Mona, Jamaica.

TWAS honoured with Feltrinelli prize

12 November. The official ceremony for the 2010 'Premio Feltrinelli', which went to TWAS, took place at the 'Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei' in Rome, at the opening of Italy's 2010-2011 academic year. Giorgio Napolitano, the president of Italy, was in attendance. Jacob Palis, president of TWAS, received the award on behalf of the Academy.

L'Oréal Prize goes to three TWAS members

9 November. Three members of TWAS are among the five women to win the 2011 L'Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science.

Palis speaks at ICTP's 45th anniversary conference

7 November. "Science is a key factor in allowing developing countries to forego importing technology from abroad and in charting their own path for sustainable economic growth," noted TWAS President Jacob Palis, speaking at the ICTP 45th anniversary conference.

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