A private, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the advancement of science and technology and their use for the general welfare. Under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, the NAS has a working mandate that calls upon it to advise the U.S. Federal Government on scientific and technical matters.
A private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress when it was formed in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Under the NAS charter, the National Research Council (NRC) was established in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1964, and the Institute of Medicine (lOM) in 1970, an outgrowth of the Board on Medicine, formed in 1967.