It is a great honour for me to be elected as the current President of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences. I am gratified to be among some of the most eminent men of science of the country who have led the Academy before me. Besides, we are also indebted to those who came before us and to whom the Academy owes its existence and continuation. The contribution of Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, my immediate predecessor, for providing considerable funds to the Academy are particularly laudable. We all remain indebted to him. It will be my endeavour to continue to sustain the momentum and to further strengthen the role of the Academy in nation building.

The Academy today stands as the largest national constellation of scientists. Its Fellows, with brilliant careers spread over a considerable period are elected through a long drawn process. They have the capability and capacity - individually and collectively - to develop the Academy as a pool of scientific expertise to render independent opinion in matters where science can be of any assistance to the policy makers.

Another role that the Academy may like to assume is to be a national “science repository”. All scientific material generated and published within or outside the country by our men and women of science may be ‘archived’ at the Academy. This will require cooperation not only with the scientists but also with the institutions. Preserving national scientific knowledge would play a role in sensitizing awareness on knowledge management in the country.

We have so far been honoring only individual scientists for their contributions to the cause of science. In my opinion, honoring scientific institutions may also be considered. Those scientific institutions which have attained international recognition may be listed in The Academy’s Honour List.

The “programme to link the activities of the Academy to those of other Academies in the Islamic countries” on the initiative of Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman is most gratifying. The Academy needs such linkages to widen its horizon and to establish a network to exchange experts and information. The Academy’s recent membership of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is one step in this direction..

Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad N.I., H.I., S.I.
President
Pakistan Academy of Sciences