Text of a Talk Given by Academician Mstislav V. Keldysh at the Fall Meeting of the AcademySource: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,Vol. 70, No. 3 (Mar., 1973), pp. 637-640Published by: National Academy of SciencesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/62323 .

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Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 70, No. 3, pp. 637-640, March 1973

The meetings of the Academy frequently inclm matters relevant to issues of current social concern. when it appears likely they will be of interest to a

The following talk was presented by Academici( of Sciences of the USSR at the Autumn meeting October 17, 1972.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Allow me on behalf of my colleagues and myself to express our deep gratitude to the National Academy of Sciences of the USA and its President, Philip Handler, for the invitation to visit your country and your scientific institutions and to see your achievements in the sciences.

I am thankful for the opportunity to address such an honorable audience. I am looking forward to closer acquaint- ance with your scientific institutions and your approaches to the organization of research that made such a great con- tribution to the development of science and its practical implementation.

We hope that the contacts which we shall have during our visit will strengthen the scientific cooperation between our countries to which we attach great importance.

Before speaking about our cooperation let me say a few words on our Academy of Sciences.

The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union is of venerable

age. In 2 years we shall mark the 250th anniversary. Founded

by Peter the Great in 1724, the Academy of Sciences was

taking an active part in all the reforms typical of the 18th

century Russia. It was the time of industrial growth, ex-

pansion of external and internal trade, shipbuilding, and intensive development of culture.

The Academy of Sciences was the first scientific institution in our country and was to promote general development of the country. At that time it already had a number of labora- tories.

Soon the first universities were opened in Russia and new research laboratories were founded on the basis of those universities. For many years the activities of the Academy of Sciences were similar to those of the Western Academies.

After the Great October Socialist Revolution when a new social system was established in Russia, the Government headed by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin attached grea,t importance to the scientific reconstruction of backward Russia. The

Academy of Sciences played an important role in the de-

velopment of scientific research and utilization of its results. A large network of institutes and laboratories attached to the

Academy was organized to cover all trends in natural and social sciences.

I'll mention some facts to give you an idea of the develop-

ment of our Academy. Before the Revolution of 1917, there were no more than

150 researchers at the Academy, in 1925 there were 900, and at present there are 60,000. The total number of people em- ployed in the institutions of the Academy is over 140,000.

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tde presentations of scientific and technological The Proceedings will publish such presentations considerable sector of the Academy membership. in Mstislav V. Keldysh of the National Academy of the National Academy of Sciences USA on

The Academy of Sciences has about 700 outstanding scientists as Members and Associate members who work either at the Academy itself or at other higher educational establishments and research institutions.

The main goal of the Academy is to organize and fulfill the research on key problems of scientific development in its institutions. The Academy of Sciences also effects the scientific supervision and coordination of the development of natural and social sciences and provides training of future scientists at its institutes. The Academy is responsible for submitting recommendations and reports to the Council of Ministers and to other Governmental bodies on further implementation of the scientific achievements.

There are 15 republics in our country. The nations which united 50 years ago into the Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics had different levels of their development. A lot has been done during these 50 years in the field of cultural and economic development of all the nations, and especially in the field of the development of science in each Republic.

Some of these Republics were backward outlying districts of tsarist Russia where the population was completely illiterate.

Now every Republic has its own Academy. More than 110,000 persons are employed at the Academies of our Republics and among them are about 40,000 researchers. The efforts of these Academies are channelled by the Council on Coordination attached to the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Mr. President:

The modern world is undergoing revolutionary scientific and technological changes, as well as deep social transforma- tions.

During a short period of time Mankind made a gigantic step forward in the study of Nature. There emerged new notions of space, time, movement, and matter. Scientific experiment and theoretical thought have penetrated deeply into the atomic nucleus and the Universe. Our notions of life processes have widened and changed greatly. The present opportunities for experimental study of Nature cannot be compared with those in the past.

Every year the economic and social development of our society in all directions is based to an increasing degree on the

achievements of Science. The scale of scientific research in the developed countries expands rapidly and the progress of

science requires considerable resources from the state. At the same time scientific thought moves rapidly ahead, and even the largest countries are incapable of implementing all the

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638 Keldysh

present projects of promising research put forward by scien- tists.

The rapid progress in sciences and radical transformation of scientific notions cannot be imagined without joint efforts of scientists from various countries. Science by its nature is international, for it studies categories which apply not only beyond certain areas of the Earth but even far beyond the borders of our planet. It is even more international than art, which has some national features in many respects. In the past the implementation of scientific achievements for development was greatly restrained by natural conditions. Modern technical progress and means of transportation and communication eliminate these restraints, especially in those countries with a highly developed economy.

All these tendencies have considerably changed the nature of international scientific cooperation, which was characterized in the past by personal scientific contacts.

At present there are several major international projects in which both our countries take an active part. We are all aware of the significant results of the International Geophysi- cal Year and the International Antarctic Research Program. From the International programs of the Biological Year and Ocean exploration and from some other large scientific pro- grams which are being fulfilled by joint efforts of scientists from many countries we expect not only great scientific results but also new ways of providing the growing population of the Earth with natural resources.

Some of these projects are aimed at solving major global scientific programs, as well as achieving humanitarian goals of future development of Mankind. The solution of such a problem as the rational utilization of natural resources which has universal character in many aspects cannot be solved without the joint efforts of all the countries. In this case the international cooperation and the SCOPE project in par- ticular should play a great role. We hope that the project of the International Service of Scientific Information will strengthen scientific collaboration and will speed up de- velopment of the sciences.

We think that in the future it would be advisable to increase the coordination of efforts of the countries not only in the solution of global problems but also in some funda- mental scientific problems that require great investments. Among them are high energy physics, astrophysics, space research, as well as problems of a more practical nature.

In connection with the changing and more active character of international scientific cooperation, the role of such national organizations as Academies of Sciences is incessantly increasing. The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union attaches great importance to the realization of international cooperation through both participating in the work of inter- national scientific organizations as well as establishing bilateral relations with different countries. To encourage scientific contacts, the USSR Academy of Sciences has agreements for scientific cooperation with the Academies and organizations of over 40 countries.

In our opinion the signing of the agreements between our Academies beginning from 1958 contributed to the develop- ment of American-Soviet scientific cooperation. These agreements gave scientists, and in particular young ones, an opportunity to have practice at the institutes of the other country, improved the exchange of scientific information, and gave the possibility of conducting bilateral symposia.

Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 70 (1973)

From the initial steps of their cooperation our Academies exchanged over 400 scientists who delivered lectures and visited scientific institutions, and acquainted themselves with their work.

After the signing of the agreements, scientific contacts be- tween scientists, as well as mutual visits beyond the ternis of the Agreement, have also greatly increased. The number of mutual visits during these years exceeds many thousands. We have close and constant links between many scientific institutions of our two countries.

The recent bilateral symposia on the electron theory of solid-state and on mathematics have improved contacts be- tween scientists of our two countries. The proceedings of these symposia were published both in the USA and in the Soviet Union.

We attach great importance to conducting a number of joint research efforts undertaken by US and Soviet scientists, as well as organizing a number of joint research projects, some of which I would like to menition now.

The agreement on conducting joint research at the Serpukov and Batavia accelerators is being carried out successfully. The American group of physicists has been working at Serpukhov for 9 months, and in 1971 completed an interesting piece of research on pion-electron scattering which made it possible to determine the electromagnetic radius of the pi-meson. Soviet physicists have begun at Batavia a series of experiments on measuring proton-proton scattering and studying the anti-neutrino interaction with matter. Our physicists have prepared a number of new proposals for research to be carried out at the US facilities, and we would be pleased to consider proposals of American physicists for research to be carried out at our facilities.

After your brief visit to the Soviet Union, Mr. President, talks have begun on the possible coordination of efforts in the future development of high-energy physics facilities involving scientists of our two countries and the CERN. We consider it necessary to continue such talks in order to avoid, to a reasonable degree, unnecessary overlapping in developing costly unique installations.

The Agreement between the USSR Academy of Sciences and NASA in the field of space exploration, which also came under discussion between you, Mr. President, and myself during your visit to Moscow, envisages greater exchange of data and materials acquired through exploring the Moon and the planets, including samples of Moon rock, the coordination of some projects on the natural resources survey, joint experiments in ocean and atmosphere exploration, regular exchange of data acquired through atmospheric rocket probing according to a mutually agreed-upon program, joint experiments in the study of the geomagnetic field, and writing of a joint work on space biology and medicine.

The successfully progressing cooperation on developing compatible means of rendezvous and docking of manned spacecraft, as well as on realization of the Soyuz-Apollo test mission approved by Governmental Agreement are of an out- standing importance. We hope that this experiment will be- come a starting point for joint Soviet-Amnerican scientific proj- ects on space exploration involving spacecraft.

In the course of the last 2 years Soviet and American scientists have been carrying out joint research in radio- astronomy on the problem of very-long-baseline radiointer- ferometry. Monitoring of cosmic radioemission objects with

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Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 70 (1973)

the help of very-long-baseline radiointerferometers is carried out both in the USSR (at the Crimean astrophysical observa- tory) and in the USA, with the participation of scientists of the other country.

Cooperation is also carried out in the use of artificial Earth satellites for the purpose of geodesy, as well as for the study of Solar activity influence on the Earth's atmosphere. A lot of attention is being paid by American and Soviet astro- physicists and radioastronomers to the study of such inter- esting nonstationary objects as quasars, radio-Galaxies, Novas, and super Novas. A number of Soviet and American observatories and institutions take part in this cooperation.

Some contacts which have taken place in the field of oceanography might also be mentioned. Scientists of the Soviet Union participated in research on board American ships, including the unique drilling vessel "Glomar Chal- lenger." US scientists sailed aboard the Soviet research vessels "Vitjaz," "Dimitri Mendeleev," and others. Our joint experiments on the seismological sounding of the bottom of the Pacific and in the area of Iceland were extremely successful.

I would consider it advisable to further develop our joint efforts in ocean research.

Mr. President:

The Moscow meeting of the leaders of the Soviet State and the US President, as you well know, has great importance not only for the improvement of relations between our states but for the improvement of the political situation and climate the world over and for the improvement of relations between our states. Agreements between the USSR and the USA on strategic arms limitation constitute a major contribution to the cause of peace. The Moscow meeting has created a favorable basis for promoting cooperation in the field of science and technology. New possibilities are opened by agreements on protection of the environment, cooperation in space research, and in the fields of health and agriculture. I believe that our two Academies will actively promote the realization of the goals arising from the agreements. In particular, within the framework of these agreements the USSR Academy of sciences institutes intend jointly with American scientific organizations to carry out research on various aspects of the environment, including the prevention of air and water pollution, genetic effects of pollution, and the establishment of reserves for scientific purposes.

There are also suggestions of the USSR Acadenmy of sciences institutes to work together on a number of problems, among which I would like to mention the problem of catalysis and studies ini the field of magnetohydrodynamic methods of converting thermal energy into electricity for the purpose of commercial energetics. Due to their large territories, great population, and high level of development, our two countries possess enormous possibilities for conducting scientific research. However, as I have already mentioned, scientific

progress puts forward many more possible projects than any separate country can realize. And, from this point of view, our scientific cooperation might enable scientists of our two countries to develop science more rapidly. I would like to say that coordination of efforts is more effective than mere division of labor. Further development of cooperation be- tween our countries can open up new possibilities for the

N.A.S. Invited Speech 639

progress of science and, consequently, contribute to the progress of Mankind.

The development of our cooperation should not affect in any way the scientific relations of both our countries with scientists of other countries. On the contrary, it should help to strengthen ties among scientists throughout the world. It should con- tribute to closer cooperation in carrying out the existing international projects. It should sponsor new significant international developments for promoting science and prosperity of nations.

As an example of our initiative in this area I would like to point out the work conducted by our two countries on the organization of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Another example is the participation of CERN in the talks between scientists of our two countries on further development of the experimental basis for high- energy physics.

I believe that of late our scientific cooperation is con- tinuously developing both through increasing personal con- tacts between scientists and cooperation between certain laboratories, and by way of promoting coordinated research programs. I don't mean to say that there were no difficulties at all in the course of the development of our scientific ties. They may still arise in our troublesome and turbulent world. And even if science is international by its nature, still we believe that scientists, as well as people of all walks of life, in a certain country are obliged to serve the interests of their country. Therefore, the general situation can't but affect to a certain degree the cooperation among scientists.

It is the duty of every scientist to work together with all progressive people for the promotion and strengthening of peaceful relations among nations.

Thus the personal participation of scientists in the inter- national struggle for peace is just one important factor. It is evident now that another mighty factor of peace is the con- solidation of forces of scientists for the advancement of science and for making it serve progressive Mankind.

I think that you share my opinion that on the whole the international climate has considerably improved of late; as I have already mentioned, our two governments, in addition to a number of general positive measures, have taken imme- diate steps toward strengthening scientific and technical cooperation. And this places upon us still more responsibility.

In this respect the exchange of scientists in accordance with bilateral agreements should be extended and continued. And therefore we should do our utmost to develop our con- tacts along the most urgent trends in contemporary science, such as the latest developments in mathematics and com- puters, solid-state physics, including quantum electronics, significant problems of moderns biology, including molecular biology, anld many other exciting problems of modern science.

I believe there is no reason to draw up special programs on general scientific problems which attract the attention of scientists the world over, unless there are specific circum- stances. In this respect it is necessary just to encourage contacts between scientists through our general exchange agreement and through bilateral and international symposia.

I would think it advisable to have more contacts between individual laboratories of our two countries, and in my opinion such contacts would undoubtedly become a source of new coordinated research and would strengthen friendly ties

between scientists of both nations.

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640 Keldysh

I am sure that our Academies can do a lot to beneficially continue and promote useful cooperation for elaborating programs in the field of space exploration, astrophysics, high- energy physics, oceanography, Antarctic exploration, preser- vation of the environment, and of a number of subjects which I have already discussed.

I would like to mention a few other trends of development which might be of interest in studying the feasibility of cooperation, and which are now under discussion among the Soviet and American scientists.

1. Certain global geological problems, such as ocean floor geology, deep structure of islandic arches and young fold areas, identification of the Earth crust structures at the continental borders of the Pacific, and the problems of earthquake prediction and tsunami warning.

2. New developments and discoveries in biology, especially on the molecular level.

Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 70 (1973)

3. The problems of arid land agriculture. T. Energetics of the future, including the already men-

tioned direct conversion of heat into electricity, as well as new sources of power.

I have mentioned only some possibilities for joint scientific research. Obviously it would be reasonable in future to expand the scope of such scientific problems, which can bring about fruitful cooperation between the research centers of our two countries.

In conclusion I would like to emphasize that the USSR Academy of Sciences attaches great importance to the development of contacts with the US National Academy of Sciences and we trust that the development of Soviet- American scientific cooperation will be beneficial for our two nations and will contribute to the cause of peace and progress.

Thank you very much for your attention.

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