National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine NASEM

In the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act of Congress on March 3, 1863, chartering the National Academy of Sciences as a private body of leading scientists that would advise the government on scientific questions without pay. It added the National Research Council in 1916 to engage more experts, the National Academy of Engineering in 1964, and the Institute of Medicine in 1970, renamed the National Academy of Medicine in 2015. Together they operate as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Members are elected by their peers in recognition of distinguished research, and election is among the highest honors in American science. The Academies' main public work is consensus studies, in which committees of volunteer experts review evidence and issue reports that undergo independent peer review, on topics ranging from climate change, vaccines, and nutrition standards to nuclear security, forensic science, and space exploration. Most studies are requested and paid for by federal agencies or Congress under contracts, but the Academies are not government agencies and are not funded through their own appropriation.

The Academies' reports carry weight because of their claim to independence, and agencies and courts often cite them. Congress amended the Federal Advisory Committee Act in 1997 to set special openness rules for their committees while preserving their independence. In 2025, federal agencies canceled or paused many study contracts as part of broader cuts to research spending, and administration officials and some lawmakers questioned the objectivity of reports on politically contested subjects. Supporters say the Academies provide the most authoritative independent scientific advice available to policymakers, while critics say their committees can reflect the consensus views of academic science on questions where values are also in dispute.