The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is the top academic institution and national comprehensive R&D centre in natural sciences and high-tech innovation in China. CAS also serves as the supreme national advisory body on science and technology. By the end of 2003, there were 89 research institutes, 3 educational institutions, and 12 local branches across the country, with a total of 44,000 staff members. For more information, please visit: http://english.cas.ac.cn The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) is an autonomous international organization that promotes scientific capacity and excellence in the South. Founded as the Third World Academy of Sciences by a group of eminent scientists under the leadership of the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam of Pakistan in 1983, TWAS was officially launched in Trieste, Italy, in 1985, by the Secretary General of the United Nations. TWAS has more than 700 members from 81 countries, 66 of which are developing countries. A Council of 13 members is responsible for supervising all Academy affairs. The main objectives of TWAS are to: • Recognize, support and promote excellence in scientific research in the South; • Provide promising scientists in the South with research facilities necessary for the advancement of their work; • Facilitate contacts between individual scientists and institutions in the South; • Encourage South-North cooperation between individuals and centres of scholarship; and, UNESCO is responsible for the administration of TWAS funds and staff. A major portion of TWAS funding is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy.
