Pacific Science Association

an international regional scientific organization uniting 46 countries that adjoin the Pacific Ocean. It was established in 1920 at the First Pan-American Scientific Conference, which was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. The association’s principal aims are the promotion of cooperation in the study of scientific problems relating to the Pacific region, especially those affecting the welfare of its population, and the strengthening of peace and friendship among its peoples and brotherhood among its scientists.

The work of the association is directed by the executive committee of the association’s council; the executive committee is located in Honolulu. The USSR has been represented in the Pacific Science Association by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR since 1926. The Soviet scientist A. P. Kapitsa has been the association’s president since 1975. Congresses of the Pacific Science Association are held every three to five years; the 14th congress was held in Khabarovsk in 1979. Between congresses, 16 standing committees devoted to important problems and areas of study pertaining to the Pacific region carry out the work of the association. The committees are concerned with the following fields, among others: geography, sciences relating to the study of fresh water, public health and medicine, nutrition, the ecosystems of the Pacific islands, the study of the earth’s crust, education, the social sciences, and the humanities.

The body in the Academy of Sciences of the USSR directly concerned with the work of the Pacific Science Association is the National Committee for the Pacific Science Association. It represents 45 Soviet scientific institutions that deal with the Pacific region, and its chairman is Academician N. A. Shilo.