The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS;, Bŭlgarska akademiya na naukite, abbreviated БАН) is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy, with headquarters in Sofia, is autonomous and consists of a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members. It publishes and circulates different scientific works, encyclopaedias, dictionaries and journals, and runs its own publishing house. The activities are distributed in three main branches: Natural, mathematical and engineering sciences; Biological, medical and agrarian sciences and Social sciences, humanities and art. They are structured in 42 independent scientific institutes, and a dozen of laboratories and other sections. Julian Revalski has been the president of the BAS since 2016. As of 2022, its budget was 119,860 million leva (€61.28 million).

History

As Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire, Bulgarian émigrés founded the Bulgarian Literary Society on 26 September 1869, in Brăila in the Kingdom of Romania, on the model of the Romanian Literary Society, that had been established in 1866. The first Statutes accepted were: Board of Trustees Acting members: The following year, the Literary Society began issuing the Periodical Journal, its official publication, and in 1871 elected its first honorary member - Gavril Krastevich. In 1878, shortly after Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule, the General Assembly voted to move the headquarters of the Society from Brăila to Sofia, and on 1 March 1893 the BLS moved into its own building, right next to where the Bulgarian Parliament is seated. The BLS headquarters were completed in 1892. The building was designed by architect Hermann Mayer and was expanded during the 1920s. The Bulgarian Literary Society adopted its present-day name in 1911, and Ivan Geshov became the Academy's first president. The BAS became a member of the Union of Slavonic Academies and Scientific Communities in 1913 and was accepted as a member of the International Council of Scientific Unions in 1931. The BAS was awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for their contributions to promotion of mutual understanding between Bulgaria and Japan on 1 December 2020.

Departments

The BAS has 9 main sections, more broadly united under three main branches: Natural, mathematical and engineering sciences; Biological, medical and agrarian sciences and Social sciences, humanities and art. Each consists of independent scientific institutes, laboratories and other sections.

Mathematical Sciences

Physical Sciences

Chemical Sciences

Biological Sciences

Earth Sciences

Engineering Sciences

Humanities (Division 'Cultural-Historical Heritage and National Identity')

Social Sciences (Division 'Man and Society')

Specialized and Supporting Units

Honours

Academia Peak and Camp Academia on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica are named for the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in appreciation of Academy's contribution to the Antarctic exploration.