corresponding member

The corresponding member is one of the possible membership types in some organizations, especially in the learned societies and scientific academies. This title existed or exist in the Soviet Union, GDR, Polish People's Republic, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic , France, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Russia. Original category of membership Historically, this kind of membership was usual for the individuals living far from the academy or outside the country where the central academy offices are located. Because such people were unable to attend meetings, from organizational reasons, they had to communicate their scientific contributions by "correspondence". This is why the status name includes the word “corresponding”. The problem of accessibility is important also now and accounted for by some institutions in the world. So, for example, the Australian Academy of Science entitles the prominent foreign researchers only to corresponding membership; among the people with this status are David Attenborough (United Kingdom), Rolf M. Zinkernagel (Switzerland), Elizabeth Blackburn (USA) and Gunnar Öquist (Sweden). In such situations, a corresponding membership has normally the same weight as a full membership.