LATVIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Akadēmijas laukums 1 Tel.: (371) 67225361. Fakss: (371) 67821153 Rīga, LV 1050 E-mail: [email protected] Latvia http://www.lza.lv The 2017 Latvian Academy of Sciences (LAS) Yearbook is a follow-up edition — already the fi fteenth one under this title. The previous issues refl ected the situation in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998/1999, 2000/2001, 2002/2003, 2004/2005, 2006/2007, 2008/2009, and 2010/2011, 2012/2013, 2016/2017 (until 15 March 2017). The Yearbook 2017 contains basic information on the Academy, including the membership directory. The contents of the Yearbook are also available on the Website of the LAS (http://www.lza.lv). See section About Academy/Annual Reports Compiled by: Kristaps Broks, Daina Daija, Alma Edžiņa, Līva Griņeviča, Sofja Negrejeva, Andrejs Siliņš (supervisor), Ilze Stengrevica, Viktorija Zaļūksne Photos from the collection of the LAS. Photographers Māris Bartulāns, Jānis Brencis, Alma Edžiņa, Edgars Liepiņš, Virginija Valuckiene Edited by Antra Legzdiņa Computer design by Elmārs Lange Published by “Zinātne”: Akadēmijas laukums 1, Rīga LV-1050, Latvia. Reg. no. 40003576967 ISSN 1407-0383 ISBN 978-9934-549-35-9 © Latvian Academy of Sciences, 2017 C O N T E N T S Preface Ojārs Spārītis ................................................................................................................... 5 Transformation of the Academy of Sciences (1990s) and accomplishments in Latvian science Jānis Stradiņš ..........................................................................................8 CHARTER OF THE LATVIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES .................................................. 15 STATUTE OF THE LATVIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES .................................................... 20 National Research Programme „EKOSOC-LV”: Accomplishment in Stage 3. Baiba Rivža ....................................................................................................... 35 National Research Programme „Letonics”. Ilga Jansone ...........................................................44 PRESIDIUM, SENATE, BOARD, COUNCILS, COMMISSIONS OF THE LAS ................... 52 SCIENTIFIC AND ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITY OF THE LATVIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES .................................................................................................................... 56 2016: The year in science .................................................................................................... 56 General Meetings of the LAS ............................................................................................. 67 Meetings of the LAS ........................................................................................................... 87 Meetings of the Senate ........................................................................................................ 93 Activities of the Presidium of the LAS ............................................................................. 106 LAS Board activities .......................................................................................................... 107 LAS funding from the state budget, 2016 .........................................................................109 Activities of the LAS Funds ...............................................................................................110 Activities of organisations connected with the LAS ..........................................................113 Academy awards and other awards .....................................................................................117 HONORARY PATRONS OF THE LAS .................................................................................. 141 SCIENTIFIC DIVISIONS ........................................................................................................ 142 Division of Physical and Technical Sciences ....................................................................142 Stairways to excellence in modern materials research in the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia. Andris Šternbergs .................................. 150 Division of Chemical, Biological and Medical Sciences in Latvia ................................. 155 Main achievements of the State Research Programme “Biomedicine for Public Health” in 2016. Valdis Pīrāgs .....................................................................170 Introduction and Breeding of Rhododendra in Latvia (1957–2017). Rihards Kondratovičs ................................................................................................... 178 Division of Humanities and Social Sciences ..................................................................... 182 Turaida Museum Reserve — Outstanding in Humanitarian and Social Sciences in 2016. Raita Karnīte ....................................................................................193 Division of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences in Latvia ...................................................201 The foundation of future forests: current tree breeding. Āris Jansons ...............................211 INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION ................................................................................ 216 MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY ............................................................................................. 226 Full members ...................................................................................................................... 226 Honorary members .............................................................................................................. 234 Foreign members ................................................................................................................ 238 Corresponding members .....................................................................................................244 Doctors honoris causa ........................................................................................................ 252 In Memoriam ...................................................................................................................... 257 THE MAIN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTES AND AGENCIES OF LATVIA ................................259 Preface Highly esteemed academic com- munity, colleagues and friends! I have to admit to all of you and to myself that I fi nd it hard to share the responsibility for the events that occurred twenty-fi ve years ago, when the administration of the then LSSR Academy of Sciences and nomenclature academics, for unknown reasons or possibly driven by director-dictated motives, proposed that the academy should be transformed into an academy of staff, following “the Western model”. In practice, this meant sweeping aside a powerful instrument for national development — academic intelligence — and paralysing the development-driving force of the country that had regained its independence. Politically, this destructive practice was implemented by the transitional government leaders, whose followers in this offi ce continued to strip the Academy of Sciences of its property, close down institutes and laboratories, remove and sell their equipment to the extent that the marginalised infrastructure of Latvia’s science and emigration-weakened personnel lost any impact on the country’s economic growth. The consequences of this subversive activity are seriously felt as scarcity of the destroyed national technological and industrial infrastructure, which results in the inability to exploit effectively the remaining scientifi c potential with a view of increasing innovative entrepreneurship. Whatever would the former leaders of the Latvian Academy of Sciences say to justify their past compromises, I can only fi nd, based on the attitude of the representatives of the country’s political and executive power both towards 5 PREFACE science in general and the national Academy of Science in particular, that we are heirs of an institution that has been excluded from public administration as well as economic and intellectual domains, an institution with partly national but for the most part representative functions, with no real responsibility for the consequences and a limited ability to participate in the administration of the developmental processes in the country. Over the twenty-six years after the restoration of national independence, the leaders of the Latvian Academy of Sciences have not sought to increase its infl uence on the management processes in the fi elds of science and economy. This is clearly seen in the destructive activity of the offi cials of the executive power — Ministry of Education and Science — by continuously limiting opportunities and fi nances of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. We fi nd such an attitude on the part of the executive power towards science embarrassing both domestically and internationally although any logical-minded individual understands that using academic potential for the economic development of national economy is an axiom, an idea that is constantly referred to by the offi cials in Brussels who are responsible for inculcating it in the national consciousness and for the growth of the European Union’s common economic space. Since the restoration of national independence, there has been no perceptible staff restart in either political or scientifi c management mechanism which would clear the way to new forces that would bring about structural changes. The evolution of our state, unfortunately, is slow and affl icted with continual contradictory administrative convulsions that do not allow either the