Jogesh Babu has been admitted as a member of the International Astronomical Union
Professional scientists whose research is directly relevant to some branch of astronomy are eligible for election as Individual Members. Individual Members are, normally, admitted by the Executive Committee on the proposal of a National Member. Information on the qualification for membership and application procedure can be found here. Individual Members listed in the IAU directory have a valid, public email (so are considered as "voting members" in the IAU database), and are affiliated to at least one Division.
A list of IAU Individual Members per Division, Commission, etc. is available by selecting the desired IAU body ("Science" menu on the IAU home page: Division, Commissions, etc.), and clicking on "Division Members" (etc.). These lists are regularly updated by the Secretariat in the IAU database. A list of the IAU Individual Members per country can be found by first selecting the country in the National Member list, clicking on the country, then on the "Total members" menu appearing at the top of the country page.
About the International Astronomical Union
The IAU has 11258 members. The Individual Members Directory contains 9240 names in 96 countries worldwide (These Individual Members are labeled as "active" in the IAU database: they have a valid, public email, and are affiliated to at least one Division.). Of those 74 are National Members. In addition, the IAU collaborates with various scientific organizations all over the world.
The scientific and educational activities of the IAU are organized by its 9 Scientific Divisions and, through them, its 35 specialized Commissions covering the full spectrum of astronomy, along with its 20 Working and Program Groups. The long-term policy of the IAU is defined by the General Assembly and implemented by the Executive Committee, while day-to-day operations are directed by the IAU Officers. The focal point of its activities is the IAU Secretariat, hosted by the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France.
The key activity of the IAU is the organization of scientific meetings. Every year the IAU sponsors nine international IAU Symposia. The IAU Symposium Proceedings series is the flagship of the IAU publications. Every three years the IAU holds a General Assembly, which offers six IAU Symposia, some 25 Joint Discussions and Special Sessions, and individual business and scientific meetings of Divisions, Commissions, and Working Groups. The proceedings of Joint Discussions and Special Sessions are published in the Highlights of Astronomy series. The reports of the GA business meetings are published in the Transactions of the IAU - B series.
Among the other tasks of the IAU are the definition of fundamental astronomical and physical constants; unambiguous astronomical nomenclature; promotion of educational activities in astronomy; and informal discussions on the possibilities for future international large-scale facilities. Furthermore, the IAU serves as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them.
The IAU also works to promote astronomical education, research and public outreach actions towards the public. These activities culminated with the organization of the UNESCO International Year of Astronomy in 2009, which reached out to over 800 million people from 148 countries. Following this effort, it has recently created the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), a joint venture with the South African National Research Foundation as well as with the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO), a joint venture with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. Astronomy is used as a tool for stimulating capacity building by means of 3 IAU OAD Task Forces - Universities and Research, Children and Schools and Public Outreach. The IAU also carries out joint educational activities associated with COSPAR and UNESCO. Regional offices are being created in other countries as well (for the moment: China, Thailand, Ethiopia and Zambia). In 2015, the IAU will actively participate in the International Year of Light.
This web site provides on-line information on the Union's activities and links to the web sites of the IAU Divisions, Commissions, Working Groups, and Program Groups. Further contact with the IAU membership is maintained through the IAU Information Bulletin and downloadable from this web site.
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