Wiles won acclaim for proving Fermat's Last Theorem. It is always a very difficult task to choose among the scientists that are available all around the world. I think that's timely and appropriate. Congress incorporated NAS in 1863. Current NAS members nominate candidates, who then are considered by members of 25 disciplinary sections.
Final acceptance is determined by a general election of academy members.
The academy's 60 new inductees, from a total of 47 institutions and in a variety of disciplines, bring its total active membership to 1,760. About half of the new members work in the life sciences. Harvard University and Harvard Medical School combined to place four researchers among NAS's class of 1996. The University of California, San Diego, reached the same total, with the UC system as a whole placing nine members. The UC system always does very well.