UNION OF SCIENTISTS IN BULGARIA - Интро - СУБold.usb-bg.org/English/USB together formatted.pdf · UNION OF SCIENTISTS IN BULGARIA PRESENTATION HISTORY The Union of Scientists

2801

UN

ION

OF SC

IENTISTS IN

BU

LGA

RIA

PRESEN

TATION

HISTORY

The Union of S

cientists in Bulgaria (U

SB

) was founded in

October 1944 by 15 prom

inent Bulgarian scientists. The U

nionquickly expanded and becam

e the largest organization ofscientists and higher school lecturers. It now

unifies scientistsfrom

different research areas, of different age, with different

political views. D

uring the years the Union has irrevocably stood

its positions of independent, non-governmental, non-profit, non-

political, professional and creative organization of scientists.The U

SB

Statutes define the organization as "national, voluntary,non-governm

ental and democratic, creative and professional

organization of scientists", "non-profit juridical body - associa-tion w

orking for the benefit of society…" and a U

nion "… built

and functioning on federative principles", continuing the innova-tive traditions of the scientific com

munity in B

ulgaria.AIM

The main aim

of the US

B is to assist the advancem

ent ofscience and higher education in the country, to prom

ote theirprestige and contribute to the prosperity of the R

epublic ofB

ulgaria. The US

B acts as an independent partner and consult-

ant to the Law- and D

ecision-makers in the elaboration and

implem

entation of the national strategy for the development of

science and higher education.The U

SB

voices and protects the rights and interests of itsm

embers and assists their innovative and professional activi-

ties.STRUCTURE

The US

B perform

s its activities through units or structures builton research or geographical area principles, called sectionsand branches.The sections are units in the capital, consisting of at least 25m

embers of the sam

e or similar research discipline. S

ectionspresently functioning at the U

SB

can be found on the next pagegraph.The branches are units of U

SB

spread outside of the capital, allover the country, built on geographic principle. B

ranches can becreated by m

inimum

25 mem

bers - scientists or universitylecturers.

National M

ilitary University "V. Levski" in national security, m

ilitaryscience, m

achine technology, plant growing technologies,

radiation protection, ecological risk and security, chemical toxic

substances, applied mechanics, hydraulics and theory of

automation.

Medicine, veterinary m

edicine and agriculture - the smallest

section in number unifies m

edical doctors, veterinarians andspecialists in soy-bean grow

th from the Veterinary Faculty of

the University and the Soy-bean trial station in the tow

n ofPavlikeni.

Information sources:

1.U

SB

mem

bers database Sofia

2.Inform

ation material provided by U

SB

branches offices3.

http://ww

w.usb-bg.org

4.http://w

ww

.bas.bg5.

http://ww

w.agriacad.bg

2702

Branches of U

SB

exist now in 25 tow

ns: Blagoevgrad, B

urgas,Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratza, G

abrovo, Dobritch, K

ardjali,K

yustendil, Lovetch, Pazardjik, P

leven, Plovdiv, R

azgrad,R

ousse, Svishtov, S

liven, Sm

oljan, Sofia R

egion, Stara

Sections in Sofia

Natural

sciences B

iological & m

edical sci. A

griculture H

umanities &

social sciences E

ngineering

Informatics

Mathe

matics

Mech

anics

Ph

ysics C

hemistry and

ph

armace

utics

Military sciences

Geolog

y and

geography

Techn

ical

sciences

Biolog

y B

iochem

istry, bioph

ysics and m

ollec. b

iology

Genetics

Imm

unology

Me

dical sciences

Micro

biology The

oretical a

nd evolution

biolog

y

Ag

robiology

Veterinary

me

dicine and

zootechnics

Forestry

Plants physiology

& b

iochemistry

Th

eological

sciences

History

Philo

logy

Philoso

phy E

conom

ics P

edagog

y and

psych

ology

Juridical science S

ociology

Map of B

ulgaria with U

SB

branches

At present, the A

cademy trains specialist for the N

avy and for them

erchant marine in all areas of m

aritime life. R

esearch anddevelopm

ent are conducted at the Academ

y in maritim

e scienceand m

arine technologies.M

arine sciences are also represented at the Institute of Ocean-

ology of the Bulgarian A

cademy of sciences located in Varna.

The research activities are in the field of marine physics,

chemistry, geology and archaeology, biology and ecology,

coastal dynamics and ocean technologies. It carries out com

-plex m

onitoring of the Bulgarian part of the B

lack Sea, develops

consulting and expert activities, prepares qualified marine

scientists. Scientists of the institute perform

educationalactivities and give lectures on over 50 subjects in differentuniversities (N

avy School, Technical U

niversity, Medical U

niver-sity and others).The Institute of Fish R

esources is part of the Agricultural

Academ

y. It is the only research institute that carries regulartests in B

ulgarian territorial waters and possesses a rich data

base collected for many years now

which m

akes it possible todraw

conclusions on the basic trends and changes in the Black

sea ecosystem. It has tw

o scientific departments - m

arine andsw

eet water fishery, w

here research is carried out in two m

aindirections: hydrobiology and ihtiology.

Veliko Tarnovo

The town is cradle of B

ulgarian history and culture. The educa-tional and scientific institutions cover m

ainly social and humani-

tarian sciences: history, languages and literature, pedagogy.Therefore Veliko Tarnovo branch m

embers are m

ostly humani-

tarian and social sciences specialists lecturing at the VelikoTarnovo U

niversity "Sv. K

iril and Metodii" in languages and

literature, library and bibliography, history, philosophy, pedagogy,econom

ics and computer system

s and technologies.A

quite significant number are historians, archeologists, experts

in restoration and conservation of archeological findings,investigators of m

edieval history, history of the old world, new

history of Bulgaria, m

ilitary history and arts.E

conomics, finances, credits and insurance policy, healthcare

economics, international relations and w

orld economy, m

arket-ing and logistics, geography of tourism

are the research fieldsof the econom

ics section mem

bers. They are lecturers at theU

niversity's economic faculty and at the N

ational Military

University "V. Levski".

Military and technical sciences section includes lecturers at the

0326

Zagora, Targovishte, Haskovo, S

houmen and Jam

bol. Thebiggest branches operate in the tow

ns with w

ell developedscientific, educational and cultural establishm

ents.ACTIVITIES

To reach its aim, U

SB

works in the follow

ing main directions:

• Elaborating expert view

s and statements on science and

higher education policies, strategies, action plans, specifically infunding of science, scientific ranks and degrees, ranking ofscientific and educational establishm

ents, methods for assess-

ment of research and researchers, interrelation education-

science-innovation and other issues of significance for thescientific com

munity and the advancem

ent of science andsociety.• S

upporting its mem

bers in the exchange of knowledge and

information, publication activities, better social status and

working infrastructure and recreation.

• Participating in international cooperation and netw

orks ofscientists.

Forms of activities

-Scientific events on different topics

More than 150 scientific events are organized annually by the

US

B and its units - international and national scientific con-

gresses, national and regional conferences with foreign partici-

pation, scientific sessions, seminars, round-table discussions,

eventually jointly with other organizations, institutes and higher

education establishments. E

very significant event is followed by

a publication of the contributions.A num

ber of traditional events are held regularly every year, suchas:

- National Forum

on Science, held every four years, A

pril,S

ofia, organized by US

B headquarters.

- Celebration of the D

ay of Bulgarian R

evival Leaders andB

ulgarian Scientists w

ith Best S

cientific Achievem

entAw

ards Cerem

ony, Novem

ber, Sofia, organized by U

SB

headquarters.- O

pen Discussion club on science and higher education

issues running through the year with 6 sessions annually,

organized by US

B headquarters.

- Archeology, history and cultural tourism

conference, heldevery tw

o years, May, S

houmen, organized by U

SB“S

houmen” branch.

medical plants; raw

materials processing technology of essen-

tial oil and medical plants. A licensed testing laboratory for

analyses and certificate issuing for oils, drugs, plant extracts,sow

ing seeds, cosmetics and pharm

aceuticals is establishedfor the purpose of natural cosm

etic production; The Institute ofM

ountainous Anim

al Breeding and A

griculture which deals

with breeding, cultivar studies and reproduction of fruit trees,

fodder production, meadow

maintenance, cattle, buffalo, sheep

and goats breeding.H

uman m

edics work at Trakia U

niversity Faculty of medicine

with U

niversity hospital and the Medical college Stara Zagora.

The mem

bers of the sections in mechanics, technical sciences,

economics, physics and m

athematics lecture at Trakia U

niver-sity Faculty of econom

ics, the Technical college Yambol, m

an-age private com

panies; some of them

come from

the Academ

yof S

ciences institutes and the National A

stronomy O

bservatory"Juri G

agarin".Varna

One of the im

portant branches of the Union, the Varna branch

has its headquarters in the town of Varna, situated on the

northern part of the Black sea coast. O

ne of the biggest city ofB

ulgaria, it is rich in intellectual potential and has uniquespecialists. In the 60-ties are created 6 sections, now

adaysthere are 5. The m

ain ones unify mem

bers in "Medical sciences

and stomatology", "Technical sciences", "M

arine sciences andtechnology", "S

ocial sciences, economics and law

" and "Ocean

sciences".M

edical doctors and dentists practice at the Medical U

niversityVarna, one of the biggest m

edical establishments in the county.

For over forty-five years the University has trained m

edicalprofessionals and experts in healthcare m

anagement and

public health in its faculties of medicine, dental m

edicine,pharm

acy and public health.The technical sciences are presented at the Technical U

niver-sity Varna. E

stablished in 1962 as the Institute of mechanics

and electricity with only three faculties, now

the TechnicalU

niversity Varna prepares engineering staff in its six facultiessuch as S

hipbuilding, Mechanical engineering and technolo-

gies, Electrical engineering, E

lectronics, Com

puting andautom

ation, Marine sciences and ecology.

Marine sciences and technology m

embers w

ork at the "N.Y.

Vaptsarov" Naval A

cademy. It is the oldest technical school in

Bulgaria w

ith world fam

e and traditions in training sea experts.

2504

- National E

cology Sem

inar, April, S

ofia, organized by"B

iology" section of US

B.

- May D

ays of Science, M

ay, Veliko Tarnovo, organized byU

SB

"Veliko Tarnovo" branch.

- International Scientific C

onference, June, Stara Zagora,

organized by US

B "S

tara Zagora" branch.

- International Conference of Young S

cientists, June, Plovdiv,

organized by "Young Scientists C

lub" of Plovdiv

- National C

ongress on Theoretical and Applied M

echanics,S

eptember, organized by "M

echanics" Section of U

SB

.

- National C

ongress of Microbiology, O

ctober, organized by"M

icrobiology" section of US

B.

- Month of S

cience, October, Varna, organized by U

SB

"Varna" branch.

- Telecomm

unications national conference, October, S

ofia,organized by the "Technical S

ciences" section of US

B.

- Scientific conference R

ousse, October, R

ousse, organizedby the U

SB

"Rousse" branch and "A

. Kanchev" U

niversity.

- Philosophy conference, O

ctober, Sofia, organized by 3 U

SB

sections.

- Scientific conference on chem

istry, biotechnologies andfood technologies, O

ctober, Razgrad, organized by U

SB

and "A. K

anchev" University "R

azgrad" branches.

- Free Interdisciplinary Medical U

niversity, running throughthe year w

ith 6 sessions annually, organized by "Medical

Sciences" section of U

SB

.

-N

ation-wide discussions on science. Strategy, role,

place of Bulgarian scientists in the country and in the E

uropeanresearch area are recurring topics. A

n open Discussion club

runs through the year with 6 events annually focusing on the

main concerns in science and higher education, their latest

developments, draft law

s, strategies etc.-

Expert studies and reviews on the status of B

ulgarianscience and com

parative analysis in relation to EU

research.-

Publication and dissemination activities. U

SB also

operates a Publishing house. The official journal of the Union is

the journal “Science” published since 1991 in six issues

annually. “Science” is a bim

onthly interdisciplinary journal that

tional sections for testing and product certification and forcontrol of param

eters to working and environm

ent are accred-ited according to international and E

uropean standards. TheC

entre has scientific statute and scientific council under them

ethodical leadership of Agricultural A

cademy S

ofia.The M

ultiprofile municipal hospital R

ousse is the working

place of Rousse branch U

SB

mem

bers - medical doctors,

specialists in pediatrics, kinesitherapy and others.Stara Zagora

One of the big U

SB

branches, today the Stara Zagora UB

S has

roughly 450 regular mem

bers from Stara Zagora and the area

organized in 9 departments and 2 clubs, covering alm

ost allscientific fields, w

ith veterinary medicine, livestock - breeding,

agrobiology and human m

edicine being most w

idely repre-sented.A

griculture specialists and veterinarians lead in number and

come from

the Trakia University Stara Zagora w

hich has afaculty in agriculture w

ith majors in zoo engineering, agronom

y,ecology and environm

ent protection, agricultural engineering,fishery and aquaculture. Ò

hey are also affiliated to four institutesw

ithin the Agricultural A

cademy, described hereafter: The C

ottonand D

urum W

heat Research Institute C

hirpan, which perform

sactivities for creating and m

aintaining new plant cultivars,

developing new technologies in the area of agriculture and elite

cattle breeding, more specifically conducts specific studies in

breeding, agrotechnical and seed production, as well as

applied and extension service activities in the area of cotton anddurum

wheat and since 2003 has been investigating technolo-

gies for growing sunflow

er in the conditions of Southern B

ul-garia; The Institute for A

griculture Karnobat, w

hich investi-gates the selection of barley, oats and other attractive form

arkets agricultural crops using modern m

ethods of field,laboratory and m

athematical evaluation, especially varieties

resistant to abiotic and biotic stress with increased productivity

and product quality and suitable for cultivation in terms of

conventional or organic farming, as w

ell as the betterment of

local Karnobat breed especially m

ilk sheep population andm

aintenance of fine-wool breed sheep; The Institute of R

oses,Essential and M

edical Cultures, w

hose main activities are

introduction, selection and reproduction of essential oil andm

edical plants; creation and support of a gene fund of 216sorts, presented by 547 sam

ples, 161 essential oil and medical

plants varieties; technology development for essential oil and

0524

publishes empirical research and theoretical articles in all

scientific disciplines plus article in science policy, highereducation, international scientific cooperation, popularization ofthe activities of E

uropean and Bulgarian institutions. It gains in

popularity every year. Other traditional publication is the

Hom

oSciens – yearly new

spaper which presents em

inentB

ulgarian scientists. Books on scientific studies, review

s,volum

es of congress/conference proceedings, brochures areconstantly being published.-

Com

petition for best scientific achievements. Every

year the US

B announces this com

petition. Researchers -

individual mem

bers of the US

B or juridical bodies - m

embers of

the US

B, can be nom

inated. Researchers are divided in tw

ogroups - up to and above 35 years of age and participate w

ithw

orks that have been published during the last two years in six

research areas - natural, technical, biological and medical

sciences, agriculture, humanitarian and social sciences. A

llresearchers adm

itted for nomination in the com

petition receivea certificate for participation. The w

inners receive a diploma and

a material aw

ard. Special competition for young scientists up to

35 is also yearly organized. The awards are traditionally pre-

sented on the eve of 1st of Novem

ber - the Day of the B

ulgarianrevival leaders and B

ulgarian scientists.-

Honors. For their research or active union developm

entcontributions, U

SB

mem

bers can be awarded the H

onoraryS

ign, the Certificate w

ith badge, or the Honorary m

embership.

The Honorary sign is bestow

ed to leading Bulgarian or foreign

researchers nationally or internationally recognized, who

maintain beneficial contacts w

ith units or mem

bers of the Union.

The Certificate is aw

arded to sections, branches or other US

Bunits, to higher schools and research organizations, businessor trade juridical bodies for perm

anent assistance or contribu-tion to U

SB

or its units. The Certificate can be aw

arded also tophysical persons - governm

ental, civil or business related, who

have actively contributed to the expansion of Union activities.

-C

ontacts and cooperation agreements w

ith main

Bulgarian research and high education institutions and non-

governmental organizations. U

SB

has signed agreements for

collaboration and cooperation with the B

ulgarian Academ

y ofS

ciences, the National A

gency for Assessm

ent and Accredita-

tion, the Bulgarian M

edical Doctor's U

nion, the Federation ofS

cientific and Technical Unions, the A

gency for Bulgarians Living

Abroad and a num

ber of others.

chemical analysis, irrigation, alternative agriculture system

s,m

echanization of the working processes, ecological system

s forplant protection etc. ensuring stable and com

petitive develop-m

ent of agriculture are determined; the Fruit P

roduction Institute,the Institute of Fishery and A

quaculture, the Institute of Tobaccoand Tobacco products.B

iology, chemistry, physics and m

athematics sections m

embers

come m

ainly from the P

lovdiv University "P. H

ilendarsky" where

they lecture in the faculties of biology, economics and social

sciences, mathem

atics and informatics, pedagogy, languages

and literature, chemistry, law

, philosophy and history.Rousse

Rousse branch is one of the big and im

portant units in US

Bstructure. It has developed m

ore than 10 sections with special-

ists in machine building technology, electronics and electro

technology, transportation, agriculture, economics, hum

anm

edicine, veterinary medicine and several ones in social

sciences.M

any of the mem

bers work at the "A

. Kanchev" U

niversity ofR

ousse lecturing in environment protection: w

ater preservation,w

aists; noise, combustible gases, bio fuels; G

PS

systems. The

University offers education in A

gricultural mechanisation (depart-

ments in A

gricultural machinery, R

epairing and reliability, Theoryof m

echanisms and m

achines and Material handling engineer-

ing and technologies, Ecology and environm

ental protection,Industrial design, Therm

otechnics, hydro- andpneum

otechnics); Mechanical and m

anufacturing engineering;E

lectrical and electronic engineering and automation; A

utomo-

tive and transport engineering; Business and m

anagement;

Natural science and education; Law

studies; Kinesiterapy and

occupational therapy. The tradition and the geographical locationof the U

niversity determine its strategic role of an educational,

scientific and intellectual centre of North-E

ast Bulgaria on both

the national and the international levels.Specialists in agriculture are affiliated to the R

ousse branch ofthe C

ollege of Agriculture Plovdiv (see P

lovdiv branch) where

they practice agriculture processes mechanization and selec-

tion; to the Agricultural, Forest m

achinery and Spare parts Testcentre - R

ousse. The Centre is a specialized unit w

ithin thestructure of the M

inistry of agriculture and foods. Its main

function is to register and control agricultural machinery accord-

ing to national regulations. It has modern m

easuring andcom

puting machinery, as w

ell as highly skilled experts. The func-

2306

-Joint activities w

ith foreign cultural and scientificbodies in B

ulgaria - Austrian S

cience and Research Liaison

Centre in S

ofia, French Cultural-Inform

ation Centre, B

ritishC

ouncil Bulgaria.

-B

ilateral and international contacts and cooperationagreem

ents with foreign partner organizations.

-M

embership in European scientific societies. Through

its sections, US

B m

aintains mem

bership in the Federation ofE

uropean Microbiological S

ocieties, Federation of European

Biochem

ical Societies, Fåderation of E

uropean Societies of

Plant B

iology, European C

omm

ittee on Illumination, E

uropeanU

nion of Science E

vents Organizers and International U

nion ofIm

munological S

ocieties.-

International home of scientists "Frederick Joliot-C

urie".This is the first conference centre in B

ulgaria, built in "St.C

onstantine and Elena" resort in 1968 and operated by the

Union of scientists in B

ulgaria to host scientific conferences andm

eetings and as a recreation complex for m

embers and

guests. The complex can accom

modate a gathering of up to 300

participants, or several smaller sim

ultaneous meetings. Full

standard audio-visual equipment is available. The hotel features

100 rooms. R

estaurant and refreshment facilities are available.

This is a favorite place for vacation for Union m

embers and the

connoisseur.M

EMBERSHIP

The mem

bership in the US

B is voluntary. M

embers can be

physical or juridical persons.•

Every physical person - B

ulgarian or foreign citizen, who

owns a scientific degree and/or scientific title, or is a higher

University graduate and perform

s or has performed till his

retirement science research and/or lecturing, can becom

em

ember of the U

SB

.•

Juridical bodies can become m

embers of U

SB

if they areunions, societies, associations, higher schools, researchinstitutes, clubs and other civil organizations, w

hose staffconsists of researchers and higher education specialists, andw

hich are non-governmental and dem

ocratic in character andtheir aim

s do not contradict to the Statute of the US

B. M

embers

can be organizations, centers, institutes, foundations etc. whose

areas of activity are science and higher education, as well as

those actively assisting and encouraging the development of

science and education.•

PhD

graduates, specialists and students related to the

Plovdiv

The Plovdiv branch is the biggest am

ong union branches andhas its ow

n building - a cultural heritage house from the R

enais-sance period w

ith meeting facilities - a favourite place for

mem

bers. Plovdiv branch m

embers are organized in several

scientific sections (listed according to the number of m

embers):

medicine, technical sciences, agriculture, biology, chem

istry,physics, m

athematics, biochem

istry and biophysics and a fewhum

anitarian specialities.M

edical specialists work in Plovdiv M

edical University and

cover fundamental and clinical m

edicine, stomatology, phar-

macy, healthcare m

anagement. Technical scientists w

ork mainly

at the Technical Universiity Plovdiv, the Plovdiv U

niversity "P.H

ilendarsky" and the University of Food Technologies. The

mission of the U

FT is to offer solutions to problems concerning

the development of the food and flavour industries, biotechno-

logical industry, catering and tourism and the related industrial

managem

ent, economics of food industries, heat engineering,

computer system

s and technologies, machine and instrum

entbuilding and autom

ation of production. Som

e of the chairs dealsw

ith technologies for the production of wine, m

ilk and milk

products, fruits and vegetables, tobacco, plant fats, soaps andetheric oils, non-organic and organic chem

istry, mathem

atics,m

achine building technologies.A

griculture mem

bers come from

the Agricultural U

niversityPlovdiv, w

ith faculties and specialties in agronomy, plant bio-

technologies, animal breeding, viticulture and horticulture,

tropical and subtropical agriculture, hydro meliorations, agricul-

tural engineering, plant protection, agro ecology, organic farm-

ing, economics; the C

ollege of Agriculture w

ith majors in agro

technologies and farming, technologies in horticulture and w

ine-production, econom

ics of tourism and agrarian econom

ics; andseveral institutes such as Vegetable C

rops Research Institute

working on breeding of vegetable crops and variety m

ainte-nance, especially in tom

atoes, pepper, potatoes, cucumbers,

onion, cabbage, green peas and garden bean using the classi-cal m

ethods (selection, interspecific hybridization, intervarietalhybridization, inbreeding, backcross etc.) as w

ell as more

modern in vitro m

ethods - embryogenesis, androgenesis. The

basic direction of the scientific investigations is the creation ofhigh yielding, high qualitative varieties possessing im

provedadaptability, resistance to biotic, abiotic and anthropogenicfactors. In the field of technologies the institute investigates thecrop rotation, soil cultivation, plant nutrition based on an agro-

0722

research and lecturing process can become associate m

em-

bers of US

B follow

ing a simplified procedure.

MANAGEM

ENT

The supreme governing body of the U

SB

is the General A

ssem-

bly (GA

). GA

consists of representatives of the Union m

embers,

elected according to quotas. GA

is convened at least once peryear. B

etween G

A meetings the U

SB

is managed by the G

overn-ing B

oard which defines the strategy and controls U

SB

activi-ties. G

overning Board m

embers are elected for a m

andate of 4years. A system

of permanent all-U

nion bodies is set up toassist the overall direction of the U

SB

: Com

mittee for B

estR

esearch Achievem

ents, Com

mittee for S

cientific Events and

International Relations, C

omm

ittee for Social P

rotection ofM

embers, C

omm

ittee for Young Researchers, "N

auka" Maga-

zine Editorial B

oard.The President of the U

SB

is representing the organization andfulfils its m

anagement follow

ing the GA

P and the G

overningB

oard decisions.CONTACTS

Union of S

cientists in Bulgaria

39, Madrid B

lvd.S

ofia 1505B

ulgariae-m

ails [email protected]; angelova@

usb-bg.org;science@

usb-bg.orgtel.: 00 359 2 943 01 28; 00 359 2 944 11 57fax: 00 359 2 944 15 90http://w

ww

.usb-bg.org

specialties, treats emergency cases, perform

s highly special-ized analysis and tests as w

ell as consultations. The PlevenM

edical University is one of the five m

edical universities inB

ulgaria with high prestige. Today, it incorporates educational

and therapeutic facilities, contemporary pre-clinical base,

Institute hospital with m

ore than 1000 beds with clinics in all

major m

edical fields, as well as a large num

ber of specializedclinics and research units w

ith modern diagnostic and thera-

peutic equipment. These are efficiently used to treat patients,

train students, trainee doctors, post-graduates and for researchw

ork. Education is carried out in the five faculties w

hich areM

edicine, Public health, H

ealthcare, the Medical college and

Languages and specialized training.A

unique for the US

B structure section in "A

viation" has been setup in P

leven. The mem

bers are lecturers at the Aviation Faculty

of the National M

ilitary University "V. Levski" (w

ith headquartersin Veliko Tarnovo) in fileds such as Aviation and space technol-ogy, A

erohydrodynamics, flight safety and aircraft guidance,

Military sciences and navigation, G

eo-information system

s andrem

ote methods for earth and space research and several

other.The agrobiology section consists of specialists in fodder on thestaff of the Institute of Forage C

rops Pleven. The establishment

is a national centre for complex applied scientific research and

development activities, advice and training in forage crop

breeding and technology and ruminant nutrition. It is a scientific

unit of the Agricultural A

cademy. M

ain research directionsinclude: B

reeding and seed production of forage crops; Technol-ogy and ecology of forage crops and Forage preservation, qualityevaluation and utilization.A

nother unique section is the "Viticulture and enology". M

embers

come from

the Institute of Viticulture and Enology, which is the

only research and applied institution in Bulgaria studying raisin

growth and vine production. The institute has a 106 years

history, has compiled and supports the biggest am

pelographiccollection on the B

alkans with 1865 sorts' nam

es and geneticresources. It has created technologies for production of certifiedraisin planting m

aterial and vine, including ecologically pureoutput.The rem

aining mem

bers are structured in the sections of"H

istory and archeology", "Philology" and "M

athematics" and are

part of the Regional history m

useum, the M

edical University and

other bodies.

2108

SECTIO

NS. R

ESEAR

CH

AN

D LEC

TUR

ING

CA

PAC

ITYThe purpose of this brochure is to try to present the capacity ofthe U

nion of scientists in Bulgaria in research and lecturing

activities in natural sciences, engineering sciences, biologicaland m

edical sciences, agriculture and some interdisciplinary

areas.S

ocial sciences, humanities and arts have been excluded from

the present review, since they have been considered of no

interest for the purpose of this material, although they present a

significant part of the Union's strengths.

Below

are reviewed the scientific sections of U

SB

from the point

of view of the m

embers' expertise, the institutions they w

ork inand the specific research and lecturing fields they cover.62%

of US

B m

embers in the capital are academ

icians, Acad-

emy of sciences corresponding m

embers, professors, senior

researchers and associate professors. 38% are assistant

professors, junior researchers and specialists. Mem

bersusually occupy high positions in the adm

inistrative and researchhierarchy. A

ge statistics show that young scientists above 35

years are only 6,2% of the m

embers, betw

een 35 and 65 -45,8%

and above 65 - 48%.

Hereafter is a description of 17 out of 24 sections by alphabeti-

cal order.Agrobiology

The Agrobiology section m

embers com

e mainly from

theInstitute of S

oil Sciences and the A

grobioinstitute. They work in

the areas of soil genesis, geography and classification; soilchem

istry; soil physics; soil microbiology; farm

ing systems and

mathem

atical modelling; agrochem

istry and fertilisation.The Institute of Soil Science "N

ikola Poushkarov" is a re-search institute w

ithin the structure of Agricultural A

cademy,

developing scientific, applied and extension service activities inthe field of soil science, agro ecology, agriculture and environ-m

ental protection, performs also teaching, consultancy, design

and economics.

The Agrobioinstitute m

ain activities include: biotic stress inplants; abiotic stress - m

echanisms of tolerance and m

odelplants studies; plant genetic resources; genom

ics of agricultureplants; plants and m

etabolites; biodiversity; gene cloning andexpression; D

NA

marker system

s and bioinformatics. S

ervicesand support activities are also offered for production of pre-basicplanting m

aterial; analysis of plant health status; feed and food

bean cultures and agro technology including specializedlaboratories and the other - plant and anim

al breed production.The institute has created several m

ain sorts of wheat, barley,

beans, lentils, green beans, and sunflower as w

ell as haselaborated techniques to grow

these cultures in the country.A

nother institution with union m

embers is the D

obrudja College

of Technology Dobrich w

here students are trained in machines

and technology in agriculture and in electronic equipment and

automation.

Other m

embers are lecturers at the D

obrich branch of Shoumen

University in different specialties such as inform

atics andinform

ation technologies, primary education, plant protection;

some w

ork at the Dobrich history m

useum collecting, studying

and preserving historical documents and national heritage

monum

ents of the region.Kyustendil

Kyustendil is a sm

all branch which has developed three scien-

tific sections: agriculture, history and varia. The agriculturespecialists w

ork at the Institute of Agriculture - K

yustendil which

is in the structure of the Agricultural A

cademy and is a special-

ized departmental research institution for investigation of

theoretical and practical problems in agriculture, and assistance

to farmers. The research is carried in four m

ain departments:

Breeding, cultivar studies and reproduction of fruit trees; A

grotechnology, P

hysiology and Econom

ics; Plant protection and

Berry B

reeding and Technologies. US

B m

embers are part of the

staff of the institute and make research in extending and enrich-

ing of the available gene-stock of sweet cherry, sour cherry,

apple, pear, plum, table grape and rootstocks for these species;

distances and schemes of planting, pruning and orchard trees

shaping, systems for soil m

anagement; soil m

icrobiology,fertilization and irrigation; virus diseases, physiology andagrarian econom

ics or serve in the National service for advice in

agriculture.Pleven

The Pleven branch is one of the big branches of U

SB

. The town

is located in central Bulgaria and has several research and

education establishments. M

embers are structured in eight

sections and are specialists in a variety of fields.Leads in num

ber the Medical sciences section w

hose mem

-bers practice and lecture at the U

niversity multi-profile hospital

"Dr. G

. Stransky" or at the Pleven M

edical University. The hospital

carries out diagnostics and treatment of patients in all m

edical

09

quality evaluation by NIR

S; IS

KR

A2 inform

ation system for dairy

cattle; DN

A marker system

s - genetic authenticity, seed homo-

geneity; DN

A sequencing and fragm

ent analysis and analysis ofm

etabolites: GC

-MS

.Biochem

istry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology

As the nam

e of the section suggests, US

B m

embers' w

orkinginstitutions are m

ainly institutes of the Bulgarian A

cademy of

Sciences in the field of biophysics, biochem

istry and molecular

biology and the Faculty of Biology of S

ofia University.

The Institute of Biophysics and B

iomedical Engineering is a

leading research institute in the fields of biophysics, biochemis-

try, cellular biology, motor control and m

uscle electrophysiology.M

ain topics of research include the molecular structure, m

e-tabolism

and functions of biological mem

branes, excitable andphoto excitable m

embranes, ion channels, bio potentials and

extra cellular electric fields, conformation and function of

proteins. The basic research is closely associated with various

biomedical problem

s such as material biocom

patibility, disor-ders in the m

otor control and lung surfactant systems, pharm

a-cological m

ethods, etc.The Institute of M

olecular Biology is the m

ain institution in thecountry established to carrying out research and training in thefield of m

olecular biology and biochemistry. Specifically, studies

are performed in the follow

ing departments: G

ene Regulations,

Molecular biology of cell cycle, Structure and function of chrom

a-tin, B

iochemical pharm

acology and drug design. The instituteoperates a Laboratory for Yeast M

olecular Genetics and for

Medical and B

iological Research. C

utting-edge researchprogram

s are developed to address significant physiologicaland patho-physiological m

echanisms and m

aintenance of anactive linkage betw

een basic and clinical investigators with

research programs in atherosclerosis, cardiovascular biology,

diabetes, cancer and nanotechnology.A

few m

embers com

e form the Institute of Plant Physiology

and Genetics w

ho work m

ostly in the field of biology andm

olecular genetics, agronomy and plant protection, selection of

and seeds production.The institutes of experim

ental morphology, pathology and

anthropology, of microbiology, of biology and im

munology of

reproduction, of organic chemistry w

ith phytochemistry centre

also contribute to our mem

bership.The B

iological faculty of Sofia University is the w

orking placeof several U

SB

mem

bers lecturing in the fields of molecular

protection, Veterinary medicine, A

gronomy, P

lant Protection and

Managem

ent. It is a leading training and research centre inm

anagement and sustainable use of natural resources. U

nionm

embers here com

e from the Veterinary m

edicine andzooenginering departm

ents.The Institute of B

iology and Imm

unology of Reproduction at the

Bulgarian A

cademy of S

ciences conducts fundamental and

applied studies on reproduction in human and anim

als, studiesthe factors and m

echanisms involved in gam

etogenesis,fertilization, im

plantation and pregnancy and the processes ofautoreacivity and autoim

mune response in reproduction, as w

ellas the role of biom

olecules and metabolic processes for

storage and cryopreservation of reproductive tissues and cells.W

orks also on the development of biotechnological approaches

for artificial insemination, m

icromanipulations and em

bryotransfer in anim

als. US

B m

embers w

ork in the following depart-

ment: Im

munobiology of reproduction; R

eproductive biotech-nologies and cryobiology of gam

etes; Em

bryobiotechnologies inanim

als; Molecular im

munology and

imm

unoneuroendocrinology.The Institute for A

nimal B

reeding - Kostinbrod is part of the

Agricultural A

cademy. It perform

s studies and has the function ofm

ethodological centre for Bulgarian anim

al breeding sector. Forthis purpose it has its ow

n experimental laboratories and fields.

The areas it is working in are: anim

al genetics, nutrition andtechnology of fodder; anim

al biochemistry and physiology;

quality of animal production; sheep and bull breeding; reproduc-

tion; poultry breeding.

BR

AN

CH

ES. RESEA

RC

H A

ND

LECTU

RIN

G C

APA

CITY

A selection of U

SB

branches and their capacity is presentedhereafter. in alphabetical order. It includes 8 of the 25 branchesin the country in tow

ns that have larger research and lecturingcapacities and big research and educational establishm

ents.P

otential was sought m

ainly in agriculture, medical and biologi-

cal sciences, medicine and natural sciences.

Dobrich

The Dorbich branch is situated in the north-east part of the

country. Its mem

bers are structured in 4 scientific sections:agrobiology, m

edicine, humanities and technical sciences.

Agrobiolgy is the biggest one and includes m

embers affiliated to

Dobrudja A

gricultural Institute. The institute works in tw

o main

directions. One is research in crop cultures, sunflow

er selection,

20

1910

biology and biochemistry, cell biology and pathology, genetic

and cell engineering, biochemistry of m

icroorganisms etc.

A few

mem

bers are from m

edical universities of Sofia and

Varna, the Plovdiv U

niversity, the Forestry University and from

pharmacological com

panies.Biology

Biology section m

embers w

ork mainly at the Institute of

Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Research at the B

ulgarian Acad-

emy of S

ciences. IBE

R carries out research in theoretical and

applied aspects of ecology, biodiversity, environmental conser-

vation and sustainable use of biological resources with highly

qualified staff in the areas of botany, mycology, zoology, ecology,

hydrobiology, conservation biology, environmental genetic,

evolutionary biology and symilar.

Priority research trends are: Structure and functioning of biotic

comm

unities, ecosystems and landscapes; D

iversity of organ-ism

s and their ecological and evolutionary relationships on alllevels; O

rigin, development history and dynam

ics of biota and itscom

ponents: flora, mycota and fauna; S

cientific basis forconservation of living nature: identifying of threats and develop-ing of m

ethods for their removing or lim

iting; Approaches and

methods for sustainable m

anagement of protected nature

objects; Approaches and m

ethods for sustainable managem

entof biological resources, incl. studies on resource im

portance ofspecies and com

munities not used before; E

cology and biologyof species of econom

ical and social importance, incl. ap-

proaches and methods for assessm

ent; limiting the im

pact andregulation of density of invasive species, pests, parasites andother organism

s of importance to m

edicine, nature protection,agriculture, forestry, fishery, hunting, m

anagements of bio-

resources and other human activities; S

cientific basis of eco-logical risk assessm

ent, the quality of environment and im

pacton it, elaboration of approaches and m

ethods for biodiversityassessm

ent, bio-monitoring and safety system

s.U

SB

mem

bers in IBE

R w

ork in the fields of parasitology andhelm

intology, biology, botany, plant physiology, hydrobiology,ihtiology and fish breeding, plant biotechnologies, environm

entand ecosystem

s protection, zoology of invertebrates etc.The B

iological faculty of Sofia University is the w

orking place ofseveral m

embers - lecturers in cell biology, biotechnology,

zoology and biochemistry and physiology.

A few m

embers com

e from other A

cademy of sciences' insti-

tutes and from the A

grobioinstitute. Several w

ork at the

and processing; Optim

ization and decision making; S

ignalprocessing and pattern recognition; Inform

ation processes andsystem

s; Intelligent systems; E

mbedded intelligent technolo-

gies; Com

munication system

s and services; Hierarchical

systems.

The Institute of Metal Science, Equipm

ent and Technologies'm

ain priorities are: study of behaviour of newly created m

etalalloys in term

s of static, dynamic and altering loading; develop-

ment of m

ethods for assessing the remaining resource of

hazardous facilities; creation of new high-tech equipm

ent andprotective system

s that ensure national security and contributeto strengthening E

uropean security; creation of new nano-and

special materials, com

posites and technologies for theirproduction; hydro and aerodynam

ic design optimization of

vehicles, drilling platforms, sim

ulation and modelling research

on the qualities of ships, simulation studies the properties of the

vessels using a simulator system

s; identification of hydrody-nam

ic and aerodynamic efficiency of renew

able energy sources.The Space and Solar-terrestrial R

esearch Institute's mission

is to conduct fundamental and applied studies in the field of

space physics, remote sensing of the E

arth and planets, andaerospace system

s and technologies.U

SB

mem

bers work also at the Institute of m

eteorology andhydrology as hydrologists, m

eteorologists, research scientists,observers, etc. The institute is also m

entioned under the sectionof P

hysics.S

everal mem

bers come from

Bulgarian telecom

munications

operators, municipalities and private com

panies.W

orth mentioning is that part of the section m

embers are retired

scientists - machine construction engineers, geodesists, w

atersupply and hydro-engineers, environm

ental protection technolo-gists, m

etallurgists, production processes automation special-

ists etc.Veterinary M

edicine and Animal Breeding

US

B m

embers perform

research and applied studies andlecturing at the U

niversity of Forestry, at the Institute of Biology

and Imm

unology of Reproduction, at the A

nimal B

reedingInstitute - K

ostinbrod and a number of other institutions.

The University of Forestry is the only university in B

ulgariaproviding training of specialists in the field of Forestry, W

oodtechnology and furniture production, E

ngineering design offurniture and Landscape architecture. The U

niversity alsoprovides training of specialists in E

cology and environmental

1118

Natural history m

useum as responsible for plant departm

entand specialists in biology and ecology.

Biomedical engineering

The section has all its mem

bers working at the form

er Central

Laboratory for Biom

edical Engineering, now m

erged with the

Institute of Biophysics. The m

ain areas of research are analy-sis and processing of biom

edical signals and data, analysisand m

odeling excitability of biological structures, biomedical

informatics, m

olecular modeling and m

odeling and optimization

of bioprocess systems.

Chemistry and Pharm

acyThis is one of the big sections of the Union. M

embers are non-

organic and organic, physical, and analytical chemists, engi-

neers in chemistry, in m

etallurgy, specialists in polymers, in

chemical technologies of organic synthesis, of w

ood process-ing, of plant fats and ether oil, in spectroscopy, in sem

i-conduc-tor m

aterials and technologies, in silicate technologies, inelectronics and so on.They are affiliated to the Faculty of C

hemistry of Sofia U

niver-sity, w

here they lecture in the departments of inorganic, analyti-

cal, organic and physical chemistry as w

ell as in applied fieldsand chem

ical engineering.A

significant number w

ork at the Bulgarian A

cademy of Sci-

ences institutes of general and inorganic chemistry, of organic

chemistry and phytochem

istry, of physical chemistry, the insti-

tutes for polymers and for catalysis.

Union m

embers are also to be found at the U

niversity ofC

hemical Technology and M

etallurgy as lecturers in semicon-

ductor materials and technologies, in silicate technologies, in

electronic engineering, in chemical engineering etc.; at the

Technical University Sofia as w

ell as in some private enter-

prises for plant fats and ether oil production.Forestry sciences

All U

SB

mem

bers of "Forestry sciences" section come from

theForest R

esearch Institute at the Bulgarian A

cademy of S

ci-ences. The m

ain scientific fields of the institute are biodiversityin the forests and m

ethods for its conservation in situ and exsitu; clim

ate changes and their influence on forests; structureand functioning of forest ecosystem

s; forest genetic resources;som

atic embryogenesis; biological and integrated m

ethods andm

eans against diseases, insects and other pests in the forests;

the most com

plicated to analyze since its is composed of m

anydifferent specialists and experts com

ing from m

ore than 23institutes, universities, academ

ies, state, municipal and private

companies, m

useums and press agencies.

First ranks the Mining and G

eology University w

here ourm

embers are m

ostly lecturers in the area of mines' econom

icsand m

anagement, m

ining technologies and electro mechanics.

More inform

ation on this University is available under the

Geology and G

eography sciences. Second is the Technical

University Sofia w

here US

B m

embers are lecturers in the areas

of electro engineering, electronics, computer technologies,

technical cybernetics, radio physics, computing technologies,

telecomm

unication technologies, organization and manage-

ment of production. TU

is a major educational research and

production complex offering highly qualified trainers, engineers

and technical staff, with m

odern laboratory facilities and consid-erable capacities for experim

entation and production. TheTechnical U

niversity Sofia is the largest higher engineering

school in Bulgaria w

ith long years of experience in trainingengineers. C

ontemporary engineering trends in m

echanical andelectrical engineering, electronics, pow

er generation, transport,autom

ation, computer science and telecom

munications, textile

engineering, industrial managem

ent are taught at the TechnicalU

niversity.Third place takes the U

niversity of Architecture, C

onstructionand G

eodesy where our m

embers train specialists in w

atersupply and sew

erage, industrial and civil construction technolo-gies, electro technologies and autom

atization.O

ther universities also have US

B m

embers - N

ew B

ulgarianU

niversity, Forestry University, M

ilitary Academ

y, the College of

telecomm

unications and post higher school, Libraries informa-

tion technologies college, Agricultural A

cademy, H

igher school ofcivil engineering, etc.Further are ranked several institutes of the B

ulgarian Academ

y ofS

ciences - Institute of Information and C

omm

unication Tech-nologies, Institute of M

etal Science, E

quipment and Technolo-

gies, Space and Solar-terrestrial R

esearch Institute, National

Institute of Meteorology and H

ydrology etc.The Institute of Inform

ation and Com

munication Technologies

research is in the following directions: C

omputer netw

orks andarchitectures; P

arallel algorithms; S

cientific computations;

Mathem

atical methods for sensor data processing; Linguistic

modelling; Inform

ation technologies for security; Grid technolo-

gies and applications; Technologies for knowledge m

anagement

1712

ecology of the game resources and m

ethods and technologiesfor reproduction and usage of w

ood resources.O

ur mem

bers are specialists in forest economy and m

anage-m

ent, mechanization of w

ood production and transportation,forest ecology, selection and production of seeds, soil chem

is-try.

Genetics

The section of Genetics has alm

ost all its mem

bers from the

Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics at the B

ulgarianA

cademy of sciences w

ho work m

ostly in the field of biology andm

olecular genetics, agronomy and plant protection, selection of

and seeds production.Geology and Geography

Mem

bers of this section work in G

eology and Geophysical

Institutes of the Bulgarian A

cademy of S

ciences; they arelecturers in the Faculty of G

eology and Geography at S

ofiaU

niversity "St. Klim

ent Ohridski" and at the U

niversity of Mining

and Geology, consultants and experts in state an private com

pa-nies.The research activities of the G

eology Institute include funda-m

ental and applied problems in the m

ain branches of thegeological know

ledge: palaeontology, stratigraphy, sedimentol-

ogy, geotectonics, regional geology, petrology, geochemistry,

mineralogy, m

ineral deposits, hydrogeology, engineeringgeology and geoecology.The G

eophysical Institute carries out fundamental and applied

research in the fields of physics of the solid earth - seismology,

geomagnetism

and gravimetry; physics of the earth's environ-

ment - atm

osphere, ionosphere; protection of the populationand risk m

itigation of unfavorable natural phenomena and

disasters; facilitating sustainable development and use of the

natural and raw-m

aterial resources in Bulgaria; registration,

processing, analysis and interpretation of the seismicity,

geomagnetic field, the status of the ionosphere and U

V radia-

tion level above the country and surrounding lands.The Faculty of G

eology and Geography at Sofia U

niversity "St.K

liment O

hridski" is one of the main national establishm

entsproviding education and research in the fields of geology andgeography in B

ulgaria in the following areas: geography of

tourism; geology and paleontology; m

ineralogy; petrology; oresand m

inerals; regional and political geography; social andeconom

ics geography; landscape sciences and environmental

physics, structure and properties of crystals and amorphous

materials, atom

and plasma physics, high precision therm

om-

eters, integrated optics, optical fibres, acoustoelectric andm

icroelectronic sensors, metal vapour lasers.

The Institute for Nuclear R

esearch and Nuclear Energy is the

leading complex center for research and application of nuclear

physics in Bulgaria. The scientific and applied investigations

carried out are connected with the m

ilestone problems of

Bulgaria. Ttraditional scientific areas include: Theory of the

elementary particles, string theory, theory of atom

ic nuclei,soliton interactions and quantum

phenomena; E

xperimental

physics of the elementary particles, nuclear reactions, structure

of atomic nuclei, cosm

ic rays and gamm

a-astrophysics at ultrahigh energies; H

igh energy physics; Neutron interactions and

cross sections, physics of the fission; Reactor physics, nuclear

energy and nuclear safety and security; Dosim

etry and radiationsafety; M

onitoring and managem

ent of the environment, radio-

ecology; Radiochem

istry, high precision analyses of sub-stances, developm

ent and production of radioactive sources;N

uclear and neutron methods for investigations of substances

and Nuclear instrum

ent design and production.The Institute for M

eteorology and Hydrology w

hich for more

than 134 years now has given its hum

ble information and

scientific contribution to the mastering and studying of the

problems related to the clim

ate change, weather and w

aterresources. The institute is a highly valued centre for w

eatherforecasts in all spheres of econom

y, agriculture and civil life.The Institute of Electronics conducts research and educationas w

ell as dissemination of scientific know

ledge in the fields ofphysical electronics, photonics and quantum

electronics as well

as radio sciences.The Institute of A

stronomy and N

ational Astronom

ical Observa-

tory carries out fundamental research in astronom

y and astro-physics, as w

ell as education of specialists and graduatestudents in this area. The Institute operates tw

o modern obser-

vatories for astronomical observations and research - N

ationalA

stronomical O

bservatory Rozhen and A

stronomical O

bservatoryB

elogradchik.A

few m

embers are lecturers at the P

hysical faculty of Sofia

University and the P

hysics Departm

ent of the Technical Univer-

sity Sofia.

Technical sciences

The bigger section of the US

B "Technical sciences" section is

1316

protection, geomorphology, cartography and clim

ate sciencesand hydrology.The U

niversity of Mining and G

eology is an academic and

research centre that provides training in the spheres of geology,in m

ining and electrical and mechanical engineering. It is an

institution where fundam

ental and applied scientific research iscarried out and general engineering education com

bined with a

profiled knowledge and abilities acquired. G

raduates areengineers in the areas of geology and m

ining, in power engi-

neering, in civil engineering and industrial construction, inenvironm

ental protection, and other branches.Im

munology

The Imm

unology section is one of the medium

size units ofU

SB

. Its mem

bers come m

ainly from the N

ational Centre for

Infectious and Parasitic Diseases as specialists in biochem

is-try and m

icrobiology, gene and cell engineering, pathologicalanatom

y and citopathology, imm

unochemistry etc. The N

CIP

D's

main directions of studies are in V

irology - on enteroviruses,viral hepatitis, m

easles, mum

ps and rubella, herpes virus,rikettsiae and chlam

idiae, influenza and acute respiratorydiseases, H

IV / A

IDS

, arboviruses, molecular virology and

retroviruses; in Microbiology - on m

ycology, enteric pathogens,streptococci and corynebacteria, biohazard level III infections,anaerobic infections, leptospira, borrelia, listeria, staphylococciand neisseriae, on m

olecular biology and tuberculosis; inE

pidemiology and C

D surveillance - on surveillance and early

warning, in Im

munology and A

llergology where several laborato-

ries work (on A

llergology, Imm

unomorphology and E

lectrochem-

istry, Mucosal Im

munity, M

ediators of Imm

une Reactions); in

Parasitology and tropical m

edicine with laboratory. The N

ationalIm

munization and C

onsultative Center is w

ith the centre.O

ther mem

bers come from

several Medical hospitals' im

mu-

nology chairs and laboratories, from A

cademy of S

ciencesInstitute of M

icrobiology, Institute for Experimental M

orphol-ogy, Pathology and A

nthropology and Institute of Biology and

Imm

unology or Reproduction as researchers in im

munology,

cell biology, biochemistry and m

icrobiology, molecular biology

etc.Inform

atics

A quickly developing field, it includes specialists in com

putersystem

s and technologies, mathem

atical modeling and applied

mathem

atics, radio electronics, system adm

inistration, informa-

University.

The section includes also specialists in stomatology and

pharmacology, m

ainly working in the M

edical Academ

y special-ized faculties.A

considerable number of the m

embers are retired scientists

covering almost all m

edical fields.M

icrobiology

The Microbiology section unifies m

embers from

differentresearch fields and applied sectors. A num

ber of them com

efrom

the Institute of Microbiology of the B

ulgarian Academ

y ofS

ciences where studies in the area of general, applied and

infectious microbiology, virology, im

munology and m

ycology arecarried out. M

ore specifically they work on cell biology and

pathology; biotechnology incl. industrial, biochemistry and

microbiology and other m

icrobiological fields.O

ther mem

bers work at the Plant Protection Institute w

hich ispart of the A

gricultural Academ

y. At present, the institute

performs studies in seven m

ain scientific fields: biological andintegrated pest control; virology; entom

ology and radiobiology;quarantine; toxicology; phytopathology and plant Im

munity and

herbology.A

few m

embers - m

icrobiologists are lecturers at the Depart-

ment of B

iochemistry and M

icrobiology of New

Bulgarian

University and the U

niversity of Forestry, others work in "safety of

foods" department at the N

ational Veterinary medicine D

iagnos-tics R

esearch Centre, in the N

ational Centre for C

ontagious andP

arasitic Diseases, in the Institute of S

oil Science "N

ikolaP

oushkarov", in medical universities and hospitals.

Physics

Mem

bers of this section are affiliated to several Bulgarian

Academ

y of Sciences institutes. The Institute of Solid State

Physics carries our research in condensed matter physics,

optics, spectroscopy and laser physics; application of thisknow

ledge for the creation of new m

aterials, devices andanalytical m

ethods for micro- and nano-technologies, as w

ell asfor new

approaches in the interdisciplinary fields of the physicsw

ith biology, medicine, archaeology; transfer of the achieved

results to the economy of B

ulgaria. The main scientific and

applied achievements are in the field of condensed m

attertheory, critical phenom

ena and phase transitions, superconduc-tivity and superconducting m

aterials, low tem

perature physics,nanophysics, liquid crystal physics, soft and living m

atter

1514

tion technologies, library sciences and comm

unication, mass

comm

unication etc.U

SB

mem

bers work at B

ulgarian Academ

y of Sciences Institute

of Biophysics and B

iomedical E

ngineering (see section Bio-

chemistry), Institute of Inform

ation and Com

munication Tech-

nologies (see section Technical sciences), at University of

Library and Com

munication Technologies, B

urgas Free Univer-

sity, Technical University - S

ofia Chair of Inform

atics (describedunder technical sciences section), U

niversity of National and

World E

conomy, N

ew B

ulgarian University, C

ollege of Telecom-

munications and P

ost, Mining and G

eology University, S

ofiaU

niversity Chair of M

athematics and Inform

atics, Air traffic

administration.

Mathem

atics

It is a small section w

hich affiliates mem

bers from A

cademy of

Sciences' institutes and higher educational establishm

ents inS

ofia. Part of them

work at the Institute of M

athematics and

Informatics. The institute w

orks mainly in three strategic

research fields. These are mathem

atical structures with sub-

fields in discrete mathem

atical structures and applications;differential equations; analysis, geom

etry and topology; inm

athematical m

odeling: stochastics; operations research;m

umerical m

ethods and scientific calculations; approximation

theory and foundations of mathem

atical models; the second is

mathem

atical informatics w

ith subfield in mathem

atical founda-tions of inform

atics; mathem

atical linguistics and knowledge

processing; modeling of softw

are and cognitive processes;m

odeling of information processes and finally the third is in

modeling of educational processes in m

athematics and

informatics.

Faculty of Mathem

atics and Informatics at Sofia U

niversity isalso em

ploying union mem

bers of this section. They lecture inthe departm

ents of Algebra, A

nalytical mechanics, C

omplex

analysis and topology, Com

puter informatics, C

omputing

systems, D

ifferential equations, Education in m

athematics and

informatics, G

eometry, Inform

ation technologies, Mathem

aticalanalysis, M

athematical logic and applications, N

umerical

methods and algorithm

s, Probability, operations research and

statistics, Softw

are technologies and Laboratory mathem

aticalm

odeling in economics.

A few

are employed in other higher establishm

ents, in stateagencies and private com

panies.

Mechanics

The section of Mechanics is one of the sm

all US

B units. Its

mem

bers cover the specialties of construction, transport,m

achine and appliances engineers, applied mathem

atics,m

athematical physics, atom

ic physics, optics and spectroscopy,m

echanic systems in robotics, solid state m

echanics, theory ofprobabilities w

hich are working at the Institute of M

echanics atthe B

ulgarian Academ

y of Sciences. The Institute is a leading

scientific center with long traditions in fundam

ental and appliedresearch in m

echanics, robotics, mechatronics, biom

echanicsand related fields. The Institute also participates in the trainingof P

h.D. students and qualified specialists, it is involved in

innovation and expert activities, and practical application ofresearch results. A few

mem

bers work at B

ulgarian Academ

y ofSciences Institute of B

iophysics and Biom

edical Engineeringin the fields of autom

ation and system technologies, biotech-

nologies and automation of industrial enterprises, at the Insti-

tute of Molecular B

iology as mathem

aticians and at the Insti-tute of Physical C

hemistry as hydro engineers.

Medical science

One of the biggest sections in the U

nion, its mem

bers can betraced in the entire healthcare structure, but m

ainly they areaffiliated w

ith the Medical A

cademy Sofia and the m

edicaluniversities as lecturers, researchers and doctors. The special-ties they cover are obstetrics and gynecology, roentgen logy,derm

atology and dendrology, hematology, pediatrics, endocri-

nology, urology, neurology and psychiatry, physiology, pathology,neuroophtalm

ology, toxicology. In medical universities, for

example "Q

ueen Jovanna ISUL" U

niversity hospital US

B has

specialists in ophthalmology, stom

ach surgery, orthopedics andtraum

atology, gastroenterology, pediatrics, in others - infectiousdiseases, endocrinology, orthopaedics and gram

matology.

Beside these, in S

ofia there are several specialized hospitalssuch as the Em

ergency hospital "Pirogov" where U

SB

mem

-bers w

ork as clinical toxicologists, neurosurgeons etc.; theN

ational oncology centre, the Institute of orthopedics andtraum

atology and others for specific diseases with staff w

hichare m

embers of U

SB

.A

few m

embers w

ork at other multiprofile hospitals, polyclinics,

private health centres, at Sofia University and N

ew B

ulgarian