The New York Academy of Sciences will occupy the 40th floor of 7WTC

On December 15, the New York Academy of Sciences, one of the world's foremost institutions of scientific exploration, signed a 15-year lease to occupy the entire 40th floor of 7 World Trade Center. The academy will relocate in spring 2006 from the Upper East Side to its new 40,000-square-feet office, where it also will create a 300-seat auditorium to host major international conferences throughout the year.

Founded in Lower Manhattan in 1817, the academy has more than 24,000 members in 140 countries. Past members include Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Jefferson, as well as Nobel Prize winners and leaders of international corporations.