The Pontifical Academy of Sciences dates back four centuries to its creation as the Accademia dei Lincei in 1603 . The Academy has its origins in the Accademia Pontificia dei Nuovi Lincei ( `` Pontifical Academy of the New Lynxes '' ) , founded in 1847 intended as a more closely supervised successor to the Accademia dei Lincei ( `` Academy of Lynxes '' ) established in Rome in 1603 , by the learned Roman Prince , Federico Cesi ( 1585 â `` 1630 ) who was a young botanist and naturalist , and which claimed Galileo Galilei as its president . The Accademia dei Lincei survives as a wholly separate institution .