A decision to found ëWorld Association for Vedic Studiesí was taken in the concluding session on October 6, 1996 of the ëInternational Conference on Indus Sarasvati Age and Ancient Indiaí held in Atlanta, October 4-6, 1996. Professor BhuDev Sharma was the session chair and Professor Subhash Kak the session recorder. The conference was attended by over 300 participants from all over the world ñ USA, India, Nepal, Caribbean, Belgium, UK, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Mauritius, Mexico, Austria, and Surinam.

A Steering Committee of following persons was formed to prepare ëArticles of Incorporationí and to get the society incorporated:

• Professor BhuDev Sharma (New Orleans, LA), Convener
   

•  Professor Shiva G. Bajpai (Los Angels, CA)
   

• Dr. Deen B. Chandora (Atlana, GA)
   

• Professor Subhash Kak (Baton Rouge, LA)
   

• Dr. David Frawley (Santa Fe, NM)

The ëWorld Association for Vedic Studiesí was incorporated by Professor BhuDev Sharma in the state of Louisiana on January 23, 1997. The Internal Revenue Service of USA determined through their letter of August 13, 1998, that WAVES is exempt from federal income tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as an organization described in section 501(c)(3). Society has the assigned ëEmployer Identification Numberí 72-1350935.

Some of the persons who have served on the Board of Directors or have held an office on the Governing Council of WAVES include:

• Professor Jyotpaul Chaudhuri (Arizona State University, Tempe)
   

•  Professor Klaus Klostermaier (Uni. Of Manitoba, Canada)
   

•  Professor Subhash Kak (LSU, Baton Rouge), Robert Arnett (Columbus, GA)
   

• Mrs. Kamlesh Kapur (NY), Dr. Shyam N. Shukla (Gremont, CA)
   

•  Dr. Richard Thompson (Alachua, FL), Professor Satish C. Bhatnagar (Las Vedas, NV)
   

• Dr. Deborah Davis (Lansing, MI). Dr. Joseph Warren (Lansing, MI)
   

• PadmaKant Khambati (Houston, TX)
   

• Professor Onkar P. Dwivedi (Guelph, ON, Canada)
   

•  Professor Ravi Kulkarni (New York, NY), Professor B. B. Lal (New Delhi, India)
   

• Professor T.R.N. Rao (Lafayette, LA)
   

•  Professor Rama Nath Sharma (Honolulu, HY)
   

• Dr. Amresh Das (New Orleans, LA).