[IMM Freitas Research Fund]
Greetings to all my friends and supporters! I have some information to impart and a request to make.
As you may know, my principal objective since 1994 has been to provide technical support to help our community push forward the safe development of molecular nanotechnology (MNT) as fast as possible. In 1998 and again in 1999-2000, my work received two rounds of generous support through the Nanomedicine Challenge Grant at the Foresight Institute and the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM). Since March 2000, Zyvex has supported my efforts on a full-time basis.
During this time, I've tried to build on Eric's great work in Nanosystems by producing three comprehensive and meticulously researched MNT texts that were each the first of their kind in the literature – Nanomedicine Vol. I, published in October 1999; Nanomedicine Vol. IIA, published in October 2003; and (with Ralph as co-author) Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines, (KSRM) currently in press for August 2004 publication. I've also produced numerous journal articles, including a piece for the Journal of the American Dental Association which was the first MNT article ever to be featured as a cover story in a major peer-reviewed medical journal. (My respirocytes paper, published in 1998, was the first nanorobot design paper ever published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.) I've already completed major portions of a fourth technical book of obvious relevance to MNT, Diamond Surfaces and Diamond Mechanosynthesis (DSDM). The remaining two volumes of the Nanomedicine series are also in progress. I've directly assisted the efforts of Foresight and IMM by participating in the writing of several White Papers and public response documents, and by providing quarterly articles for Foresight Update regularly since 1999.
Additionally, last November I invented a simple practical method by which a complete tool for the mechanosynthesis of diamond, dimer (C2) by dimer, should be able to be constructed using methods commonly available in the laboratory today. On 11 February 2004 Zyvex filed a provisional patent on my process, which I believe is the first patent ever filed on mechanosynthesis and is certainly the first on diamond mechanosynthesis. One aspect of the process still needs some elaboration with additional theory work and commentary from the nanotechnology community, and to this end a paper describing the proposed process is planned. If the process can be made to work experimentally, it would allow us to build diamond "atom by atom" and begin progressing down the path of diamond MNT as a practical laboratory activity.
Due to its recent refocusing on nearer-term product and revenue-generating research opportunities, Zyvex has decided to cease funding my longer-term nanomedicine and diamond mechanosynthesis work. I've devoted the last 10 years of my life (on 70-90 hour workweeks) almost exclusively to these labors and earnestly wish to continue endeavors which appear to be on the verge of bearing fruit. Replacement sources of stable funding may be possible but could take 1-2 years (or longer) to develop.
The main purpose of this letter is to ask for your interim direct financial support so that I can continue my efforts, as IMM Senior Research Fellow, until stable replacement funding sources can be found. Contributions should be made to the new "IMM Freitas Research Fund", the proceeds of which will be directed solely to my support. All contributions are tax deductible to the donor.
With your direct funding, in 2004 I hope to see my third book (KSRM) through to final publication, and eventually to free online availability as with my other books; further refine, extend and publish my mechanosynthesis invention; continue work on the Nanomedicine technical book series and the DSDM mechanosynthesis technical book; write a formal research plan detailing a theoretical and experimental pathway leading to diamond mechanosynthesis, and thence to molecular manufacturing; and produce a new scaling study on a medical nanorobot design urgently needed by the life extension community. With your direct funding, I'll be able to continue these activities aimed at pushing forward the safe development of MNT, including the exploration of long-term applications and nearer-term enabling technologies.
I thank you for your generous support.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Freitas Jr. http://www.rfreitas.com
Author, Nanomedicine http://www.nanomedicine.com
Author, KSRM http://www.MolecularAssembler.com
Senior Research Fellow, IMM http://www.imm.org
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