Institute for Molecular Manufacturing

Supporting IMM via the Senior Associate Program

A letter to Foresight members from the Chairman and the President of IMM

Dear Foresight member,

The Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) conducts and funds nanotechnology research as a complement to its sister organization, the Foresight Institute, which serves an important educational role for nanotechnology. As part of a new effort to increase IMM's visibility and expand our research efforts, we are asking interested people to support IMM's research goals.

Here are some of IMM's research accomplishments, many of which could not, or would not, have been funded through traditional avenues because of their pioneering nature. In the years since its founding in 1991, IMM has emerged as the world leader in molecular nanotechnology theoretical work (near, medium, and long-term):

In addition to research work, IMM is the most successful research organization in communicating research results to key entities affecting this new field:

Most likely, you already have a good idea of how important it is to try to understand the changes that will occur as nanotechnology develops. IMM Senior Associates ensure that the molecular nanotechnology research is performed on the development of assembler-based systems with appropriate reliability and safety considerations. We do this by pledging five-year funding commitments at levels that are large enough to make a difference, and IMM uses this money to support critical research projects (more about those later). We also form a community and have found that the diversity of our backgrounds mixed with this common interest and commitment makes for a very special event when we meet at a twice yearly Senior Associate Gathering. More information on Senior Associates Gatherings can be found at www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/index.html.

Although there is a formal agenda, you never quite know what will happen or who you will meet at these Gatherings. For example, at the 1996 Gathering, entrepreneur Jim Von Ehr made a surprise announcement of the formation of Zyvex (the first company formed with the specific intent to build a molecular assembler). The IMM cosponsored Foresight Guidelines for Molecular Nanotechnology Development were vetted and critiqued in several Senior Associate workshops led by Neil Jacobstein. The Senior Associate meetings are intellectually stimulating, and run with multiple simultaneous workshops. They are well-attended, with 100 or more individuals who care about the future, and who want to know how nanotechnology development will affect their interests, whether it's technology, policy issues, a career path, financial investment, or future health. If you can't make it to the meeting this year, we'll give you a signed copy of Nanosystems -- the definitive technical reference on nanotechnology -- instead, just for signing up now.

Some other things you should know about Senior Associates: we get our own special publication every three months describing cutting-edge developments, there are social events, a substantial discount on the technical conference registration fee, and now we're doing a special members-only web site for our discussions. Most important is having a group to interact with that is taking this technology seriously, and has the technical expertise to make good judgements about it. For a full description of the benefits of a Senior Associate membership, see http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/index.html.

Please write, call, or visit our web site if you have any questions about IMM, the Senior Associate Gathering, or any upcoming technical conferences. Join the IMM technical community inventing the future. We look forward to working with you, and hearing from you.

On behalf of the IMM organization,

Neil Jacobstein
Chairman, IMM
  David Forrest
President, IMM

Letter updated September 28, 2001

Just call, fax or write to the following addresses to register for the next Gathering and sign up as a Senior Associate at one of the funding levels appropriate for you (for a form to print and mail or fax, see http://www.imm.org/Application.html.

mailto:admin@imm.org
tel:    +1 (650) 917-1120
fax:    +1 (650) 917-1123

 

To Donate and Become an IMM Senior Associate:

Senior Associate membership donations may be made by VISA, MasterCard, check or international money order valid in the U.S. Make checks payable to "Institute for Molecular Manufacturing"; checks and bank drafts must be in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. Bank. Donations with payment by credit card may be faxed, or you may use a secure server for on-line donations.

 


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Last updated 13 October 2001. The URL of this document is: http://www.imm.org/SrAssocLetter.html
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