Institute for Molecular Manufacturing

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):

Near-term: IMM work on the two development pathways-chemical (supramolecular) and physical (scanning probe) — is the most advanced theoretical work done to date, and is published in the most highly-regarded journals in those fields. In addition to this research, IMM has also been instrumental in analyzing technical claims and defending the theoretical feasibility of molecular nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing in the scientific literature.

Medium-term: IMM funded the most advanced software written to date for the automated design of 3D polymer structure internal configurations: a major challenge in designing early-generation molecular machines.

Long-term: IMM designs of complex molecular machinery are the most advanced done to date, and have survived intense critical review by the research community.

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

IMM funded the first textbook in the field, Nanosystems, which is credited with bringing molecular nanotechnology into mainstream scientific acceptance and, consequently, the federal funding process.

  • IMM sponsord the first textbook in the emerging field of nanotechnology applied to medicine, Nanomedicine by IMM Research Fellow, Robert Freitas. The first volume of Nanomedicine received a very favorable review in The Lancet medical journal.
  • IMM has briefed NATO, the US Senate, and US military agencies (including vice chairman of Joint Chiefs) on potential molecular nanotechnology applications, especially those affecting the environment and the military.
  • IMM was, for many years, the primary co-sponsor and co-funder of the most important conference series in the molecular nanotechnology field.
  • IMM joined with Foresight in February of 1999 to propose Guidelines for the Development of Molecular Nanotechnology.

Editors [1]

The following is the list of scholars from Institute for Molecular Manufacturing who currently serve as editors for one or more SciTechnol journals.

Publications [94]

The following is the list of articles by scholars from Institute for Molecular Manufacturing that are published in SciTechnol journals.

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