Foresight Institute

The Foresight Institute is a Palo Alto, California-based nonprofit organization for promoting experimental and speculative technologies. They sponsor conferences on molecular nanotechnology, which are considered the primary conference series in the field, and are among the most prominent independent foundations in the nano area.

The Institute was founded in 1986 by Christine Peterson, who still serves on the Board of Directors; K. Eric Drexler as president; and space entrepreneur James C. Bennett. Drexler's book, Engines of Creation was one of the founding documents of the Institute. Many of its initial members came from the L5 Society; it was first intended as a smaller, more focused group than L5, but grew rapidly and reached a few thousand members shortly afterwards. In its early days, it was largely responsible for promoting the concept of nanotechnology, before the idea became widespread among researchers. Despite its later fame, nanotech received little investment from government and industry in the early 1990s, a gap Foresight tried to fill through its private fundraising efforts. Named to honor 1965 Nobel Prizewinner in Physics, Richard Feynman, the Foresight Institute Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology was started in 1993, with two prizes being awarded for theory and experimentation every year since 1997.

In 1991, two sister organizations were formed: the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) and the Center for Constitutional Issues in Technology (CCIT), with funding from tech entrepreneur Mitch Kapor. CCIT was founded to study policy issues, but communications professor David M. Berube argued in 2005 that it had not accomplished much in this area.

The Institute was founded "to guide emerging technologies to improve the human condition" but focused "its efforts upon nanotechnology, the coming ability to build materials and products with atomic precision, and upon systems that will enhance knowledge exchange and critical discussion". In May 2005, the Foresight Institute changed its name to "Foresight Nanotech Institute" and narrowed its mission to "ensure beneficial implementation of nanotechnology." The Institute's goal is to accomplish this by providing balanced, accurate and timely information to help society understand and utilize nanotechnology through public policy activities, publications, guidelines, networking events, tutorials, conferences, roadmaps and prizes."

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