The Foundation – Part 2

Several of my previous entries have made mention to the Founders.  This term, as used in the academic circles of Glaucus, refers to the original men and women who joined the Foundation before the War.  The list includes notable greats such as the geneticists James Watson and Craig Venter, roboticists Victor Scheinman and Hans Moravec, neuroscientist and political theorist Nayef Al-Rodhan, and many others.  In the disastrous political turmoil leading up to the war they all accepted the refuge the Foundation offered.  As a result of their extensive recruitment, when the War came and society collapsed, the seeds of civilization, science and technology were preserved in the Foundation.

While none of the Founders lived long enough to see Minerva emerge from the Long Winter, the research, knowledge and ideals they brought continue to influence its course.  The following is a brief selection of past Glaucan grant proposals and the Founder whose research inspired it.

• Developing an Implantable Bio-mechanical Limb, by André Bellamí.  Obviously inspired by Robert Playter’s work on the pre-War company Boston Dynamics’ BigDog.
• Improved Energy Yield in Organic Solar Farms, by Shokufeh Sherazi.  Based on the technology developed by Founder Russell Holmes.
• Using E. coli to Control the Growth of Carbon Nanofibers for Armor Development, by Elior Reuter.  Inspired by Avetik Harutyunyan’s work.

There are many more examples, but these are enough to show the continued impact the Founders have, even after 100 years.