IRAM is an international research institute for radio astronomy. Its overall objective is to explore the universe and to stud ... y its origins and evolution. IRAM was founded in 1979 by the French CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), the German MPG (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) and the Spanish IGN (Instituto Geográfico Nacional) - initially an associate member, becoming a full member in 1990. Today, the institute is considered a model of scientific multinational cooperation. IRAM’s headquarters are located in Grenoble. With a staff of more than 120 scientists, engineers, technicians and administrative personnel, IRAM maintains and develops two observatories: the 30-meter telescope located on Pico Veleta near Granada in Spain, and the Plateau de Bure interferometer (an array of six 15-meter antennas) in the French Alps. Both instruments are prime facilities for radio astronomy and the most powerful observatories today operating at millimeter wavelengths. read more