I have been very fortunate in having been born to exceptional parents in this great country. I came from humble beginnings and grew to become a young scientist pioneering in a field of electro-optical physics. The US Army needed my help and actually set me up in business in 1956. Two years later the Air Force came to me for help with our country’s first spacecraft. The success of my first company (Spectrolab, now a subsidiary of the Boeing Co.) has enabled me to leapfrog from one success to another, enabling me to amass a substantial fortune. I want to use those resources to make this a better world—and to do as much as I can during my lifetime. I am therefore committing most of my estate to philanthropy, primarily focusing on development of medical products to improve and extend lives.

I began my extensive philanthropic program in 1985 with the founding of the Alfred Mann Foundation (AMF). AMF is an operating public medical research organization that has focused mostly on applications of neuromodulation. It employs about 100 people; all but a few are scientists and engineers. The contributions of AMF are numerous, including developments to enable the deaf to hear and soon for the lame to walk. AMF also developed a long-term implantable glucose sensor (lasting ~1½ years) for diabetes and a number of other devices.

The success of AMF has led me to try to use a similar approach to harness the intellectual property at elite research universities. Rarely does that work end up in successful products or successful ventures. To address this I am creating biomedical institutes at a number of elite research universities. Each university receives an endowment of at least $100 million. Ideas born within the academic faculty are developed into products within separate industrial institutes owned by the universities. When developed the products are then licensed out to existing or start-up businesses for commercialization. So far institutes have been founded at the University of Southern California, Purdue and the Technion in Israel.

I have also created several other medical research foundations and two holding entities to distribute assets to fund my philanthropic activities. Additionally I have given to a variety of other charities especially related to music and education.

Early I was able to provide modest support for my family so that I intend for at least 90% of my estate to be devoted to philanthropy—almost all directed to advancing medical technology.

This is my commitment.