IRAM is an international research institute for radio astronomy. Its overall objective is to explore the universe and to study 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.