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However, he already was aware of the ambitious effort going on in Rushford to make it a leader in using the 21st century's hottest technology.
Kramer is the commissioner of the recently renamed Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. He received a full-press presentation about the proposed Rushford Institute for NanoTechnology in Rushford on Wednesday.
RINT is being nurtured by the Rushford Community Foundation and aims to create an incubator for new businesses using the technology.
The incubator approach would involve businesses, sharing a common research center, to develop nanotechnology prototypes that could then be manufactured in the Rushford industrial park. In exchange for business mentoring, use of research equipment and technical assistance, the business would cede the institute a small equity stake.
Kramer liked those ideas, saying new technology companies "don't need to be near the the University of Minnesota any more" and "many scientists don't know how to run a business."
Kevin Klungtvedt, RINT program coordinator, defined nanotechnology as the "direct manipulating of atoms and molecules at the atomic level."
The 21st century will be the nanotechnology century and the science will affect all industries, he said. Products will be cheaper, cleaner, faster, stronger, quieter, more efficient and will be produced with less production waste.
Using nanotech particles, there are cosmetics that migrate down to the third layer of skin. Work is under way to plate bathroom fixtures and clothes that bacteria won't stick to.
A nanotech screen is permitting the production of 40 percent more gasoline from a barrel of oil, Klungtvedt said. "If you drove here, you used nanotech."
RINT is seeking $6 million start-up funding and anticipates no additional financial support will be necessary because of the equity in the new companies it helps launch. Besides lobbying for assistance from Kramer and legislators, such as Sen. Bob Kierlin, R-Winona, who was in attendance, RINT hopes to draw foundation grants.
Jim Johnson, president of Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical, said he "strongly" supports the endeavor. The school plans to provide nanotech technician training.
Harlan Jacobs of Genesis Business Systems, helping to facilitate RINT, said the institute will create a large number of high-wage jobs and have a multiplier effect within a 20-mile area.
Kierlin and Kramer both predicted a turnaround in the economy and state revenues by April 2004. If that happens, Kramer said, there could be incentive dollars to use for ventures such as the nanotechnology institute.
No other community in the state has taken such an interest in nanotech, Kramer said. "Rushford is the only town in Minnesota that's taken this approach."
Contact reporter David Krotz at dkrotz@winonadailynews.com or call (507) 453-3524.
