At this years’ World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC), we announced the merger of the Academy of Molecular Imaging (AMI) and the Society for Molecular Imaging (SMI) into the WMIS. This merger combines two complimentary societies dedicated to the development, advancement, and clinical translation of the nascent field of Molecular Imaging. Both the AMI and SMI were established a decade ago, in 2001, in response to the need for an organizational framework for an emerging technology. An organizational framework was needed to provide forums for the sharing of ideas, development of curricula, and to identify potential applications for this burgeoning field. From the outset, the AMI and SMI approached the development of molecular imaging in parallel and in complimentary manners. The AMI provided a forum for the clinical utility of novel molecular imaging, primarily PET. The SMI provided a forum for the development of new molecular imaging agents and approaches for different imaging modalities and their applications to more basic, preclinical research. Over time, these two societies evolved to be more modality-neutral and focused on clinical translation. In the fall of 2006, a meeting of representatives from both societies at the Chicago O’Hare Airport was held to discuss the potential merger of the two societies, termed the “le fusion” meeting. During this meeting, it was acknowledged that the two societies had complimentary missions and overlapping memberships. It was at this meeting that the concept of merging first the meeting, then the journal, and finally the administration made the most sense. Based on this trajectory, the first joint scientific conference of AMI and SMI was held in Providence, RI, in September of 2007. The following year, in September of 2008, the first WMIC was held in Nice, France, which was a great success, followed by the WMIC2009 in Montreal, Canada, the WMIC2010 in Kyoto, Japan, and the most recent WMIC2011 in San Diego, CA. Two scientific peer-reviewed journals have emerged from these societies: the Journal of Molecular Imaging (MI) was published by SMI and Molecular Imaging and Biology was published by AMI. As part of the process of merger, both societies agreed to adopt Molecular Imaging and Biology as the joint official publication. In March of 2010, Juri Gelovani, President of AMI, and Robert Gillies, President of SMI, met at an American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference held in Jordan to discuss and firm up the plans for the merger of AMI and SMI. The final agreement to proceed with the merger was achieved in Petra, Jordan, termed “The Petra Accord.” The process of merging two administrative structures was not only daunting but was also a time for exciting change. A merger committee was formed chaired by Juri Gelovani and Robert Gillies, including three additional representatives from each society: John Kotyk, Michael Tweedle, and Kim Pierce represented the AMI; Jim Basilion, Zaver Bhujwalla, and Charles Metzger represented the SMI. In addition both Tim McCarthy (AMI) and Thomas Budinger (SMI) provided ad hoc counsel. This committee met face-to-face in Houston in July of 2010 to develop an overall structure of the new society and thereafter met weekly via T-Cons to draft a new set of bylaws and standard operating procedures (SOPs). As part of the opportunity, we were able to evaluate the bylaws and SOPs of existing societies to see what worked and what does not. Great thanks have to be made to Roberta Kravitz of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) and to Tom Budinger of the SMI who provided materials and insight into this process. At the WMIC2011 in San Diego, we announced the merger of the administrative structures. The new entity, the WMIS, is now incorporated in the State of Nebraska and the Officers and Board Members were derived equally from those of the predecessor societies. Furthermore, we have retained copyrights on the logos and acronyms from both predecessor societies. The WMIS Officers and Board of Trustees are: