Robert Freitas
American nanotechnologist (born 1952)
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Through Physics and Psychology
Early life and education
Freitas was born in Camden, Maine. His father worked in agriculture, and his mother was a homemaker. Freitas married Nancy, his childhood sweetheart, in 1974.
In 1974, Freitas earned a bachelor's degree in physics and psychology from Harvey Mudd College. In 1978, he received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the Santa Clara University School of Law. He has written over 150 technical papers, book chapters, and popular articles on scientific, engineering, and legal topics.
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Career
Freitas' interests include nanorobotics, how nanotechnology can extend the life of humans, self-replicating machines, and cryonics.
Freitas introduced the concept of "sentience quotient" in the late 1970s.
In 1980, Freitas and William Gilbreath were participants in a NASA study regarding "Advanced Automation for Space Missions," and presented the feasibility of self-replicating machines in space, using advanced artificial intelligence and automation technologies.
Freitas began writing his Nanomedicine book series in 1994. Volume I was published in October 1999 by Landes Bioscience while Freitas was a Research Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing. Volume IIA was published in October 2003 by Landes Bioscience.
In 2004, Freitas and Ralph Merkle coauthored and published Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines, a comprehensive survey of the field of physical and hypothetical self-replicating machines.
In 2009, Freitas was awarded the Feynman Prize in theoretical nanotechnology. Afterwards, he was granted the first patent for a mechanosynthesis tool, which he developed while working at Zyvex. The tool is theoretically to be used in molecular engineering.