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Robert Freitas
American nanotechnologist (born 1952) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Robert A. Freitas Jr. (born 1952) is an American nanotechnologist.
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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.[1]
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.[2]
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Career
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Freitas interests include nanorobotics,[3] how nanotechnology can extend the life of humans,[4] self-replicating machines,[5] and Cryonics.[1]
Freitas introduced the concept of "sentience quotient" in the late 1970s.[6]
In 1980, Freitas and William Gilbreath were participants in a NASA study regarding "Advanced Automation for Space Missions,"[7] and presented the feasibility of self-replicating machines in space, using advanced artificial intelligence and automation technologies.[8][9]
Freitas began writing his Nanomedicine book series in 1994.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12]
In 2009, Freitas was awarded the Feynman Prize[13] 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.[14][15]
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