Robert Freitas

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. ==Career==

Freitas interests include nanorobotics, how nanotechnology can extend the life of humans, self-replicating machines, and cryonics. 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. == See also ==