Invitation to ETI: Robert A. Freitas Jr.

Who We Are: Robert A. Freitas Jr.

Mr. Robert A. Freitas Jr. was the world's leading thinker and writer about the search for extraterrestrial probes in the 1980s. He is one of the few scientists ever to actively look for such probes. In 1980 and 1983 he conducted the first search for probes and other extraterrestrial artifacts in Earth orbit and at several Lagrange points, wrote extensively about the rationale for such searches along with the first book on xenology, conducted the first radio SETI search at the tritium line, and co-edited the 1980 NASA feasibility study of self-replicating robot systems in space and in 2004 co-authored the first comprehensive survey of self-replicating machines. During the 1990s, he turned his attention to the closely related topic of nanotechnology and has completed the first volumes of a planned 4-volume work on nanomedicine. Called "the world's foremost expert on potential medical applications of molecular nanotechnology," Freitas has continued his work on medical nanorobotics and molecular manufacturing, and most recently nanofactory development, both as a Research Scientist at Zyvex during 2000-4 and as Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing.

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