Imre Friedmann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Imre Friedmann
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|---|---|
| Born | 1921 |
| Died | June 11, 2007 |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Occupation | biologist |
| Spouse(s) | Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann |
E. Imre Friedmann (1921 – June 11, 2007) was a famous biologist. He was a professor at Florida State University and worked with NASA Ames Research Center. Dr. Friedmann studied tiny living things, called microbes, that live inside rocks. He also explored the idea of life on other planets, a field called astrobiology.
Friedmann was born in 1921. He moved from Austria during a difficult time. He earned his Ph.D. in botany (the study of plants) from the University of Vienna in 1951. He passed away on June 11, 2007.
Discovering Life in Extreme Places
Dr. Friedmann made exciting discoveries about life in very tough environments. He found special microbial communities that live inside rocks. These tiny life forms are called cryptoendoliths. He found them in deserts, like those in Antarctica and the Negev Desert in Israel. These places have very little water and extreme temperatures.
Life on Mars?
Friedmann was also very interested in terraforming. This is the idea of changing a planet to make it more like Earth. He wrote articles about how microbes might help terraform Mars. This could make Mars suitable for human life in the future.
He also studied a famous meteorite from Mars called ALH84001. Some scientists thought this meteorite might have signs of early microbial life from Mars. Dr. Friedmann helped investigate these claims.
His Life and Work
Dr. Friedmann was a respected scientist around the world. He was a Foreign Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was also a professor at the University of Nanjing in China.
He was married to Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann. She is also a university professor. They met when she was a student in Jerusalem.
