Biography of robert jarvik

American inventor, creator of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart

Robert Koffler Jarvik (born May 11, 1946) is an American scientist, researcher, and entrepreneur known for his role in developing the Jarvik-7 artificial heart.

Early life

Robert Jarvik was born in Midland, Michigan, to Norman Eugene Jarvik and Edythe Koffler Jarvik, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut.^[1] He is brother to Jonathan Jarvik, a biological-sciences professor at Carnegie Mellon University,^[2] as well as the nephew of Murray Jarvik, a pharmacologist who co-invented the nicotine patch.^[3][4] At an early age Jarvik showed interest in mechanics and medicine, which would later influence his work.^[5] By the age of 17 he had already obtained five patents for his inventions.^[6]

Jarvik is a graduate of Syracuse University.^[5] He earned a master's degree in medical engineering from New York University.^[7]

After being