MICHAEL FREE

Michael Free is a Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Director of the Institute for Critical and Strategic Minerals at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has performed research and taught courses as a faculty member since 1996.  His areas of expertise include corrosion, electrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and materials synthesis. He has been the principal investigator of more than 70 research projects funded by more than 20 companies, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Office of Naval Research, and the National Science Foundation with a total awarded value of $23.7 million. He has authored or co-authored 277 publications with 7400 citations, including a hydrometallurgy textbook.  In 2025 he received the Milton E. Wadsworth Award in recognition of his research contributions.  He is a member of the Utah Academy of Engineering and Science.  He has been a paid consultant for 41 organizations.  He has been the department chair for two departments.  He has taught, mentored, and employed 95 researchers in his labs.  He received a B.S. degree in metallurgical engineering, an M.S. degree in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Utah.  He worked as a Post-Doctoral Associate at the University of Florida in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering for two years before becoming a faculty member at the University of Utah.