Michael Free is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Chair of the Department of Mining Engineering 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 65 research projects funded by more than 20 companies, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Office of Naval Research, and the National Science Foundation. He has authored or co-authored more than 250 publications, including a hydrometallurgy textbook. He has consulted for 41 organizations. 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.