Michael Joseph Dziekan

Dr. Michael Dziekan is a materials engineer in the Emergent Materials and Processes group within the Applied Materials Division at Argonne National Laboratory. Michael is developing methods for rare earth and lithium metal production with a focus on both benchtop and pilot scale equipment. Michael’s rare earth metallization research involves both metallothermic reduction and molten salt electrolysis methods, while lithium metal is electrowon at room temperature. He is working with colleagues to develop a novel rare earth magnet recycling process to selectively extract the rare earth metal from the magnet, followed by using the recovered rare earth metal in domestic magnets. He also works on projects including critical metal electrowinning, metallurgical grade silicon production, and iron/steel production using electricity and aqueous salts. Michael completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University in 2021.