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Dr. Benny Freeman serves as the Chairman of the EnergyX Science Advisory Board. His contributions to the company, and guidance from a scientific capacity have been invaluable. Most of the EnergyX lithium membrane extraction technology to date has come from Dr. Freeman’s lab and his group’s research. He is a professor of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and has been a faculty member for 29 years, currently serving as the Richard B. Curran Centennial Chair in Engineering.

Dr. Freeman’s research is in polymer science and engineering with the mass transport of small molecules in solid polymers. His group performs fundamental research in gas and liquid separations using polymer membranes and barrier packaging along with structure/property correlation development for desalination and gas separation membrane materials, such as new materials for water/ion separation, hydrogen separation, natural gas purification, and carbon capture. His group also studies reactive barrier packaging materials and new materials for improving fouling resistance and permeation performance of liquid separation membranes.

His research is described in 433 publications and 27 patents/patent applications. He has co-edited 5 books on these topics and won a number of awards, including becoming the first NAMS Fellow, Fulbright Distinguished Chair, PMSE Distinguished Service Award, Joe J. King Professional Engineering Achievement Award, and many others. He completed graduate training in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in 1988.

He is President of the North American Membrane Society, a co-founder of Advanced Hydro, Inc., and director of Materials for Water and Energy Solutions (M-WET) at the University of Texas at Austin.