Dr. Michael Sinnwell earned his degrees in Iowa: a B.A. at Luther College (Decorah, IA) in 2011 and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 2017. He went on to work as a Post Doctorate Research Associate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington where he focused on engineering hierarchical porous materials for energy and environmental applications—ranging from the extraction of rare earth elements from aqueous and brine solutions to the separation of noble gases. In 2020, he returned to Iowa as a Visiting Assistant Professor and in 2024 started as an Assistant Professor of Instruction. He is also a Research Core Specialist in the Office of the Vice President of Research.