Rare Earth Element Recovery
Sept. 2-4, 2026
Texas A&M University, Rudder Tower, Rooms 701 and 707
401 Joe Routt Blvd, College Station, TX 77840
Conference Summary:
As global demand for clean energy and high-tech devices accelerates, the sustainable sourcing of rare earth elements and other critical materials has become a strategic priority. This summit aims at increasing the recovery of Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnet and other important minerals, reducing environmental footprints, and building a secure, domestic supply chain. It brings together industry experts, researchers and policymakers to bridge the gap between technological innovation and commercial viability in critical materials recovery. Join us to move beyond traditional mining, unlock the value of end-of-life electronics and accelerate the transition to a truly circular economy.
Summit Objectives:
- Explore funding, investment and commercialization opportunities.
- Connect with key stakeholders across the rare earth value chain.
- Build partnerships to strengthen domestic critical material supply chains.
- Gain insights into market trends, industry needs and future demand for rare earth materials.
- Learn the latest advances in rare earth extraction, processing, recycling and manufacturing technologies.
Parking
- The primary parking location for the Rare Earth Element Recovery Summit is the University Center Garage (UCG), which sits directly adjacent to Rudder Tower.
- University Center Garage: https://aggiemap.tamu.edu/map/d?bldg=0379
- Rudder Tower: https://ucenter.tamu.edu/facilities/rudder-tower/
- Entrance: Enter the garage via Houston Street or Joe Routt Boulevard.
- Choose automated self-parking: Pull a ticket at the entrance gate upon arrival. Exit the garage doors facing north (toward the Memorial Student Center/MSC). Walk across the outdoor pedestrian plaza. Rudder Tower is the prominent, 12-story brick building across the street.
Hotels
- Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center: Located right on campus at 177 Joe Routt Boulevard, just across the street from Kyle Field and next to the Memorial Student Center (0.1 miles from the core campus). It features a rooftop pool, on-site dining and Aggie-themed decor.
- The George: Located at 180 Century Court in the Century Square district, this luxury boutique hotel is about 0.9 miles from campus and within easy walking distance of local restaurants and shops.
- Cavalry Court: Located at 200 Century Court near Century Square, roughly 1 mile from campus. It offers a retro, military-inspired aesthetic with an outdoor courtyard and pool.
Agenda
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026: Orientation and Vision
Registration, Check-In and Breakfast
Opening Remarks and Purpose and History of Frontiers in Research Summits to Texas A&M University
Dr. Angela K. Wilson, Vice President for Research, VPR University Chair and Professor of Chemistry, Texas A&M University
“Engineering Texas’ Future: Innovation, Impact and the Role of TEES”
Dr. Rodney Bowersox, Deputy Director, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES); Senior Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University
“Fostering Multi-Disciplinary Research for Next Generation Critical Materials”
Dr. Lane Baker, Department Head and Professor, Chemistry, Texas A&M University
“Building Collaborations for Critical Minerals Research”
Dr. Guillermo Aguilar, Department Head and Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
Session 1: Hydrometallurgy for REE Separation and Recovery
Focuses on the chemical processes and molecular design used to isolate REEs after physical preparation. It covers selective leaching, solvent extraction, ion exchange, selective precipitation, and green ligand design to purify REEs.
“Critical Minerals and Materials Processing”
Dr. Mary Anne Alvin, Senior Program Manager, Office of Critical Minerals Processing, Advanced Mining and Mineral Production Technologies Office, U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) (virtual)
“Separation of Rare Earth Elements: Traditional Methods and Emerging Approaches”
Dr. Santa Jansone-Popova, Senior Research Scientist, DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Coffee Break
“Chelator Design and Use for Rare Earth Element Separations”
Dr. Justin Wilson, Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara
“Recovery of Rare Rarth Elements From Mine Tailings Using a Solvent Extraction Approach”
Dr. Parans Paranthaman, Research Scientist, Chemical Sciences Division, DOE ORNL
Working Lunch
Session 2: REE Extraction from Unconventional Resources
Focuses on redox-driven and electricity-mediated processes to extract and reduce target metals. It covers molten salt electrolysis, electrowinning, electrodeposition, electrochemical valence adjustment, electro-leaching and the engineering of selective electrodes and cell configurations for high-purity metal recovery.
“Closed-Loop Separation and Direct Recycling of Spent Electronics”
Dr. Wei Li, Research Scientist, University of California San Diego
“Novel Mediated Electrochemically Driven Extraction of Critical Materials from Secondary Sources”
Dr. Daniel Molina, Research Scientist, Chemical/Electrochemical Engineering, DOE Idaho National Laboratory
“Critical Mineral Recovery from Unconventional Resources: Geochemical Controls and Opportunities in Oil and Gas Drilling Waste”
Dr. Anamika Poduval, Research Scientist, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University
Breakout Session 1: The Sourcing Crossroad: Geologic Extraction vs. Urban Mining
Chaired by Dr. Nicholas Perez, Associate Professor, Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University
Breakout Session 2: Next-Generation Hydrometallurgy and Electrometallurgy
Chaired by Dr. Shiren Wang, Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University
Coffee Break
“Molecularly Engineered Electrochemical Separations for Critical Materials Recovery”
Dr. Nayeong Kim, Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas
“Biomining: Promises and Challenges”
Dr. Bella Chu, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Texas A&M University
“The Critical Minerals Era: What Challenges Must We Solve To Enable Breakthrough Innovations?”
Dr. Jihye Kim, Assistant Professor, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026: Scale-up, Manufacturing and Partnerships
Breakfast
Welcome Remarks
Dr. Henry Fadamiro, Associate Vice President for Research, Strategic Initiatives; and Professor, Entomology, Texas A&M University
“Scale Is the Science: Can We Learn Our Way to a Rare Earth Industry?”
Dr. Raymundo Arroyave, Associate Department Head for Research and Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University
Session 3: Driving the Industrial Rare Earth Economy
Focuses on the gas-solid reduction and thermal processes used to extract, purify and recycle critical materials. It covers direct short-loop alloy processing (such as hydrogen decrepitation) and high-temperature pyrometallurgical operations.
“System-Level Design of Rare Earth Processing Routes: Integrating Process Simulation, Optimization, TEA and LCA for Ore and End-of-Life Resources”
Dr. Ana Ines Torres, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
“Don’t Mine Me – Reimaging Rare Earth Supply”
Dr. Robert Miles, CTO, Momentum Technologies
“Rare Earth Magnet Manufacturing in North Texas”
Dr. Judson Marte, Senior Vice President of Engineering, MP Materials (virtual)
Coffee Break
“Selective Separation of Rare Earth Elements From Liquid Solutions by Electrodialysis Metathesis (EDM)”
Dr. Lucy Mar Camacho, Program Director, ENG/CBET Division, National Science Foundation (NSF); Professor, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Strategic Industrial Outlook Panel Discussion, Q&A
Dr. Robert Miles, CTO, Momentum Technologies; and Mr. Kevin Stoll, Chief Operating Officer, Critical Materials Recycling, Inc.
Working Lunch
Session 4: AI/ML Design and Smart Manufacturing
Focuses on physical operations and system-level intelligence: automated e-waste disassembly, component identification, magnet removal, shredding, crushing, milling, sieving, magnetic separation, sensor-based sorting assisted by AI/ML, digital twins, and real-time sensing and process control.
“Molecular-to-Systems Modeling and Optimization of Membrane Processes for Rare Earth Element Recovery”
Dr. Alexander Dowling, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame
“Agentic Workflow Enables the Rapid Recovery of Critical Materials From Complex Feedstocks”
Dr. Andrew Richhart, Staff Scientist, Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
“From Grams to Tons: Scaling a Rare Earth Recycling Technology”
Dr. Kevin Stoll, Chief Operating Officer, Critical Materials Recycling, Inc.
Breakout Session 3: Autonomus Material Handling: Robotics for REE Harvesting and Refining
Chaired by Dr. Jenny Qiu, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
Breakout Session 4: AI-Driven Modeling for Optimizing REE Discovery, Recovery and Purification
Chaired by Dr. Siddharth Misra, Professor, Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University
Coffee Break
“Robotic Disassembly of End-of-Life Electronics to High-Purity Permanent Magnet”
Dan Wang, Director, Toyoshima Green Tech
“Adaptable Flow- and Field-Driven Critical Mineral Separation”
Dr. Grant Johnson, Research Scientist, DOE, PNNL
“Sustainable Rare Earth Recovery From E-Waste via Carbon Nanomaterials”
Dr. Jenny Qiu, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
Summit Banquet/Networking Dinner (MSC 2nd floor, Gates Ballroom)
(MSC 2nd floor, Gates Ballroom)
Friday, Sept. 4, 2026: Strategic Roadmap and Commitments
Breakfast
Welcome Remarks
Dr. Brendan Roark, Associate Vice President for Research, Centers and Institutes; and Professor, Geography, Texas A&M University
“Rare Earth Elements: From Research to a Resilient Future”
Dr. Satish Bukkapatnam, Department Head and Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University; Prior Program Director, NSF Advanced Manufacturing Program
Session 5: Sustainability, Environmental Impact and Action Planning
Focuses on evaluating the environmental, economic and social impacts of REE supply chains. It covers life cycle assessments (LCA), techno-economic analysis (TEA), regulatory frameworks, closed-loop circularity metrics and strategic action plans to move laboratory innovations into sustainable industrial scaling.
“Mechanistic Insights Into Rare Earth Transport, Fractionation, Enrichment and Mineralization in Hydrothermal Systems”
Dr. Xin Zhang, Staff Scientist, PNNL
“From Systems to Ecosystems: Challenges and Opportunities for Alternative Mineral Resources”
Dr. Yuanzhi Tang, Professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering; Executive Director,Strategic Energy Institute; Founding Director, Center for Critical Mineral Solutions, Georgia Institute of Technology
“Critical Minerals Recovery from Coal Mine Tailings and Non-Traditional Water Sources”
Dr. Damilola Daramola, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Northeastern University
Coffee Break
“The Urban Mine: Hiding in Plain Site”
Mr. John Shegerian, Co-Founder and CEO of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), Inc. (virtual)
Summit Wrap-up and Group Discussion
Group Discussion With Action Planning (Proposal Preparation)
Closing Remarks: Advancing Rare Earth Innovation and Partnerships
Dr. Lin Shao, Associate Dean for Research and Professor, Nuclear Engineering; Associate Agency Director, TEES
Closing Remarks
Division of Research