Management Team and Board of Directors

John Hammen | Chief Executive Officer, Board Chair

 

John Hammen was born in Santa Clara, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. He moved with his family to Montana in 1986, and worked on early generations of Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) technology. He attended college at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts where he majored in Chemistry, participated in NCAA Cross Country and Track, and earned his B.A. with Honors in 2001. From 2001-2002 worked full time on the early grants that led to the development of the Solid Phase Extraction matrix that is the foundation of Metals U.S. current SPE technology. During his graduate work at Stanford University from 2002-2009, John studied the use of various metals, including rare earth elements, in developing asymmetric catalysts for organic synthesis. John has managed over 30 hydrometallurgical development projects spanning rare earths, precious metals, and base metals. He has been a major contributor in the development of the core Solid Phase Extraction material technology, as well as designed hundreds of particular chelating materials used in Metals U.S. separation processes. In addition to his work at Metals U.S., he continues to collaborate with the Trost Group as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, employing metal catalysts immobilized in SPE material for organic reactions.

 

Chris Hammen | Operations and Engineering, Director

 

Chris Hammen holds a B.Sc. in Materials Science Engineering from Stanford University. He began working with Solid Phase Extraction technology in 1998 with a science fair project that examined the rapid capture and measurement of copper in rivers and stream-beds around Montana. One of his projects led to his selection by the U.S. National Science Foundation as a science exchange delegate to South Korea. Chris joined IntelliMet full-time in 2011, having worked intermittently with SPE technology in applications ranging from metal purification to structural composite materials and membranes for fuel cells. Chris will bring his energy and experience with IntelliMet to the Metals U.S. team to assist with operationalizing and commercializing the SPE technology. 

 

Tim Olson | Operations and Finance, Director

 

Tim Olson was born in Shelby, Montana and has lived most of his life in Montana. He has a Professional Accounting degree from Eastern Washington University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Montana. He continues to practice and has practiced as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for the past 43 years. He is an active entrepreneur and has launched and managed multiple successful businesses. He retired in 2016 as an Associate Professor from Missoula College of the University of Montana, after teaching accounting and management classes for 22 years. He continues to consult with Metals US and Intellimet where he has provided accounting, finance, and management assistance and services as a business strategist, operationalizing and commercializing the SPE technology. 

 

Richard Hammen, PhD | Chief Science Advisor

 

Richard Hammen is originally from Missoula, Montana and is a former director of the chemical laboratory at the NASA jet propulsion lab in Pasadena, California. He graduated from Stanford University and attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, where he studied under one of the leaders in modern organic synthesis. He did postdoctoral research at UCLA in Chemistry. He competed on the United States National Cycling Team in the 1974 World Championships and the 1975 Pan American Games. Although pre-selected for the 1976 Olympic Team, he returned to scientific research at the Molecular Biology Institute of UCLA. He then took a position at SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) where he assumed management of the laboratories of two of the scientific founders of Genentech, Inc. He then moved to be the Director of Chemistry at Vestar Research Inc., a bio-tech company in Pasadena. A pioneer in Solid Phase Extraction technology, Dr. Hammen has developed innovative new technologies in recombinant protein purification, and has served as Principal Investigator for more than $2 million in federal grants.