Dr. Zak Fang

Zhigang Zak Fang, Professor, University of Utah, is the inventor of a series of Ti process technologies from mineral to products, including the HAMR process for making primary Ti metal directly from ore concentrate in the form of Ti powder, the GSD process for making spherical Ti alloy powder for additive manufacturing, and the sintering process for making Ti through press&sintering to achieve wrought like microstructure and mechanical properties without resorting to wrought processes. He is a globally recognized innovator in the areas of cemented tungsten carbide, refractory metals, titanium, powder metallurgy, and metal hydride for hydrogen and thermal energy storage. Prior to joining the University of Utah, Fang had a successful industrial R&D career for over a decade.

He has authored/co-authored over 140 peer reviewed publications. He is the named sole or co-inventor in over 50 issued US patents. He founded/co-founded two start-up companies and successfully commercialized several tungsten carbide and titanium technologies. Prof. Fang is a Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, ASM, and APMI respectively. He was the winner of an R&D100 Award in 2009. He is also the Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Refractory Metals, the flagship scientific journal for refractory metals.