From backyard rock-hammering to global explorer: Dr. Michael Hitch named Fellow of The Explorers Club

Michael Hitch’s fascination with the natural world began long before he became a world-renowned scientist.

“It all started when I was a kid,” he recalls. “My parents had a cottage in Haliburton, and I’d grab my dad’s claw hammer and go out back and bang on a rock outcrop to develop my rock collection.”

That early curiosity set him on a path toward geology, fieldwork, and a lifetime of exploration.

Now, Michael joins the ranks of legendary adventurers, such as Sir Edmund Hillary and the Apollo astronauts, astronauts, after being elected as a Fellow of The Explorers Club, one of the world’s most prestigious organizations dedicated to scientific exploration and discovery.

“This recognition highlights not only Hitch’s individual accomplishments, but also the strength and global relevance of research at UFV,” says UFV President James Mandigo. “It reinforces our commitment to applied science, interdisciplinary research, and scholarship that responds to real-world needs — and advances UFV’s vision of changemaking through knowledge, collaboration, and action.”

Founded in 1904, The Explorers Club brings together leading scientists, researchers, and explorers whose work advances knowledge of the planet and beyond. Fellowship is awarded through a rigorous peer-nomination process and recognizes sustained, substantive contributions to exploration, field-based research, and the advancement of scientific understanding.

Michael’s early passion for exploration and discovery eventually led to summers spent working in fly-in, fly-out camps across Northern Ontario, canoeing between sites and mapping remote terrain.

“It’s always been a way of life for me,” he says. “Those were some of the best years of my life.”

Michael’s lifelong exploration underpins a distinguished international career spanning geoscience, mining engineering, critical minerals research, and academic leadership. Over the course of his career, he has travelled to nearly every country in the world, often for fieldwork, project evaluations, or consulting. He has held senior roles at post-secondary institutions in Canada, Australia, and Europe, and has published extensively in scholarly journals. Looking back, he recalls fondly the days when he used to fill up all 36 pages of a 10-year passport with visa stamps within a year.

Last summer for research, Michael traced a route through the High Arctic, navigating from Iqaluit, across Baffin Island to Greenland, and back through the Northwest Passage. “To be able to navigate the Northwest Passage — that’s the kind of thing you dream about as a young Canadian kid.”

Since joining the University of the Fraser Valley as Dean of the Faculty of Science in 2023, Michael has championed experiential learning opportunities, strengthened international research partnerships, and supported faculty-led initiatives.

Michael’s research continues to push boundaries, from studies on sustainable resource development to investigations into critical minerals and circular economy practices, and he is known for challenging assumptions.

“I’m at a stage in my career where I’m allowed to poke my finger in the eye of certain sacred cows,” he says, emphasizing the importance of transparency, scrutiny, and honesty in science and policy.

Through teaching, research, and leadership, he continues to bring the spirit of exploration into UFV’s classrooms and laboratories, encouraging students and colleagues alike to step outside, ask questions, and experience the world firsthand.

“Get off the chair,” he advised. “Go out there. Take it in. Breathe the air. You will understand.”