Michael H. Freilich (January 14, 1954 – August 5, 2020) was an American oceanographer who served as director of the NASA Earth Science division from 2006–2019.

[3] Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), paid tribute to him as follows: "Mike Freilich exemplified the commitment to excellence, generosity of spirit and the unmatched ability to inspire trust that made so many people across the world want to work with NASA, to advance big goals on behalf of the planet and its people".

To this end, Oregon State University has established the Michael Freilich Memorial Fund to support Mike's commitment in this area.

[4] Freilich joined the Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook as an assistant professor in 1982.

In addition to his brother, he is survived by wife Shoshannah; daughter Sarah; son Daniel; mother Paula; a sister; a granddaughter; and other relatives.