George S. Ansell Department of Metallurgical
and Materials Engineering
Metallurgical and materials engineering plays a role in all manufacturing processes which convert raw materials into useful products adapted to human needs. The primary goal of the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering program is to provide students with a fundamental knowledge-base associated with materials-processing, their properties, and their selection and application.
The emphasis in the department is on teaching and research focused toward materials processing operations which encompass: the conversion of mineral and chemical resources into metallic, ceramic or polymeric materials; the synthesis of new materials; refining and processing to produce high performance materials for applications from consumer products to automobiles, aerospace and electronics; the development of mechanical, chemical and physical properties of materials related to their processing and structure; and the selection of materials for specific applications.
“The MME Department is one of our strongest departments on campus. It has succeeded in approaching all of its Pathways 2024 milestones as early as FY19, with strong graduate enrollment, exceptionally strong sponsored research programs, and growing undergraduate enrollment. The Department’s faculty are to be congratulated for their efforts.” -Tom Boyd, Paul Johnson and Mike Kaufman
George S. Ansell Department of Metallurgical
and Materials Engineering
Metallurgical and materials engineering plays a role in all manufacturing processes which convert raw materials into useful products adapted to human needs. The primary goal of the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering program is to provide students with a fundamental knowledge-base associated with materials-processing, their properties, and their selection and application.
The emphasis in the department is on teaching and research focused toward materials processing operations which encompass: the conversion of mineral and chemical resources into metallic, ceramic or polymeric materials; the synthesis of new materials; refining and processing to produce high performance materials for applications from consumer products to automobiles, aerospace and electronics; the development of mechanical, chemical and physical properties of materials related to their processing and structure; and the selection of materials for specific applications.
A Welcome Message
Dear Friends of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering,
Our department provides a strong education along with research opportunities in metallurgy, with unique strengths in steel metallurgy, non-ferrous metallurgy, welding, and ceramics. We provide a practically-oriented undergraduate degree program that has been highly successful in placing its graduates in industrial, national lab, and graduate school positions. Our graduate program is closely coordinated with the materials science program and provides exceptional training leading to Masters of Engineering (non-thesis), Masters of Science (with a thesis), and Doctor of Philosophy degrees, primarily aimed at metallurgy areas of research but open to any graduate student working with one of the faculty in the department.
The undergraduate degree program includes 137.5 hours of study covering fundamental aspects of materials, thermodynamics, kinetics, structure and properties characterization, chemical processing, mechanical properties, ceramics, and other electives. Our students are prepared for advanced study or manufacturing jobs through a combination of classroom learning and laboratory experience. Those with a desire to get their hands on materials can take advantage of our hot shop, including both a metal foundry and a hot glass lab. Our extensive welding facilities permit students to study the subject and perform welding using a variety of advanced techniques. We currently offer a bladesmithing class that allows students to make custom knives while learning how to produce high strength metals. The glass blowing class likewise allows students direct experience with the real properties of glass at different temperatures. These lab experiences, and others, mean that graduates have a personal relationship with the materials that they are studying.
Our award-winning steel metallurgists are supported by a very active industry-supported research center where state-of-the-art steels are being developed. This group has developed a series of high strength alloys that are reducing vehicle weight and improving reliability. The director of the center, John Speer, was recently awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal, the top prize in steel metallurgy. Our ceramists work closely with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and CoorsTek to develop advanced structural and electrical ceramics for applications from armor to solar cells. Geoff Brennecka was recently made a Fellow of the American Ceramics Society as one of the youngest ever to receive such a recognition from that society.
We are very proud of our department and would be happy to see you on campus as a student or a collaborator. Please be in touch with us if you have a comment, a suggestion, or are visiting the area.
Angus Rockett
Department Head
Weekly Seminar
Stay tuned for Spring schedule!
Department Highlights
- Evody Tshijik Karumb: "Being a student at Mines in the metallurgical department has enabled me to work with some of the most renowned people in the field."
- From lithium for batteries to neodymium for wind turbines, mined materials remain essential to modern life
- Putting ‘Pepto’ into the belly of a boiler
- Mines researchers test how 3D-printed materials perform inside a nuclear reactor
- Mines students show materials knowledge, bladesmithing skills
- Reversible protonic ceramic fuel cells able to store energy
- ADAPT consortium welcomes new member Lithoz
- Speer elected to National Academy of Engineering
- Yu wins NSF CAREER award for interlayer alloy design
- Brennecka named Fryrear Chair for Innovation and Excellence