Metallurgical engineering is a specialized field of engineering that combines principles from chemical, process, and geological engineering. It involves the study of metals and how they can be safely transformed into products that benefit humanity, such as surgical implants, computer chips, cars, materials for space exploration, and more. Metallurgical engineers conduct testing to ensure the safety of materials, develop sustainable materials and processes for recycling existing materials, investigate material failures, and create testing procedures to ensure materials can withstand extreme environments.
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. It encompasses both the science and the technology of metals, including the way in which science is applied to the production of metals and the engineering of metal components used in products for both consumers and manufacturers.
Some traditional areas of metallurgical engineering include mineral processing, metal production, heat treatment, failure analysis, and the joining of metals (including welding, brazing, and soldering) . Emerging areas for metallurgists include nanotechnology, superconductors, composites, biomedical materials, electronic materials (semiconductors), and surface engineering.
Metallurgical engineering programs typically cover coursework across the three main areas of metallurgy: mineral processing, chemical metallurgy, and physical metallurgy. Additional classes cover topics like metallurgical thermodynamics, fluid flow, kinetics, and heat and mass transport, as well as the general sciences (chemistry, engineering, physics, and math) . Graduates of metallurgical engineering programs can pursue careers in a wide range of industries, including metals extraction/processing, aerospace, semi-conductors, nuclear energy, manufacturing, alternative energy, recycling, and biomedical engineering.
