Greetings from the only U.S. department with ABET accredited programs in ceramics and metallurgical engineering! I deeply appreciate our dedication to maintaining the strength of our programs in traditional materials processing and fabrication. Our national leaders recognize that supply needs and manufacturing capabilities for ceramics and metals production are critical for our economy and defense. This has led to more and better employment opportunities for our graduates and research funding for our faculty.
This year, our research funding exceeded $500,000 per faculty member. Our faculty are heavily involved in improving the production of iron and steel, creating new materials for hypersonics and other extreme environments, advancing processes and materials for additive manufacturing, developing new bio-materials and carbon-neutral cements, and recovering critical minerals from existing supply chains. Our research funding has tripled in the past seven years, and we are among the top MSE programs in the U.S. in terms of funding and number of students.
Our research supports our educational mission. Over 50% of our undergraduate students are involved as research assistants, providing them with excellent practical training. With experience gained through internships and co-ops with our partners, our students are well prepared for careers in industry or research. In the past year, I have been contacted by numerous recruiters from large and small companies asking us to produce more graduates so they can hire them. If only we could get more students to join our programs. Of course, as engineers, we are now developing solutions to that problem.
Materials science and engineering at Missouri S&T is focused on sustaining educational excellence while addressing the applied and fundamental research needs of our nation. If you would like to know how you can help us achieve these goals, please send me an email at moatsm@mst.edu or call me at 573-341-6974.
A closing note: Prof. Wayne Huebner retired from Missouri S&T on Sept. 1 after 31 years of service. Wayne served as ceramic engineering chair, Materials Research Center director, vice provost for research, materials science and engineering chair, and chair of the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). Wayne positively influenced many students and faculty during his career at Rolla. He is sorely missed. We wish him and his wife, Jaci, many happy days in retirement. Happy hunting, Wayne!
