The Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering (MME) at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka is the only seat of education in the field of materials and metallurgical engineering in Bangladesh. The then Department of Metallurgical Engineering was established at BUET in 1952 with a two-fold objective:
1. To provide an advanced course of instruction on metallurgical engineering and allied subjects, and
2. To provide facilities for fundamental and applied research in metallurgical engineering with special emphasis on the utilisation of indigenous raw materials.
At the beginning the department could attract a few students because of the limited industrial activity in the country. With the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country there has been a change in the situation and with the increase in demand of graduates in metallurgical engineering an increasing number of students are showing interest towards this department.
Since then, considerable changes have been taking place in this field over the years. Non-metallic materials like ceramics, polymers, composites etc. have been emerging at an increasing rate, sometime replacing the traditional metallic materials. It is interesting to know that many of the concepts of structure, processing and properties of different kind of materials are common. As such a unified approach has been adopted by educationists and researchers worldwide and the curricula of traditional metallurgical engineering have been widened to include all sorts of materials. Former metallurgical engineering department in different Universities of the world have been changing their names into Materials Science and Engineering/Materials and Metallurgical Engineering etc.
In order to keep pace with the worldwide trend as well as to satisfy local demand for engineers with better background on non-metallic materials, this department at BUET has been gradually re-orienting its curriculum over the years. It has adopted a unified approach towards all kind of materials and included more courses on non-metallic materials in its curriculum. Befittingly, the academic council of BUET changed the name of this department from Metallurgical Engineering into Materials and Metallurgical Engineering on 18 March 1997. This has been a very significant development in the history of this department. The department has geared up its efforts in education and research on ceramic, polymers and composite; in addition to its traditional interest – metals and alloys.
The department presently admits 40 students per year in a four-year degree programme. This department also offers post-graduate courses (masters and doctorate of philosophy) in the field of metallurgy.
In addition, this department offers theoretical and laboratory courses to the students of Mechanical Engineering, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Industrial and Production Engineering and Chemical Engineering departments. Moreover students from all other departments of the university utilise the laboratory facilities of this department for their project and research assignments.