The seed of our department was sown as early as 1952-53 when a heat treatment shop with a supporting metallography laboratory was attached to the mechanical department. However, the department had its own space with a floor area of only 10,000 sq. feet, which was housed in the old building of the Institute in 1956. The years 1962-63 saw the department breathing new life after transplantation into the current building.
The four-year undergraduate program began in 1956 when a few students from other disciplines were allowed to join, and the first batch of ten students graduated in 1958. In 1960, the Institute changed over to the five-year integrated pattern, resulting in the B.Tech. curriculum in Metallurgical engineering to spread over five years. On account of the alterations in the 10+2 schooling system, the undergraduate program was converted to a four-year course in 1981.
A one-year M.Tech. course in advanced ferrous metallurgy was introduced in 1959. Since 1965, the department started admitting students to two-year M.Tech. courses. In addition to M.Tech. degrees in Physical Metallurgy and Process Metallurgy, the department started two new specializations in Corrosion Science & Technology, and Powder Metallurgy in 1969. The two-semester system, which continues to date, was first adopted in 1971-72 for both UG and PG courses.
The department took up Various research projects quite early in its life and the first Ph.D. student graduated in 1962. The first international symposium organized by the department was held in 1969 on the theme of Powder Metallurgy and Material strengthening. In 1969, the department was selected for Soviet aid with the aim of setting up an advanced center of metallurgy. Under this scheme, faculty members of this department visited higher technical institutes in the USSR, and five Soviet experts visited the Department to develop course curricula and laboratories. In 1979, the department was selected for collaborative research work in Powder Metallurgy with advanced centers in USSR.