The Department was the first of its kind in the UK, starting in 1851 with the foundation of the Government School of Mines and Science applied to the Arts.

1851

Foundation as the Government School of Mines and Science applied to the Arts, with Sir Henry de la Beche as President and John Percy as Head of Metallurgy Department.

1862

Name of the school changed to the Royal School of Mines.

Metallurgy Department moves to the Huxley building in Exhibition Road. Professor Percy resigns, believing that its identity will be lost.

1880

Professor Roberts-Austen succeeds Professor Percy as Head of Department.

1902

Professor Gowland becomes Head of Metallurgy Department.

1907

Imperial College founded by Royal Charter as a school of London University. Professor Gowland thus becomes the first Professor of Metallurgy of Imperial College.

1909

The foundation stone for the Royal School of Mines and Geology Department building, including the Bessemer Laboratory, is laid in Prince Consort Road by King Edward VII.

Professor Carlyle becomes Head of Department.

1912

Bessemer building is completed and the Metallurgy Department begins the process of transfer to it, which is not complete until 1915.

1913

Professor HCH Carpenter, later Professor Sir Harold Carpenter, is appointed to the headship of the Metallurgy Department and remains in office until 1940.

1926

A common examination is instituted which will result in the award of the Associateship of the Royal School of Mines and a BSc Honours Degree. Until this time the students were awarded the Associateship on completion of three years study but had to sit a separate examination for the BSc degree of London University.

1930

At the outbreak of war the Metallurgy Department is evacuated to Swansea and partly integrated with University College.

1940

On the death of Professor Carpenter, Assistant Professor CW Dannatt takes on the headship. Because of the wartime evacuation, he is not officially appointed to the Chair until 1945. Professor Dannatt was a student in the Metallurgy Department from 1910-1914 and joined the staff in 1923.

1950

Professor Dannatt obtains a Nuffield Foundation grant for a Research Fellowship in Extraction Metallurgy. This fellowship is awarded to FD Richardson.

1957

Professor JG Ball succeeds Professor Dannatt as Head of Department, having been appointed to the newly created Chair in Physical Metallurgy the previous year. At the same time FD Richardson is awarded the newly established Chair in Extraction Metallurgy.

1959

A completely new three-year under-graduate course is introduced.

Early 1960s

Significant changes take place, including the rebuilding and extending of much of Imperial College. Research expands under the guidance of Professor Ball and Professor Richardson.

1963

Appointment of AV Bradshaw as Professor of Applied Metallurgy and PL Pratt as Professor of Crystal Physics.

1964

New Bessemer Building completed.

Late 1960s

Materials other than metals are growing in importance. The Metallurgy Department makes a large contribution to inter-departmental courses on Materials Science and Materials Technology.

1970

Establishment of two separate degree courses: Metallurgy, leading to a BScEng. degree and Materials Science, leading to a BSc. Department is renamed: Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science. High voltage transmission electron microscope is obtained and research continues to thrive both in metallurgy and in ceramic, electrical and composite materials.

1979

Professor DW Pashley is appointed Head of Department on Professor Ball's retirement.

1981

A combined course is introduced which leads to a BEng degree in Metallurgy and Materials Science.

1986

The name of the Department changes to Department of Materials to reflect the growing importance of materials. A new undergraduate course leading to a BEng in Materials Science and Engineering is introduced.

1990

Professor Malcolm McLean succeeds Professor Pashley as Head of Department and a new four-year course with one year in Europe is introduced.

1990s

In 1991 a new four-year MEng course in Materials Science and Engineering is introduced, followed by several other new courses including a three year BEng with Management, and its four-year version to include a placement abroad. An MEng in Aerospace Materials is now also well established with another new MEng under consideration.

1998

At the beginning of this year the Department achieves 24/24 in the inspection by the Higher Education Funding Council, the only Materials department in the country to achieve this.

2000

Professor John Kilner becomes the new Head of Department.

2001

Celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Royal School of Mines. Extensive building works are begun to improve the teaching and research facilities in the Department of Materials. A departmental record is achieved in research income and the Department is awarded a Grade 5 in research.

2002

A new MEng degree in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering is introduced. The newly refurbished Goldsmith's Wing teaching area is opened with a new Undergraduate Office suite, lecture theatres, seminar rooms, an electron microscopy area and laboratory space.

2003

Work starts on the lower ground floor of the Goldsmith's Wing, converting the 'Hydraulics Lab' and surrounding areas into modern well-equipped laboratory space for large or heavy equipment. Biomaterials and tissue engineering become increasingly important in departmental research.

2004

Experimental and analytical work returns to the lower ground floor of the Goldsmith's Wing, with dedicated space for experimental rigs and facilities such as SIMS, XRD, thermal analysis and X-ray microscopy. The final phase of building work commences.

2005

With the move into new offices and laboratories on the first and second floors, almost all of the Department is accommodated in the Goldsmith's Wing of the Royal School of Mines.

2006

Professor Bill Lee FREng becomes Head of Department. The Department expands, with four new members of academic staff including Professor Mike Finnis and with record research income and numbers of researchers and students. The Titan analytical electron microscope is installed.

2010

Professor Neil M Alford MBE FREng becomes Head of Department.
New Msc courses are launched in Nuclear Engineering and in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering.

2013

Professor Molly Stevens, Departments of Materials and Bioengineering and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Professor Robin Grimes, Department of Materials receive Royal Academy of Engineering honour for leadership and outstanding contribution to their field.