The Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Program (PEMM) is completing 50 years (1967-20017) of activities in the areas of Science, Technology and Innovation. The program is a pioneer both in metallurgy and materials research and in graduate education in these two major fields. The program, officially created in 1967 by Emeritus Professor Walter Arno Mannheimer, was one of the first to constitute the Graduate Program from COPPE/UFRJ. COPPE was established in 1963 as result of the prime initiative of Professor Alberto Luiz Coimbra, who, in 1962, envisioned a graduate program formed by an exclusively dedicated faculty, to modernize the graduate studies at UFRJ and at the country.

In 1987, the undergraduate program from the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (DMM) was merged to the Graduate Program (PEMM). Today, the department is responsible for both undergraduate and graduate courses in metallurgical engineering and materials engineering at UFRJ, under the supervision of the same academic head of the department. DMM dates to the 1920s, being originally formed from a subject in metallography. The first two metallurgists graduated in 1935, in the former School of the Largo de São Francisco, which later moved to Ilha do Fundão simultaneously to the creation of the program in metallurgical engineering from COPPE that eventually became the current Program of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials (PEMM).

Since its establishment, the faculty has been responsible for the education of a great number of highly qualified professionals, both in undergraduate and graduate levels. Many prominent professionals from the national and international scenario had their education and training at PEMM/DMM. In addition, many of these individuals had an important role in the nucleation and/or consolidation of graduate programs and research groups in different parts of the country and in many institutions of Latin America. PEMM also stands out for a huge international scientific and technological insertion, with several cooperation projects with different countries and with a strong interaction with the productive sector. This kind of interaction is within the creative philosophy of COPPE, since 1960.

To manage the different types of projects, the department has the support of a specific management unit from COPPE, known as COPPETEC, which guarantees an extensive and fruitful experience in engineering to the PEMM faculty. Moreover, this is strongly reflected in the themes of projects and theses in progress, many of which are financially supported by industry. This combination takes master and doctoral students to a privileged position as it allows both the efficient insertion of our graduates to the market as the development and training of researchers from the productive sector.