A foundry in a general sense is
a place where you melt and cast
metal. And what we do at MIT
encompasses a wide range of
applications in melting and
casting metals. We support
faculty research, we do artistic
casting, we do experimental
alloying, sample preparation
and we also teach a lot of
material science concepts
through the lens of the foundry
and foundry science. I came to
MIT as an undergraduate in 1947
and joined graduate school in
1951 and undertook my research
under the then professor of
foundry here at MIT. Metal
casting, of course, had been a
part of the curriculum at least
at MIT since its founding. In
terms of a laboratory of
significant size, working on
foundry problems, that came only
just at the end of the Second
World War when a materials
processing laboratory was setup;
spurred by the fact that there
was enormous opportunities and
enormous growth in this country
in the basic metals and materials
industry as the country now
moved from a war-time standard
to a standard of civilian
production goods. And MIT
responded to that need with
strong educational and research
activities in that area of
technology. I think the most
important thing about the foundry
is that it does give the students
and opportunity to see the
things they've been learning in
classes in a real way. So, they
may have learned about heat-
transfer. They may have learned
about the solidification process.
They may have learned about the
flow of fluids through different
pathways and that's all in the
foundry and in the foundry
practice and not only do they
see it but they do it. And I
think when students get that
hands-on experience the classroom
material really comes alive and
they learn it more effectively.
I'm a second year graduate
student and my research is on
tungston metallurgy. And so
working in the foundry is
relevant to my interests because
what you do in the foundry is
cast metals and that is one of
the most common methods of
processing and shaping metals.
Hands-on laboratories are an
essential part of any engineering
education and the best of these
laboratories provide students
the opportunity to innovate and
create and even sometimes to
make real things. In my research
I work with samples that have a
mass typically of one gram or
less. And in this foundry when
I cast metals I'm talking about
casting pounds of metals so its
a very hands-on, visceral
experience when you're cradling
five pounds of molten bronze
ready to cast. And it definitely
is in line with MIT's motto of
Mens et Manus; getting your
hands dirty in the foundry.
In one sense the foundry looks
like home to me. To see the
metal and the furnaces, but I
must tell you in the good old
days we had a lot more space and
for that reason I'm looking
forward to the expanded space
that we expect to have as we
move. And I think it it will be
a great thing for the department
and a great thing for MIT
because it will put the foundry
in a place where they're more
visible and they're more
accessible to students both for
academic research and hopefully
entertaining or fun projects.