Metallurgical Engineering involves the study, innovation, design, implementation, and improvement of processes that transform mineral resources and metals into useful products that improve the quality of our lives.  Metals provide the foundation for our modern way of life.  We need metals to generate electricity to drive our electronic age society as well as for vehicles, buildings, machines, and home appliances.  Metals come from minerals that must be physically separated and chemically processed in order to transform them into the important products we use everyday.  Metallurgical engineers work to meet the mineral and metal product needs of our modern civilization in an environmentally responsible way by designing processes and products that minimize waste, maximize energy efficiency, increase performance, and facilitate recycling.