Published on: 2026-07-17
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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On Sunday, July 19, Metallurgist Day will be celebrated in Russia. In the modern world, metallurgy plays an important role in the development of mechanical engineering and construction. This field of science and technology includes not only the production of metals from natural raw materials but also their processing, welding, and processes related to changing the chemical composition, structure, and properties of alloys. Therefore, Metallurgist Day is celebrated by representatives of many different professions.
Such an important industry requires serious scientific research and the implementation of innovative technologies. In 1902, it was precisely the needs of a rapidly developing sector, which required specially trained engineering personnel, that led to the establishment of the metallurgy department at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. It was one of the first four departments of the newly opened institute. In November 1901, Nikolay Alexandrovich Menshutkin was appointed dean of the department. To develop the curricula, prominent experts met repeatedly at his apartment — among them was the world-renowned metallurgist Dmitry Konstantinovich Chernov. The prepared programs in metallurgy, chemistry, and other subjects were submitted to the ministry within the set deadlines and were approved practically unchanged. Nikolay Alexandrovich was also responsible for forming the staff of the metallurgy department: selecting and inviting professors, assistants, and laboratory technicians to work.
Many famous metallurgist scientists worked at the Polytechnic: Mikhail Alexandrovich Pavlov, Vladimir Efimovich Grum-Grzhimailo, Pavel Pavlovich Fedotyev, Vasily Sergeyevich Smirnov. The founder of the school of blast furnace metallurgists, known for his research on the thermal balance of blast furnaces, academician M. A. Pavlov worked for over 40 years on scientific research and teaching at our university. Moreover, Mikhail Alexandrovich participated in the design of the largest metallurgical plants, blast furnaces, and steelmaking units. The first scientific theory of open-hearth and other furnaces was created by the university professor V. E. Grum-Grzhimailo. The works of N. N. Savvin, M. M. Karnaukhov, and Yu. A. Nekhendzi contributed to the creation of the recognized Leningrad school of foundry specialists.
Professor V. S. Smirnov, who headed our university from 1956 to 1973, made a significant contribution to the development of the theory and technology of transverse and transverse-helical rolling. Vasily Sergeyevich was one of the first to begin using computers in theoretical research and helped establish a proprietary scientific school of powder metallurgy, which became especially in demand with the development of additive technologies.
In 2026, it will be 100 years since the birth of the materials scientist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and graduate of the Metallurgical Faculty of the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute named after M. I. Kalinin, Igor Vasilyevich Gorynin. Under his leadership, a new class of high-strength weldable and corrosion-resistant steels, titanium and aluminum alloys was developed for nuclear power plants, submarines, deep-sea vehicles, offshore oil platforms, and other structures operating in especially harsh conditions. In 2025, a lecture hall named after academician I. V. Gorynin was opened in the Chemical Building of Polytech.
The centuries-old traditions and the school of the metallurgical department and faculty are today continued and developed by the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials, and Transport, which includes five higher schools and three departments. The Institute is headed by Professor Anatoly Anatolyevich Popovich. Polytech metallurgists and materials scientists conduct theoretical and experimental research for the industry. IMMiT cooperates with leading enterprises, solving serious production tasks together with them.
Students can learn more about the formation of the Polytechnic metallurgical school at the SPbPU History Museum. In 2025, the Chemical Building opened an exhibition “Laboratory and Museum of Mineralogy and Geology,” restored almost to the same extent and appearance as at the beginning of the last century. Historical display cases and a collection of minerals gathered from around the world have been recreated. Here, one can see the original paper inventory book of the metallurgical laboratory, in which records were kept from 1902 to 1937, as well as browse on an interactive screen a 1914 reprint book titled “Metallurgical Department.”
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