The School of Metallurgy and Environment （SME） is one of the key schools of Central South University. It is a combination of traditional disciplines and new subjects. Its predecessor, the Department of Nonferrous Metallurgy was founded in 1952, SME was founded under the University of Central South University of Technology, after merging from five universities. Its history can dated back to 1906. As a student-centered, research-intensive school, SME has enjoyed world-wide fame since then due to our consisted efforts on teaching and research. The current Dean is Professor Chai Liyuan, Professor Cheng qiongwen is the secretary of the Communist Party committee.
Our School has 135 full-time faculty and staff, including 50 full professors, 33 associate professors, 4 academicians of Chinese Academy of Engineering, 4 Changjiang River Scholars, 2 New Century Thousand Talent Scholars, 1 “Distinguished Scholars of Ministry of Education", 10 “Cross Century Talents” supported by Ministry of Education, 5 Shenghua Professors. 87% of our faculty hold a PhD degree. Most of our faculty are members of professional society or associations, in which 9 professors serve as the presidents or vice presidents of these associations; 12 professors serve as editors on editorial board to some famous journals (such as Hydrometallurgy); 1 professor is the Vice Chairman of Academic Committee of Fire Metallurgy of the America TMS Association; 1 professor is the Chinese Chapter representative of the East Asia Resources Recycling Technology International Conference; 1 at the national expert on resources and environment technology on "863 " program; 2 professor serve on the Advisory boards of leading journals in Metallurgy science, including Chinese Nonferrous Metal Industry Association and also serve as a member of the Hunan provincial strategic emerging industry expert committee.
Our faculty is committed to both outstanding teaching and innovations in curricula and pedagogy. Research within the college transcends disciplinary, departmental, and college boundaries and offers a unique opportunity for students to be trained while developing the next generation of innovations that will have an impact and change society, for both graduate and undergraduate students.
We currently have about 1650 full-time students , including 1100 undergraduates, 400 students in master’s programs, 150 in doctoral programs. Our school has three undergraduate majors (namely Metallurgical Engineering, Environment Engineering, and New Energy Material and Devices). Metallurgical Engineering and New Energy Material and Devices are the national feature majors.
Metallurgical engineering is a national comprehensive reform pilot major . It is also selected by the Ministry of Education as the first Outstanding engineers training plan. The Environmental Engineering, has been certified by Ministry of Education as the national engineering education. The course Metallurgical Process Principle has been awarded the National Fine Course and Metallurgical Equipment was awarded as one of the provincial quality courses . Since 1985, we have been awarded 16 provincial and ministerial level teaching reform achievement prizes. Since 1978, our school has published and edited 113 teaching materials, textbooks and reference books, and also published 27monographs. Up to now, we have more than ten thousands graduates now working as technical personnel or on management in our country's metallurgical industry and other related industries.
Supported by the national "211 project" and "985 project" , SME has improved significantly in science and technology innovation ability. school discipline and innovation platform construction has made remarkable achievements, we have strengthened the domestic leading position in this area. In 2012, the Ministry of Education has ranked our school NO. 1 in the third round of discipline evaluation, among all the metallurgical engineering colleges and universities in our country. We have one national key disciplines (non-ferrous metals metallurgy), two provincial key disciplines (physical chemistry of metallurgy, iron and steel metallurgy), and one key discipline (environmental engineering). Our school has 7 doctoral degree authorization centers, 9 master's degree authorization centers; 1 engineering master degree authorization centers (metallurgical engineering), and 1 engineering doctorate authorization centers (advanced manufacturing); Currently we have 1 national engineering laboratory (National Laboratory of Difficult Smelting Non-ferrous Metal Resources Utilization Engineering), 1 national engineering research center (National Research Center of Heavy Metal Pollution Prevention and Control Technology), and about to build 1 national engineering research center (National Engineering Research Center of Advanced Energy Storage Materials), with nine provincial science and technology innovation platforms (the National Research Center of Environmental Protection non-ferrous metals industrial pollution control engineering technology, Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control in Hunan province, Advanced Battery Materials Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Bismuth Engineering Technology Research Center of Human Province, Research Center of Heavy Metal Pollution Comprehensive Treatment Technology)
