History. In 2019, it was 64 years since the organization of the Institute of Metallurgy (IMET) as an independent structural unit of the Ural Branch of the Academy of Sciences (UB AS) of the USSR, but its scientific groups were formed earlier, into the depths of the 40s and 30s of the last century. Since then, laboratories and emerging scientific schools have taken their origin, which later became the basis of the IMET. In 1930, the future corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Grigoriy Chufarov organized a laboratory of kinetics and catalysis at the Ural branch of the Moscow Physical-Chemical Institute named after Lev Karpov, which he permanently headed until 1974. Today it is the laboratory of statics and kinetics of processes in IMET.

In 1937, the laboratory of metallurgical processes of non-ferrous metallurgy was established, which was headed by the future Doctor of technical sciences Nikolay Diev.              

Since 1939 the laboratory was a part of the Institute of metal physics, metallurgy and metallurgy UB AS USSR, and since 1945, in collaboration with the laboratories of chemical profile, became part of the newly created Institute of chemistry and metallurgy, which was headed by Professor Nikolay Demenev. Since June 1950, he was replaced by Professor and Doctor of technical sciences Vladimir Mikhailov. According resolution of the Presidium of the USSR from 14.01.1955. No. 31 the Institute of chemistry and metallurgy were allocated to the Department of chemistry, and the organization was renamed the Institute of Metallurgy of the UB AS USSR.

In the period from 1955 to 1967 the Institute of metallurgy has been consistently headed by Professor and Doctor Vladimir Mikhailov, PhD Vasiliy Revebcov, PhD Boris Kudinov. Each of them contributed to the development of scientific research and material and technical base of the Institute of Metallurgy of the UB AS USSR.

From 1967 to 1998 academician Nikolay Vatolin was the Director of IMET. During this period the modern scientific subject of laboratories was finally formed, the fruitful practice of studying of large theoretical and applied questions by joint efforts of experts of different scientific divisions of IMET was developed.

In 1998, the Institute was headed by academician Leopold Leontiev, who is a prominent scientist in the development of theoretical foundations and schemes of waste-free complex processing of polymetallic minerals, head of the scientific school of this field. Between 2008 and 2010, corresponding member of the RAS Eduard Pastukhov, a prominent physicochemist who developed the material science direction of research in the institute, served as the Acting Director of IMET. From 2010 to 2015, the Director of IMET was a well-known scientist in the field of non-ferrous metallurgy, Doctor of technical sciences Evgeniy Selivanov. Acting Director for the period from 2016 to 2018 was appointed PhD (technical sciences) Yuriy Chesnokov, a specialist in the field of mathematical modeling of processes in metallurgical aggregates and comprehensive utilization of iron ore. From 2018 to the present, the Director of IMET is a corresponding member of the RAS, Doctor of physical-mathematical sciences, Professor Andrey Rempel, a specialist in the field of physical chemistry and materials science.

 For research and development in the field of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, as well as physical chemistry, employees of the IMET were awarded 6 State and 9 Government awards.

Key scientific fields of R&D in IMET. The main activity of the Institute is the development of physical and chemical bases of high-temperature processes in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, including the following sections:

• structure and physicochemical properties of metal and oxide melts and solid solutions,

• elaboration of the condensed matter theory;

• thermodynamics, kinetics and mechanism of metallurgical reactions;

• scientific and technical and economic fundamentals for complex use of polymetallic mineral raw materials and man-caused wastes with solution of ecologic problems;

• theoretical bases of pyrometallurgical, electrothermal, hydrometallurgical and gas- phase processes for production of metals, alloys, metal powders, composite materials and coatings, including nano-sized and bulk nanostructured ones.

The listed activities correspond to section V. Chemical Sciences and materials Sciences of the fundamental scientific research program of the state academies of Sciences for 2013-2020.

IMET performs work in the following areas of the Program:

44.  Fundamentals of chemistry.

45. Scientific bases for the development of new materials with desired properties and functions, including high-purity and nanomaterials.

46. Physical and chemical bases of rational nature management and environmental protection on the basis of the principles of "green chemistry" and highly efficient catalytic systems; creation of new resource and energy - saving metallurgical and chemical-technological processes, including in-depth processing of hydrocarbons and minerals of various classes and man-made wastes, as well as new technologies for processing irradiated nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management.

IMET has a total of 12 topics, according to the state task for 2019.

Structure and size of the IMET: 9 scientific divisions, 225 employees including: 24 are external part-time workers; including 141 researchers, 19 of them are external part-time workers; 27 doctors of sciences, 6 of them are external part-time; 69 have PhD degree, 1 of them is an external part-time worker.

The average age of researchers: Doctors of sciences – 69 years, PhD – 51 years, scientists without a degree – 35 years. The number of researchers up to 39 years is 57 people.

Educational activity. There is training of scientific personnel through postgraduate studies in physical chemistry, metallurgy of ferrous, non-ferrous and rare metals in IMET. The IMET has a Council for the defense of dissertations for the degree of Candidate (PhD) and Doctor of Sciences in the following specialties: physical chemistry, metallurgy of ferrous, non-ferrous and rare metals, metallurgy of man-made and secondary resources.

R&D infrastructure. The IMET has a wide range of scientific equipment. On the basis of IMET the Ural-M Shared Research Facilities Center Ural-M Rational nature management and advanced technologies of materials (Ural-M) was founded in 2008. Ural-M was established with the financial support of the Federal Agency for science and innovation in order to implement the Federal target scientific and technical program "Research and development in priority areas of science and technology". Ural-M is a scientific and organizational structure at IMET, it has modern scientific and analytical equipment, as well as highly qualified personnel providing research and services (research, tests, measurements) including in the interests of external users (individuals and third-party organizations). The activities of Ural-M are aimed at providing comprehensive research of natural and man-made raw materials, the development of new industrial materials and technologies.

Innovative activity. At the initiative and with the participation of IMET in 1998 noncommercial partnership Innovation-technology center Academicheskiy (ITC) was founded. The founders are the Government of Sverdlovsk region, Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the State Fund of assistance to development of small forms of enterprises in scientific-technical sphere, scientific supervisor is academician Leopold Leontyev. ITC with small innovative enterprises are located in a complex of buildings on close to IMET (105 Amundsen st.) on the rights of owners or on the rights of tenants at will of premises of Experimental production in IMET at which these rooms are in operational management. In 2013, IMET became a co-founder of LLC Tantalum Technologies due to the introduction of two patents in the authorized capital. LLC tantalum Technologies is engaged in development and release of prototypes of nano- and ultra-disperse powders of metals and carbides of refractory metals, and the agglomerated compositions from these powders for a wide field of application.

Event organization. IMET is an organizer and an active participant of regular conferences:

• Russian conference: Structure and properties of metal and slag melts (every 4 years);

• Scientific and practical conference with international participation and elements of the school for young scientists: Prospects for the development of metallurgy and mechanical engineering using completed fundamental research and R&D (every 2 years);

• International Russian-Israeli conference: Optimization of composition, structure and properties of metals, oxides, composites, nano-and amorphous materials (yearly);

• Congress with international participation and elements of the school for young scientists on processing and utilization of man-made formations: Technogen (every 2 years);

Russian-German youth mobile school-seminar on physics and chemistry of nanomaterials Nanomaterials and Large-Scale Research Centers (German-Russian Travelling Seminar Nanomaterials and Large-Scale Research Centers) (yearly).