At present, more than 70% of the 280 teachers at the School of Engineering work along 60 topics of research. In 1993, approximately 80 teachers held doctoral degrees, 110 held Master’s degrees, and 50 were enrolled in doctoral programs. The school’s 13 departments have modern laboratories.

Most research work done in Engineering is related to technological development, with immediate application in various industries, funded by national and international agencies. By means of agreements and service contracts signed through the Christiano Otonni Foundation, the school makes contact with companies from the public and private sectors.
In Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, the Environmental Monitoring and Water Treatment Project, developed nine years ago and by means of an agreement signed with the German agency TGZ deserves to be highlighted.

Three topics of research are pursued in Electric Engineering, monitored by the department’s Research Center: High Tension, which includes studies about protection against atmospheric discharges, Power Electronics, and Control of Industrial Processes.
At the Department of Civil Engineering, the main researches are carried out at the Laboratory of Structural Analysis, where structures submitted to very high pressure are evaluated. Among the areas in Mechanical Engineering, special attention is due Aeronautics, which was started in 1990. Work is being done also on Energy Alternatives, mainly on Photovoltaic Energy (the transformation of sun light into energy) and Solar Collectors. The projects are supported by the Minas Gerais Energy Company (Cemig) and Eletrobrás.

At the Department of Chemical Engineering, stands out research on Liquid/Liquid Separation and on Heat Sensitive Substances. At the Department of Mining Engineering, two of the most important research topics are Mineral Treatment and Prospecting. The School of Engineering’s largest department is Metallurgic Engineering, which has an X-Ray Lab and an Electronic Microscopy Lab, among others. The most characteristic current research involves Extractive Metallurgy, Physical Metallurgy, which deals with material molding, and “Trefilação”.

Still at the School of Engineering, there is the Center for Electronic Computation, linked to the Scientific Computation Lab.